Emmitt's record, Im concerned on two players

[playmakers]

Curtis Martin and Ladionen[sp] Tomilson.


Curtis needs 5000 yards and hes 31-32. If he gets 2500 yards his next two seasons, that puts him at 2500 left. At that point, he will be 33-34. Curtis, could stay around for it.


LT,now, prolly has about 5000 yards and hes young. He concerns me, opinions.

[inevadropit]

all records were meant to be broken....that's why payton's was

if emmitt's record is broke, it will go to someone who is deserving of it, you don't get a record like that and be a terrible football player

curtis martin and LT are both class players...LT idolized Emmitt growing up so that would be a great thing for him to do...

Emmitt will still be labeled as one of the best backs of all time if a record like this is broken

[AdamJT13]

Martin is 1,800 yards behind what Emmitt had at the same age. Tomlinson is 1,284 yards behind Emmitt at the same age.

The only even close to Emmitt's yardage at the same age is Clinton Portis, whose 1,508 yards as a rookie gave him an edge of almost 600 yards on Emmitt at the same age -- but who lost almost 400 yards to Emmitt this season and is down to a 201-yard lead. But then, he's 13,941 yards away from the record and isn't incredibly durable.

[MichaelWinicki]

Martin is 1,800 yards behind what Emmitt had at the same age. Tomlinson is 1,284 yards behind Emmitt at the same age.

The only even close to Emmitt's yardage at the same age is Clinton Portis, whose 1,508 yards as a rookie gave him an edge of almost 600 yards on Emmitt at the same age -- but who lost almost 400 yards to Emmitt this season and is down to a 201-yard lead. But then, he's 13,941 yards away from the record and isn't incredibly durable.


Good info... Thanks Adam.

[Rack Bauer]

Martin is 1,800 yards behind what Emmitt had at the same age. Tomlinson is 1,284 yards behind Emmitt at the same age.

The only even close to Emmitt's yardage at the same age is Clinton Portis, whose 1,508 yards as a rookie gave him an edge of almost 600 yards on Emmitt at the same age -- but who lost almost 400 yards to Emmitt this season and is down to a 201-yard lead. But then, he's 13,941 yards away from the record and isn't incredibly durable.


Going by "age" isn't really fair. If you go by "years in the league" I think (not positive though) LT is ahead of Emmitt. I could look it up but it's 6 am and I haven't gone to sleep yet. Screw research. :p


I don't think Martin has a shot. He's gonna slow down here pretty quick and he's still a long ways off.

LT will break it if he is blessed with the durability that Emmitt was blessed with.

[Nav22]

I don't think Martin has a shot. He's gonna slow down here pretty quick and he's still a long ways off.

Don't be so sure. Remember, the guy led the league in rushing this year. So he'd have to slow down quite a bit.

If he plays 4 more years while averaging 1250/year, he could break it. It's just a matter of health. And uh oh...Martin last missed a start in 1998. :(

[Yeagermeister]

LT has the best chance imo to come close or break the record. I don't think Portis will last long enough to break it.

[Peterman60]

None of those guys will catch Emmitt. Martin is on the backend of his career. Portis is injury prone, LT won't catch him either. Emmitt was durable throughout his career and had great players around him most of his career. All the guys previously mentioned will not break his record, they may get in the top 5, but that's it.

[dmq]

When the NFL reverses its decision to let Sophmores or Freshman into the draft, the record will get broken. Either way, the record will get broken, eventually.

[Tio]

There is a guy playing for the sooners that IMO has the best chance of beating him...

[MikeD17]

I dont think any of those guys will beat the record.

[kapolani]

Martin is 1,800 yards behind what Emmitt had at the same age. Tomlinson is 1,284 yards behind Emmitt at the same age.

The only even close to Emmitt's yardage at the same age is Clinton Portis, whose 1,508 yards as a rookie gave him an edge of almost 600 yards on Emmitt at the same age -- but who lost almost 400 yards to Emmitt this season and is down to a 201-yard lead. But then, he's 13,941 yards away from the record and isn't incredibly durable.

Excellent post!

Durability is the key factor here.

Ladainian Tomlison is the only one that worries me here.

Clinton Portis won't even last 5 more years. Curtis Martin although durable has age going against him.

[joseephuss]

There is a guy playing for the sooners that IMO has the best chance of beating him...

Petersons running style will prevent him from having a long enough career to break the record. And I mean, the 13 to 15 years it would take to get a career total as high as Payton or Emmitt. He is going to be a great running back in the pros. I just think he takes a lot of big shots. Emmitt really didn't take that many. He could move just enough to avoid many killer shots.

[es22]

If the record is broken, I would like to see LT. He is from Texas, and idolized Emmitt.

[starfrombirth]

There is a guy playing for the sooners that IMO has the best chance of beating him...

He's very injury prone.

[Doomsday101]

Curtis Martin and Ladionen[sp] Tomilson.


Curtis needs 5000 yards and hes 31-32. If he gets 2500 yards his next two seasons, that puts him at 2500 left. At that point, he will be 33-34. Curtis, could stay around for it.


LT,now, prolly has about 5000 yards and hes young. He concerns me, opinions.

Same thing was being said about Faulk and now that is nothing but a pipe dream. Curtis Martin is already talking in terms of next year may be his last. Tomlinson it is way too early to know if he will be able to reach that mark but I will say he would have the best chance of any active player in the league right now. Now can he last long enough in the league to get it? odds say no

[Waffle]

He's very injury prone.No he (Adrian Peterson) isn't. He's had a reoccurring problem with his shoulder which he had surgery on after the Orange Bowl. And he still played in the game in which he injured it. What other injuries has he had or how many games did he miss last year to justify calling him "injury prone"?????

