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Faulk, 34, is entering his 12th year in the league. He's the only player left from the pre-Bill...

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Faulk, 34, is entering his 12th year in the league. He's the only player left from the pre-Bill Belichick era. That kind of longevity is increasingly rare. "According to the NFL Players Association, a running back's career lasts 2.6 years on average," Sports Illustrated's Tim Layden noted in last week's special report about the decline of the feature back in the NFL, "the shortest of any position." To be fair, Faulk doesn't normally take as much punishment as most feature backs (counter argument: this vicious hit), because he isn't one. If that disqualifies him from being an all-time great, so be it.

An Appreciation of Kevin Faulk - SB Nation Boston