Quote:
Originally Posted by bbailey423
Here is what I will say about Jim Brown....he was bigger than everyone blocking for him...and everyone trying to tackle him. Notice how those "big" backs fare in today's NFL? Ask Brandon Jacobs. Emmit would have been a lot to handle in any era. I truly wonder if Jim Brown would have been able to run through, drag, run over NFL players in today's era. Not saying he was not great. But was he elusive? What about vision. Emmit had ELITE vision. ELITE anticipation. I saw Emmit 2 years ago....does not have any of the things you would expect from guys that carried the football that much. Eyes were bright, speech was clear...moved pain free. Probably looks like he might weigh 190 pounds. This is not a coincidence. The ability to absorb hits correctly...the ability to see things before they happen...so you can turn a certain way to avoid a kill shot. Emmit got VERY little kill shots on him. And it won't because he ran on the edges. He ran between the tackles...for YEARS. We are not [View Full Quote]talking about which RBs would win at the NFL combine. I am talking about putting on the helmet and pads and getting up and down. Play after play. Quarter after Quarter. Game after Game. Year after Year. And he did more succesfully than ANYBODY else. There is no way to know if these other guys bodies could endure everythign it would take to amass the amount of yards Emmit did. So we cannot assume they would reach these goals had they kept going. Couple of years ago EVERYONE thought Tomlison was on his way...then the wheels fell off. It takes a specal RB to do what Emmit did. Which is WHY he is the only one to have ever done it. |
Look, Emmitt is my all-time favorite Cowboy. Wear his jersey to every game. Greatest Cowboy of all time in my opinion.
But if he was drafted by the Seahawks, he'd barely be mentioned. He had the perfect quarterback, coordinator, and offensive line, and he took advantage of it. Incredibly durable and consistent.
Sanders had ZERO help. Terrible coaches, awful quarterbacks, no defense, and no notable offensive line. He was the most unique running back of all time.
Brown, Payton, and Simpson still set the example that others follow.
And if he hadn't gotten hurt, Bo Jackson might have trumped them all.