AD chasing Emmitt

[UK Cowboy]

So Emmitt made the whole thing go huh ? So what happened those 9 years he played after 95 ? Why did he stop "making it go" ?

He wasn't the same guy that could carry the team, but he was still a quality starter who wanted to help his team win. He didn't grab a pacifier and head for the house when he lost a step

 

[es4m11]

Emmitt is the All Time rushing champ and he was the best player on one of the greatest teams of all time. He has 3 rings. Emmitt was about more than stats, he was about putting the team first, just like Aikman. Aikman's stats will never challenge the top guys, because when the Cowboys had the lead, he didnt audible to a pass every time he came to the line. He handed it off, shortened the game, and WON. He made the clutch throws. Same with Emmitt. To throw out yards per carry is truly laughable. If you took all the times that Emmitt ran into an 8 or 9 man front in short yardage, sometimes 3-4 times inside the 5 in a single series, throw those hundereds of carries out, what would his average look like then? Barry Sanders was an awesome talent and fun to watch, but Emmitt doesn't have to take a backseat to any RB

Not a very strong argument. First you throw out that Emmitt is the all time rushing leader -- a record he achieved through shear number of carries. Then, you try to argue that Emmitt's career averages would be greater had he not had all those red zone carries. Which is it? If Emmitt doesn't get all those extra carries he doesn't get all the extra yards or all the extra TD's and likely wouldn't be the career record holder in those departments. If he doesn't hold those records Emmitt is likely not in this discussion.

Come on guys, I can't believe this is even a question. There is a reason most fans outside of Cowboy nation think someone other than Emmitt is the greatest RB ever. It's because Emmitt was not/is not the greatest RB ever. He is in the conversation, but is not the answer. This board, much like the ESPN board, suffers from some serious homerism.

If Barry was in Emmitt's shoes and playing behind guys like Gogan, Allen, Stepnoski, Newton, E. Williams, Tuinei, Gesek, he would of put up legendary numbers. Sanders put up demonstrably better numbers behind an average to slightly above average O-line.

I just wish I could find the stat for yards after first contact for Smith and Sanders. This argument would be put to bed for good.

 

[PDay8810]

I still think it was pretty shitty of Emmitt to continue playing just to get ahead of Sir Walter. Barry had the decency to retire while Payton lay sick on his deathbed. Coincidence?

SMH

This might be the stupidest football post in the history of football opinions.
You should be banned for being an idiot

 

[MI Nightmare]

He wasn't the same guy that could carry the team, but he was still a quality starter who wanted to help his team win. He didn't grab a pacifier and head for the house when he lost a step

What a bunch of crap. Emmitt was also after personal accolades. Barry could care less about his own achievements. Ten years of giving his all was more than enough for him to see the writing on the wall. The Ford's just don't know football. No offensive line, a shoddy defense, poor coaching and poor management.

At some point you have hang up the cleats and be productive elsewhere. I'd say Barry did his time.

 

[MI Nightmare]

This might be the stupidest football post in the history of football opinions.
You should be banned for being an idiot

You'll get over it.

 

[es4m11]

Twist, one other thing, Emmitt Smith is not the only player in NFL history to rush for 20 TD's in multiple seasons. Priest Holmes did it 2002-03 with 21 and 27 TD's. Geez, go figure both Priest and Emmitt benefited tremendously from superior O-lines.

How 'bout that stat Hoss?

 

[es4m11]

Emmitt Smith first ten seasons:.......................................... Barry Sanders ten year career:

13,963 rush yards............................................................ 15,269 rush yards
3243 attempts.................................................................. 3,062 attempts
4.3 yards per carry ...........................................................5.0 yards per carry
153 games .......................................................................153 games
91.3 rush yards per game .................................................99.8 rush yards per game
2,728 receiving yards .......................................................2.921 receiving yards
442 receptions .................................................................352 receptions
6.2 yards per reception .....................................................8.3 yards per reception
134 rush TD .....................................................................99 Rush TD
11 receiving TD ...............................................................10 Receiving TD
.96 TD's per game ........................................................ .71 TD's per game
16,691 yards from scrimmage ..........................................18,190 yards from scrimmage
109.1 yards from scrimmage per game .............................118.9 yards from scrimmage per game

On a side note -- Barry did all his work from a single back set, which partly explains why he wasn't used much in goal line type situations.

