Emmitt or Dorsett

[pitt33]

I'm a converted Commanders-to-Cowboys fans because of Dorsett, but I would take Emmitt because of durability.

Dorsett only missed 3 games in his career with Dallas. And he was only 185 lbs.

 

[JonesBoys]

Emmitt is my choice. I caught TD late in his career by the time I was watching. Looking at older games TD was the more fluid runner and faster obviously but Emmitt could do more.
To me Emmitt is the complete back, shifty in small spaces, good enough speed especially hitting a hole, great vision, power to take guys for a few more yards after contact, nose for the end zone, great blocking back in the backfield, very good receiver, and when all is failing you can just give him the rock down after down and he will carry you.
Durable, and plays hurt as well. Big in big time games ext….

 

[blueblood70]

That's too tough of a choice to make, but given most of us grew up watching ES22, than we did Tony, being how far back it was.

I realized Tony was the more dynamic faster back but he split carries for this very reason, he had other backs on the team that blocked better, and they get The Dirty yardage better.. I'm not taking anything away from him,

but I got to go with the best three down back to ever play the game at least in my generation and that would be Emmitt Smith, the dude could block, short yardage, and yes, he broke enough big plays to be considered a threat ,maybe not house a bunch of touchdowns from a long distance, but the man also had longevity and health..

He almost never got hurt and how many years did he play? How many games did he miss? how often was he pulled for another back? there was almost no relief he was on the field almost a whole game.

By the way that's an advantage in my opinion to have a back on the field almost the whole game you never know what's coming when you substitute backs the big one for the smaller faster one or you give the backs too many breaks and other guys got to come in sometimes the defense can key on what you might be doing so when Smith was back there nobody knows what was coming and he could do it all...

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Can you blame him? The team sucked those years with no talent, why wouldn’t he do that? They were hardly sniffing 6 wins.

Since when is that an excuse for selfishness..........imagine 55 players taking the same attitude coz we "sucked". For example, Barry Sanders spent years on Lion's losing teams but was one of the most unselfish players in the league. Hell, he walked away from the game with a chance at the RB record rather than padding stats.

 

[Blast From The Past]

Tony D had another gear that E Smith couldn't reach. Tony was my guy coming out of Pitt and was elated the Cowboys drafted him. E Smith had the heart of a Lion and the will of a champion. I appreciate what both backs brought to the table in their respective time frames.

 

[fairviewfarmer]

You have solid team with very good OLine but you gotta pick your RB… who you picking yo be your RB? And why?
Tony Dorsett
Emmitt Smith

This a very tough call. Dorsett is a threat every time he touches the ball to take it to the house but occasionally gets caught behind the los and Emmitt rarely gets caught behind the los but rarely takes it to the house.

Both!!

 

[CT Dal Fan]

Emmitt was my favorite offensive player when I first starting watching football (Darren Woodson on defense), but to answer this question, my pick would actually be Tony Dorsett.

The way the game is today, geared towards offense, a back with homerun speed like TD would fit the best. And though I was not able to see him play live (I was too young and didn't watch football as a small child), Dorsett was not bad between the tackles either. At least he wasn't in the game replays I have watched.

 

[morat1959]

They were two of the best to ever play the game. I’ll probably take some heat for this but if Zeke had a competent QB, he could have reached greatness as well.

 

[starfan1]

TD is my all time favorite cowboy . Just a tad in front of Roger but you can’t go wrong with either

Emmitt played with a better line but man he was generational

I’m going with TD only because I like him more. His numbers would be even more insane if he played with 90s cowboys even though the 70s line wasn’t horrible

 

[FVSTONE]

You have solid team with very good OLine but you gotta pick your RB… who you picking yo be your RB? And why?
Tony Dorsett
Emmitt Smith

This a very tough call. Dorsett is a threat every time he touches the ball to take it to the house but occasionally gets caught behind the los and Emmitt rarely gets caught behind the los but rarely takes it to the house.

This is a hard one!!!!! Tony D was SPECIAL! He was so smooth and graceful on a football field. He could find daylight where the was no daylight! Emmitt on the other hand was a great runner too, who has the rushing record, but he wasn't Tony D.

 

[McKDaddy]

I loved Dorsett, but Emmitt was about as consistent as it gets, and it's not like he never took it to the house himself.

Seems to be some revisionist history implying he didn't pop anything over 20 yards. I saw him break long runs.

Having said that, Dorsett was clearly the faster, more explosive player. That era was my entry into football so I was truly a TD fan..

But who is the best all around back? I don't understand how this is a legit question. I start Emmitt a 100% of the time.

 

[JonesBoys]

Since when is that an excuse for selfishness..........imagine 55 players taking the same attitude coz we "sucked". For example, Barry Sanders spent years on Lion's losing teams but was one of the most unselfish players in the league. Hell, he walked away from the game with a chance at the RB record rather than padding stats.

So Emmitt shouldn’t have goals and keep playing? He’s not calling the plays and if you look back his last few years on a bad Dallas team he was still one of their better offensive players but because they didn’t have a shot at the Super Bowl anymore he was selfish to keep playing? Really?

 

[Flamma]

This is as close to a coin flip as you can get. Both are durable too. I guess TD due to the speed.

 

[McKDaddy]

This thread is a good case study of how folks overvalue the splash play and\or the prettier player.

 

[Ebnorice]

Both were great - but I think Emmitt had the benefit of a much better O-Line in front of him. With that O-Line, I'd take Barry Sanders over either.

Yeah you must like negative rushing attempts. And love the way it impacts the Lombardi trophy.

Dallas doesn’t win those super bowls with out Emmitt’s guaranteed rushes.

 

[StuckMojo]

Yeah you must like negative rushing attempts. And love the way it impacts the Lombardi trophy.

Dallas doesn’t win those super bowls with out Emmitt’s guaranteed rushes.

Emmitt moved the chains. If no room to run then 22 looked to get 1 or 2 yards instead of dancing and losing yardage to put the offense in long yardage situations. Emmitt doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

 

[Ebnorice]

Emmitt moved the chains. If no room to run then 22 looked to get 1 or 2 yards instead of dancing and losing yardage to put the offense in long yardage situations. Emmitt doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

He had a job and he executed better than any rb in nfl history.

 

[OGSixshooter]

I can't pick. I won't pick.

Dorsett is one of the reasons I defied my family and became a Cowboys fan early on. The triple juke near the goalline...I must have practiced that move 1000 times. That said...we don't win 3 rings without Emmitt. I don't think I'm taking any back in a playoff run over Emmitt for one game.

OK...I picked.