Emmitt Smith

[DoobieKeebler]

Hey fellas, guess what? **** THE COWBOYS!!!1111!!

Kidding, kidding; not here to troll.

On the Niners board there's a thread about whether or not Frank Gore is currently (or soon to be) worthy of getting his own bust in Canton as a Hall of Famer. He's pretty obviously not there yet, but when I looked up the all time leading rushers list as a reference, of course Emmit Smith is the all time leader, but I guess I never realized how far ahead he was over Walter Payton.

I'd always thought that Emmitt Smith went to Arizona to slum for the Cardinals because he needed an extra 4 or 500 yards to become the all time leading rusher, but that doesn't seem to be the case, since Emmitt is ahead of Walter Payton by about 1,600 yards and he only rushed for about 1,200 yards during his two years in Arizona. So my question is, what was the significance in him going to Arizona? I swear I remember there was some meaningful reason he was doing it other than him not knowing when to hang 'em up. And I can't imagine a true Cowboy wanting to demean themselves as a freakin Cardinal during the twilight of their career, even if JerryWorld had cut ties with them.

So, that's it... Did Smith gain anything from being in Arizona other than a check? Was he just unable to let the game go? Or is there a record that those 2 extra years in 'Zona helped him achieve that I'm overlooking?

 

[Eiknarflin]

The answer to your question is: For Emmitt, it wasn't about the record. It was about playing the game he loved as long as he thought he could do so. When he realized he could no longer compete at a high level, he called it quits. Why should a guy quit playing just because the team for which he had always played no longer wants to pay him?


This is where those who criticize Emmitt for not quitting like Barry Sanders did reveal their ignorance. Barry quit when he felt he could no longer compete at a high level or plain just didn't want to. That's what Emmitt did, too; he just had more to give and wanted to give it some more.

 

[DALLAScornhusker]

If memory serves, that was Bill Parcells' first year. It could be that Jerry didn't want to be the one to push him out the door so it fell on Bill. Bill was hired to clean house and build the team the right way. Since he had no personnal ties to Smith, it was easy for him to move on. I believe the personnel moves at that time fell to Bill. If not for Bill being hired, Smith may still be on the team today.

 

[RobToxin]

Emmitt was a Cowboy when he broke Walter's record.

I don't even acknowledge his season in Arizona.

 

[PDay8810]

If memory serves, that was Bill Parcells' first year. It could be that Jerry didn't want to be the one to push him out the door so it fell on Bill. Bill was hired to clean house and build the team the right way. Since he had no personnal ties to Smith, it was easy for him to move on. I believe the personnel moves at that time fell to Bill. If not for Bill being hired, Smith may still be on the team today.

LOL....may be

 

[Otis B. Driftwood]

The answer to your question is: For Emmitt, it wasn't about the record. It was about playing the game he loved as long as he thought he could do so. When he realized he could no longer compete at a high level, he called it quits. Why should a guy quit playing just because the team for which he had always played no longer wants to pay him?


This is where those who criticize Emmitt for not quitting like Barry Sanders did reveal their ignorance. Barry quit when he felt he could no longer compete at a high level or plain just didn't want to. That's what Emmitt did, too; he just had more to give and wanted to give it some more.

That's how I recalled it happening. He wanted to keep playing... and the feeling from the organization was that they wanted to move on with Troy Hambick. So - everyone went their separate ways. Emmett got a really nice paycheck but it was more about wanting to keep playing.

 

[Otis B. Driftwood]

Emmitt was a Cowboy when he broke Walter's record.

I don't even acknowledge his season in Arizona.

Against the Seahawks.

 

[UK Cowboy]

Emmitt was a Cowboy when he broke Walter's record.

I don't even acknowledge his season in Arizona.

Amen

 

[Schmoopy1000]

Emmitt wasnt ready to retire when the Cowboys were ready to move on from him.
As Otis stated he broke the record against seattle as a Cowboy.

Irony is it was against the Cowboys that he got injured which help to expedite his retirement. Think it was Roy Williams that injured him if I remember correctly.

 

[UK Cowboy]

As to Gore, I think he is in a similar spot to Tony Romo when it comes to the Hall of Fame. One of the best of his era......but not quite......JMO

 

[Schmoopy1000]

The answer to your question is: For Emmitt, it wasn't about the record. It was about playing the game he loved as long as he thought he could do so. When he realized he could no longer compete at a high level, he called it quits. Why should a guy quit playing just because the team for which he had always played no longer wants to pay him?


This is where those who criticize Emmitt for not quitting like Barry Sanders did reveal their ignorance. Barry quit when he felt he could no longer compete at a high level or plain just didn't want to. That's what Emmitt did, too; he just had more to give and wanted to give it some more.

well your little off base on the Barry Sanders part.

 

[jarntt]

well your little off base on the Barry Sanders part.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.

 

[jarntt]

If memory serves, that was Bill Parcells' first year. It could be that Jerry didn't want to be the one to push him out the door so it fell on Bill. Bill was hired to clean house and build the team the right way. Since he had no personnal ties to Smith, it was easy for him to move on. I believe the personnel moves at that time fell to Bill. If not for Bill being hired, Smith may still be on the team today.

Still on the team??? How old would that make Emmitt exactly!!!

 

[DoobieKeebler]

Thanks answering my question, guys. I guess I just remembered things incorrectly.

Looking forward to week 1 Niners at Cowboys, and hopefully meeting again during the playoffs because it'd be fun for the rivalry to be relevant again.

(Especially because we're getting tired of beating up on ol "Discount Double Loss.")

 

[jarntt]

It's tough for the great ones to know when it's over sometimes. For whatever reason he still wanted to play and felt he still could. Maybe he didn't know when to hang 'me up, maybe it was a little of a pride thing to prove he could still do it, maybe he could let go of the spotlight, maybe he really felt he could still do it or maybe he just wanted some more money. Whatever the reason I think as long as he wanted to play and someone wanted to pay him he might as well keep going.

On Gore. I don't think he is a Hall of Famer and I don't think he changes that between now and when he retires, but he has been a darn good back. Has he ever even been considered a top 3 guy at any point in his career?

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

Emmitt wasnt ready to retire when the Cowboys were ready to move on from him.
As Otis stated he broke the record against seattle as a Cowboy.

Irony is it was against the Cowboys that he got injured which help to expedite his retirement. Think it was Roy Williams that injured him if I remember correctly.

Yep Roy knocked his shoulder out of place or something. Emmitt was in plenty of company though. Roy knocked a lot of people out of the game. He brought the load

 

[Otis B. Driftwood]

well your little off base on the Barry Sanders part.

Yeah... His retirement had nothing to do with diminishing skills.