"Spin Doctor" Chuck Foreman talks nickname and the Running Back Evolution

To this day, former Vikings running back Chuck Foreman’s nickname stays with him. It’s displayed right on Foreman’s Twitter account.

“They call me the Spin Doctor.”

The four-time All-Pro and Vikings Ring of Honor member was kind enough to sit down for an interview recently, revealing the origin of his nickname and his thoughts on the running backs of today’s NFL.

“It was a style I developed when I came here to Minnesota,” Foreman said of the name’s origins. “Basically whenever I wanted to get from Point A to Point B I would spin to it. To get out of somebody’s hands who was trying to tackle me and just get to the place where I wanted to go.”

But where did the spin come from?

“It’s a basketball move,” Foreman said. “I used to do it all the time in basketball.”

Foreman mentioned there was a former basketball player that inspired him when he was younger.

“He used to do this spin move coming up court with the basketball,” Foreman said. “We used to emulate that when I was a kid.”

Then one day, Foreman crossed the move over to football.

“One game, I just spun out of this guy’s hands into another spot,” Foreman said. “And that’s how it happened.”

Foreman’s style helped him become one of the first all-purpose running backs in the NFL. He was known for his ability to run between the tackles and catch passes out of the backfield, leading the NFL in receptions in 1975 with 73.

Foreman’s style was ahead of his time, as all-purpose backs have become more and more popular in today’s NFL. The 2013 All-Pro running backs, Lesean McCoy and Jamaal Charles, totaled 52 and 70 receptions last season, respectively.

“I think because if you got a guy who can do it all, that’s two-in-one,” Foreman said, when asked why dual-threat backs have become more popular. “He becomes more of a threat because they don’t know if he’s going to run it or catch it.”

Foreman also doesn’t expect the trend towards dual-threat to change anytime soon.

“I would think that it’s not only going to continue, it’s going to get better,” Foreman said. “The more you can do, the better you’ll be.”

Foreman suggested this trend might even help prolong NFL careers.

“If you can get the ball without going through the line, longevity is going to increase,” Foreman said.

“Durability equals greatness when it comes to a back,” he later added.

Foreman also believes there’s still a place for pure runners in the NFL.

“The game is changing a little bit to be more of a passing game, but you still have to have that guy who’s going to run it if you want to win,” Foreman said.

Someone like the Spin Doctor.