 

[Manster7588]

Emmitt Smith first ten seasons: Barry Sanders ten year career:

13,963 rush yards 15,269 rush yards
3243 attempts 3,062 attempts
4.3 yards per carry 5.0 yards per carry
153 games 153 games
91.3 rush yards per game 99.8 rush yards per game
2,728 receiving yards 2.921 receiving yards
442 receptions 352 receptions
6.2 yards per reception 8.3 yards per reception
134 rush TD 99 Rush TD
11 receiving TD 10 Receiving TD
.96 TD's per game .71 TD's per game
16,691 yards from scrimmage 18,190 yards from scrimmage
109.1 yards from scrimmage per game 118.9 yards from scrimmage per game

On a side note -- Barry did all his work from a single back set, which partly explains why he wasn't used much in goal line type situations.

I've stayed out of this argument because one side will absolutly never convince the other to agree. However you keep discrediting Emmitt because of the talent around him, but couldn't we argue that if he didn't have Aikman (many discredit him too, by the way, unless they are trying to discredit Emmitt) and Irvin he might have had even more yards. I think Irvin took yards and TD's away from Emmitt.

 

[UK Cowboy]

What a bunch of crap. Emmitt was also after personal accolades. Barry could care less about his own achievements. Ten years of giving his all was more than enough for him to see the writing on the wall. The Ford's just don't know football. No offensive line, a shoddy defense, poor coaching and poor management.

At some point you have hang up the cleats and be productive elsewhere. I'd say Barry did his time.

I hate busting on Barry because he was a stud, but if he cared as much about winning as Emmitt, he'd have had his ass in the game on every goal line, 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1 slamming into 8 and 9 man fronts instead of sipping water on the sideline while Detroit's crappy backup got stuffed in a game the Lions could have won

 

[Mitziman]

This might be the stupidest football post in the history of football opinions.
You should be banned for being an idiot

C'mon PDay, give Detroit a break. Emmitt has always been about Emmitt. Just ask anyone from his home town of Pensacola, FL or about his parents that run his big $$ memorabilia road show. He was a great player, but let's be real for a second. If you had one running back, one running back for one game...who do you want in your backfield? Emmitt? Please. He is waaaaaaay down that list.

It's not like Emmitt was the only great professional athlete from his small home town of Pensacola either...Derek Brooks, Bubba Watson, Boo Weekley, Roy Jones Jr, Don Sutton, Jay Bell, Reggie Evans...and Trent Richardson to name a few. Emmitt has always been about Emmit, and that's just a fact about #22.

 

[es4m11]

I've stayed out of this argument because one side will absolutly never convince the other to agree. However you keep discrediting Emmitt because of the talent around him, but couldn't we argue that if he didn't have Aikman (many discredit him too, by the way, unless they are trying to discredit Emmitt) and Irvin he might have had even more yards. I think Irvin took yards and TD's away from Emmitt.

My response to that would be, how many more carries can Emmitt handle before he broke down.? In his hay day, years 2-6, he was averaging 350+ carries a season. I think it was more the other way around, Emmitt took passing opportunities from Aikman and Irvin. How many more caries could you have given the guy? Dallas rode him for all he was worth and then some.

Sanders never carried the ball 350 times in a season

 

[Nosferatu]

You can certainly make the argument that both Emmitt and Barry can be top 1-5. To omit either from the top 5 is absurd no matter what fan base you come from. To pin Smith's greatness on being on a 3 time champion to try and deflect from his greatness is crazy imo. Joe Montana can't be the greatest cause he had Jerry Rice. Insane I think your hate for the Cowboys is clouding your judgement. Each guy mention is elite. I think Emmitt was the right guy for our team.

