Mike and Mike on E Smith (ESPN/SATAN)

[PullMyFinger]

Ill go

Brown
Payton
Smith
Dickerson/Campbell tie
Sanders

The thing I didnt like about Barry was he had too many negative yards for me, he'd have 5 carries for -7 yards then bust one for 65. Hell he probably has as many negative yards as he does positive yards, but he sure could carry the rock.

Emmitt is definately the toughest SOB ive ever seen carry the ball, ill never forget the playoff game aginst the Gnats where he had the seperated shoulder, and took that game over.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by jcblanco22

Whoa ABQ, I respectfully beg to differ on your overall assessment of some of those lines. Let's put the names aside a bit and recall performance instead.

In 1997 Nate Newton was playing at close to 400 pounds by the end of the season and could barely move. Erik Williams also was having a hell of a time out there. I believe Tui was hurt several times that season and Clay Shiver was below average at best as an overwhelmed rookie, down to about 265 pounds by the end of the season and getting pushed into the backfield with regularity. Emmitt's thousand yards came down to that last game against the Bengals.

[View Full Quote]In 1998, granted the line was improved, in part because Nate lost 80 pounds that offseason and Erik Williams came back much more motivated that year as well. Shiver went down early (he had shown some improvement in leg strength while in there) and Mike Kiselak came in and did a stand-up job for several weeks. However, this was still Flozell's rookie year and the line, while greatly improved over the previous mess of Switzer's last season, was slightly above average at best and running a brand new offense at the time as well. I compare the improvement shown in this '98 OL from the '97 version to the improvement our '03 line showed over the '02 version.

I think the 1999 line was the best out of these three seasons because of Step's return stabilizing the middle, but this was also the year where our offense was down to Wane McGarity and Jason Tucker starting opposite a miscast Rocket Ismail (miscast as a No. 1 receiver) by the end of the season. I honestly think this was one of Emmitt's most underappreciated seasons. BTW, this '99 team also leads the way for my all-time "Frustratingly Unfilled Potential In A Cowboys Team" award, mainly due to Irvin's injury.

I would agree that the 2000 OL wasn't too bad at all, Solomon Page was actually playing like he was interested that season (and in '01 too for the most part).

I can absolutly agree that the lines of the Cowboys in the 90s played better for Emmitt then they did for anybody else and to a great degree, this is a reflection on Emmitt himself. Proof of this is Jones this year and how our line looked many times when he was running the ball. My posts here are not ment to detract from Emmitts greatness. No amount of message board posting will ever accomplish that. My point is simply that while Emmitt was one of the very best backs ever, he is not the best, in my mind. The Brown, Payton, Smith pecking order seems fair to me. Having said that, there is certainly room for a difference of opionon on this. When it's all said and done, I would hate to have to live off the difference between all these great backs.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by jcblanco22

ABQ, I think you make an excellent and rarely brought up point by bringing up Herschel's '88 numbers and even more interestingly, the numbers Dorsett and he put up the two previous seasons to that.

However, I have said this before, I think that Tunei and Newton were playing nowhere near their potential until Tony Wise got there, not necessarily Emmitt. I know Tui was still trying to make that transition from defensive tackle (I think the conversion started in the 1986 training camp). I also think the guy people forget was also on that line pre-Jimmy and who played a huge part in Emmitt's early success was Kevin Gogan, who was a more accomplished player when Emmitt arrived in 1990 than the other two holdovers.

[View Full Quote]I do recall reading a note in one of Skip Bayless's books where I believe Tex Schramm, or someone else whose tenure in Dallas overlapped the arrival of Jerry and Jimmy by one season, stated to Jimmy and Tony Wise something to the effect of "you just can't win in the NFL with Nate Newton and Mark Tunei starting on your offensive line" during the 1989 offseason.

I am of the opinion that athletes in the NFL or really any major sport are, for the most part, equal physically with a few exceptions at this level. It is the mental aspect and the drive that set them apart so I believe that there is something to what you say. I believe that the coaching had a lot to do with the success of our teams of that era. IMO, the OLines were the cornerstones of those teams. You can point to Emmitt or Troy or Irvin, perhaps even the defense but to me there is no question. The single most dominating and important part of those teams were the offensive lines. I think Dallas fans are spoiled to some extent in that we expect our OLines to be perfect. The truth is that if you asked 90% of the teams in the NFL after 95 if they would like to have the talent we had on our OLine, they would more then likely be flipping hand springs. I realize that this is only my opinion but that's what I believe. We have had such good players at those positions over the years that I just don't think we realize what the rest of the NFL goes through on the OLine. That of cours is only my opinon.

[cowheel]

Originally Posted by VoR

Jim Brown is overrated. I could name half a dozen backs I think were better. He also was a quitter just like Ricky Williams.

.wow.