[Avery]

Longevitity is the key, a consistent approach to every season. If a player gets injured for one season or even eight weeks, that's about 800 yards to have to catch up to. Not the easiest thing to do.

Emmitt knows his record would be broken; I can't think of anyone I'd rather see do it more than LT or Martin. I don't think they will do it, but that's not bad company to be in.

[rynochop]

Let's also not forget that Emmitt played almost an additional entire SEASON in the playoffs and SB's that aren't even added to his total.

Amazing.

[lkelly]

As I said before, the salary cap will play a role. Teams are going to be hesitant about paying top dollar for a running back in his early thirties. There's too much risk, and unless an owner is simply trying to build his team around breaking a record, the highly paid 32 year old runner will be sent packing. If some of these guys want to play for less, then maybe they can stick around. But which of these backs will want to play for backup money just for a chance at getting carries?

Another factor is the desire to live a better life after football. The pay scale is at the point where you can play for 1 or 2 big contract deals and be set for life. Many guys will trade a record for a better chance at walking with the kids at age 40. Outside of QBs, and occasionally linemen, the NFL is really a young man's game now.

[LA=Pancakemaker]

Its a different situation now with F.A and the cap. Both these guys will start slowing down and get bounced from there teams. There carries will dwindle, and thus there yardage. I dont see either 1 of these guys breaking it.!

[Awakened]

None of those guys will catch Emmitt. Martin is on the backend of his career. Portis is injury prone, LT won't catch him either. Emmitt was durable throughout his career and had great players around him most of his career. All the guys previously mentioned will not break his record, they may get in the top 5, but that's it.

1697 yards on the backend of his career. Wow, a pretty amazing accomplishment.

[HTOWN COWBOY]

If anyone is going to break the record, it will be JULIUS JONES!

[JohnsKey19]

This record is all about consistency and durability. In the game of football, you simply can't project(or assume) those two factors over 13-15 seasons, particularly for a RB. Quite honestly, just 2-3 mild injuries over your entire career essentially makes the record impossible to reach.

The guys with legitimate chances are RBs who have gone 9-10 strong years and are still at least 75-80% of the runners they once were. That basically knocks it down to 2 guys - Bettis and Martin. We already know Bettis has decided not to hang around long enough to challenge the record. So Martin IMO is the only guy who is a legit threat to Emmitt's record. His biggest challenge will be not only staying productive and healthy, but also finding a team that will allow him to start at least 4 more years. If the NYJ choose to re-sign Jordan, he'll likely become their new starter.


Obviously there are several younger RBs who are off to fast starts and are "on pace" to challenge the record. Let's see where they are 8-9 years into their careers before even discussing their chances of breaking the record.

[InmanRoshi]

If the Jets spend the money to retain LaMont Jordan, which there is talk they will, Curtis Martin may never have another 1000 season because he might be splitting carries 50/50.

[joseephuss]

If the Jets spend the money to retain LaMont Jordan, which there is talk they will, Curtis Martin may never have another 1000 season because he might be splitting carries 50/50.

The Cardinals are looking for a RB and like paying lots of money to 30 something runners. :D

[AdamJT13]

Going by "age" isn't really fair.
See, I think just the opposite. If a guy comes into the NFL at age 25, he'd have to play until he's 39 to play 15 seasons (like Emmitt). But if he's only 20 as a rookie, he'll be only 34 after 15 seasons. Age doesn't care how long you've been in the NFL. And at a certain age, your physical skills will start to decline whether you've been in the league for three years or 13.

Since Emmitt was a 21-year-old rookie, and most players are at least 22 when they're a rookie, consider his 937 yards in 1990 as "bonus" yards that he got in the NFL instead of whatever he would have gotten as a senior at Florida. Then consider 1991 as his rookie season. If you do that, Emmitt still would hold the all-time record (17,418), and no current player is ahead of Emmitt's pace at the same age -- not Portis (370 behind after two seasons), not Tomlinson (347 behind after four), not Martin (863 behind after 10) -- nobody. And Emmitt still has those 937 "bonus" yards in his back pocket, padding his all-time record.

[Rack Bauer]

See, I think just the opposite. If a guy comes into the NFL at age 25, he'd have to play until he's 39 to play 15 seasons (like Emmitt). But if he's only 20 as a rookie, he'll be only 34 after 15 seasons. Age doesn't care how long you've been in the NFL. And at a certain age, your physical skills will start to decline whether you've been in the league for three years or 13.

Since Emmitt was a 21-year-old rookie, and most players are at least 22 when they're a rookie, consider his 937 yards in 1990 as "bonus" yards that he got in the NFL instead of whatever he would have gotten as a senior at Florida. Then consider 1991 as his rookie season. If you do that, Emmitt still would hold the all-time record (17,418), and no current player is ahead of Emmitt's pace at the same age -- not Portis (370 behind after two seasons), not Tomlinson (347 behind after four), not Martin (863 behind after 10) -- nobody. And Emmitt still has those 937 "bonus" yards in his back pocket, padding his all-time record.


I get your point, Adam, and I do partially agree. I was just looking at it a different way. Your right though if a guy is in his 13th year and he's already 35 he ain't gonna get it. Not unless he piled up a crapload of yards at the front end of his career. I think someone like LT has a chance. Hell, Edgerrin James is still pretty young and he's piled up 7720 yards. He's only 26. Lucky for us (in an evil sort of way) he got hurt or he'd likely have another 1500. But even with the injury he has a shot. If he averaged 1200 yards over the next 6 years that would be (thinking...)7200 yards putting him at 14,920 yards. And he'd be 32 years old. Close, but he'd dip at that point. He's a longshot, but not an overwhelming longshot.

Again, lucky for us he got hurt. :D

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