My hatred of the Cowboys has nothing to do with me ranking Emmitt Smith, outside of Cowboys fans you will find almost noone who ranks Enmitt top 5. Reason being, he's top top 5, I understand your defending him, I do the same thing with AD.

 

[es4m11]

My hatred of the Cowboys has nothing to do with me ranking Emmitt Smith, outside of Cowboys fans you will find almost noone who ranks Enmitt top 5. Reason being, he's top top 5, I understand your defending him, I do the same thing with AD.

There are only 4 RB's who have claim to the title greatest ever. Emmitt is most definitely one of them. 5th place could be a couple different guys, but Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith are in a class all their own.

 

[Nosferatu]

There are only 4 RB's who have claim to the title greatest ever. Emmitt is most definitely one of them. 5th place could be a couple different guys, but Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith are in a class all their own.

OK, chalk up a top five vote for Emmitt from another Cowboys fan,

 

[Manster7588]

My response to that would be, how many more carries can Emmitt handle before he broke down.? In his hay day, years 2-6, he was averaging 350+ carries a season. I think it was more the other way around, Emmitt took passing opportunities from Aikman and Irvin. How many more caries could you have given the guy? Dallas rode him for all he was worth and then some.

Sanders never carried the ball 350 times in a season

I doubt very must that Barry could have taken the hits if he carried the ball as much as Emmitt. Beside the Lions coaches DID NOT want Barry any where near the field with when the were with the 10 yard line. If Emmitt wasn't able to run for the tough goal line yards ala Barry his YPC would have been much closer to Barry's. Granted so would he TD's but with out a RB who could get that LAST YARD teams weren't going to win the SB. Detroit empty SB case is as much on Barry as it is on plenty of other so called no good players on his teams. As for talent around him I believe two (Not ONE) Very good WR's the defense had to account for. I seem to remember the Lions aslo have a better than average TE while Barry was there. You do realize some of Emmitts OL were cast offs from other teams don't you? Emmitt trusted the play to work and as soon as he got the ball he ran to the spot he was supposed to and the hole opened as he got there. If Super Barry had trusted the guys around him and hit the hole as it was designed his line would have looked much better. Barry WAY TOO often wait 5yards back and ran after the hole was provided. Barry was afraid of the big hit.

 

[Manster7588]

There are only 4 RB's who have claim to the title greatest ever. Emmitt is most definitely one of them. 5th place could be a couple different guys, but Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith are in a class all their own.

I think Peterson will soon be in that argument. Hell I think you could include him right now.

 

[Eastbay]

. Hell I think you could include him right now.[/QUOTE]

Not so fast my friend, Don't sleep on Dickerson among the other obvious Top 4..

 

[CarlSr]

Wanna troll Cowboys fans? Break out some Barry>>>>>Emmitt stuff. It works almost all of the time.

 

[negativeCreep]

Wanna troll Cowboys fans? Break out some Barry>>>>>Emmitt stuff. It works almost all of the time.

Yes it does, not almost (lol)
I know neither side will ever convince the other so I'm staying out of it. But that doesn't make it any less fun.

This is a pretty good thread though imo. Alot to read, it kind of took off since my last visit. Alot of very good points and stats I didn't even know of. I'll always stand by my Jim Brown statement, even though alls I've seen is highlights. I don't need to say it, but I'll throw some fire on the barby (even though I said I wouldn't - I lie) Emmitt>Barry in every aspect other than tallness.

I was surprised at how long it took for someone to mention Bo (once we started getting into shortened careers) imo he was/is the closest thing to Jim Brown the NFL ever came. Great documentary as well. I loved that he refused to sign with tampa bay after they blatently set him up (imo) I'm not sure how he fits that much 'heart' into that body. He's on my list, dunno where but in the top ten.

Pretty much everybody that needed to be mentioned has been - but I'm still feeling like we're missing a great.. Can't... think... does not compute..

 

[Nosferatu]

Not so fast my friend, Don't sleep on

Dickerson among the other obvious Top 4..

You might notice I included Dickerson in my top 5... People that don't include him didn't see him play.