Emmitt Smith: Underrated Running Back

[Thomas82]

I saw this on in a blog, and I just thought I would share it.

http://http://pacifistviking.blogspot.com/2006/11/emmitt-smith-underrated-running-back.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emmitt Smith: Underrated Running Back‏

In my football watching days, I've seen 4 running backs that deserve legitimate consideration in discussions of "the greatest ever": Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk, and Ladainian Tomlinson. I've also seen some that are spectacular, but that nobody would consider the greatest ever for various reasons (Terrell Davis, Thurman Thomas, Edgerrin James, Priest Holmes). I think the best one is Emmitt Smith.

First, go look at his numbers. In his prime from '91-'95, Smith rushed for 1484 yards or more 5 straight years, with peaks of 1713 and 1773. He set the single season touchdown record (25), won 4 rushing titles, led the league in yards from scrimmage twice, led the league in touchdowns 3 times, won an MVP, 3 Super Bowls, and a Super Bowl MVP. A legitimate argument could be made that this is the greatest 5 year performance of any player in the history of the league.

He was no slouch as a receiver, either. He caught 40 passes or more 7 straight years with a high of 62. Admittedly, as a pass-catching RB he's not in Tomlinson's or Faulk's league, but then he wasn't asked to be, either.

Later in his career, when he was older and more worn down and the Cowboys became mediocre, he was still very productive. From 1998-2000, when the Cowboys were 23-25, Smith rushed for 1,332 yards and 13 TDs (4.2 average), 1,397 yards and 11 TDs (4.2 average), and 1,203 yards and 9 TDs (4.1 average).

The fact is, I think Emmitt Smith deserves serious consideration as THE GREATEST FOOTBALL PLAYER OF ALL-TIME.

Many people hold it against Emmitt Smith because he played on the Cowboys, a great team that won three Super Bowls and had a good offensive line. The theory goes that any RB would be successful with that line, or at least any very good running back. This is, to me, hogwash. There’s also a possibility that Emmitt Smith made his offensive linemen look better than they were. It is also clear that Smith WAS A PRIMARY REASON THEY WON THREE SUPER BOWLS. To hold the fact that a player played on championship teams against him, when he was directly responsible for the fact that they were a championship team, is senseless. Nobody would hold championships against a quarterback; why would anybody hold championships against a running back?

I think there might be a general trend among Cowboy haters to give little credit to any of the big name skill position players that helped them win three championships. It's more palatable for the haters to credit the fairly anonymous and general "offensive line" that to credit Smith (said to be great because of his line), Troy Aikman (said to be great because of Smith and the line), or Michael Irvin (said to be great because of Smith, Aikman, and the line). This doesn't hold for me.

Here's an interesting study at the Pro Football Reference Blog suggesting Emmitt Smith had two very good careers.

 

[superpunk]

My guess is this guy has only been watching football for about 15 years. I don't disagree with the general premise, but his list of top backs was a little wanting.

 

[Thomas82]

My guess is this guy has only been watching football for about 15 years. I don't disagree with the general premise, but his list of top backs was a little wanting.

I think so too. I get the impression that he is in his early 20s.

 

[Angus]

I saw this on in a blog, and I just thought I would share it.

http://http://pacifistviking.blogspot.com/2006/11/emmitt-smith-underrated-running-back.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emmitt Smith: Underrated Running Back‏

In my football watching days, I've seen 4 running backs that deserve legitimate consideration in discussions of "the greatest ever": Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk, and Ladainian Tomlinson. I've also seen some that are spectacular, but that nobody would consider the greatest ever for various reasons (Terrell Davis, Thurman Thomas, Edgerrin James, Priest Holmes). I think the best one is Emmitt Smith.

First, go look at his numbers. In his prime from '91-'95, Smith rushed for 1484 yards or more 5 straight years, with peaks of 1713 and 1773. He set the single season touchdown record (25), won 4 rushing titles, led the league in yards from scrimmage twice, led the league in touchdowns 3 times, won an MVP, 3 Super Bowls, and a Super Bowl MVP. A legitimate argument could be made that this is the greatest 5 year performance of any player in the history of the league.

He was no slouch as a receiver, either. He caught 40 passes or more 7 straight years with a high of 62. Admittedly, as a pass-catching RB he's not in Tomlinson's or Faulk's league, but then he wasn't asked to be, either.

Later in his career, when he was older and more worn down and the Cowboys became mediocre, he was still very productive. From 1998-2000, when the Cowboys were 23-25, Smith rushed for 1,332 yards and 13 TDs (4.2 average), 1,397 yards and 11 TDs (4.2 average), and 1,203 yards and 9 TDs (4.1 average).

The fact is, I think Emmitt Smith deserves serious consideration as THE GREATEST FOOTBALL PLAYER OF ALL-TIME.

Many people hold it against Emmitt Smith because he played on the Cowboys, a great team that won three Super Bowls and had a good offensive line. The theory goes that any RB would be successful with that line, or at least any very good running back. This is, to me, hogwash. There’s also a possibility that Emmitt Smith made his offensive linemen look better than they were. It is also clear that Smith WAS A PRIMARY REASON THEY WON THREE SUPER BOWLS. To hold the fact that a player played on championship teams against him, when he was directly responsible for the fact that they were a championship team, is senseless. Nobody would hold championships against a quarterback; why would anybody hold championships against a running back?

I think there might be a general trend among Cowboy haters to give little credit to any of the big name skill position players that helped them win three championships. It's more palatable for the haters to credit the fairly anonymous and general "offensive line" that to credit Smith (said to be great because of his line), Troy Aikman (said to be great because of Smith and the line), or Michael Irvin (said to be great because of Smith, Aikman, and the line). This doesn't hold for me.

Here's an interesting study at the Pro Football Reference Blog suggesting Emmitt Smith had two very good careers.

Better limit that to "The greatest ever ... in my football watching days."
"Ever" is a long time and extends beyond your days. So does "All time."

None you have seen are greater than Jim Brown, and he is still alive. Others are gone.

 

[Rockytop6]

My guess is this guy has only been watching football for about 15 years. I don't disagree with the general premise, but his list of top backs was a little wanting.

What about Jim Brown? Walter Payton? Gale Sayers?

 

[Cowboy Junkie]

I always felt Emmitt was very underrated and there is not a back that played in his era I would take over him... not Barry not Thurman and not Faulk...

as for Jim Brown, was he better than Emmitt? really?
when Brown played the Dline was probably his size or smaller/ I am sure there were games where he might have been the biggest guy on the field...

take that guy from the giants for example... If Jacobs would have played when Brown played would he have accomplished what Brown did or close to it...when he would have been bigger than most who tried tackling him????

would any one say that Jacobs is a better back than E. Smith. I think not....

as for Walter Payton , yes he was a great player but was he really better than Emmitt ? for me they were very close to the same player...

some will always argue for the guy back in history that may be more folk lore than fact....

for me as a huge Cowboy fan I vote E.Smith.....

my favorite non Cowboy back was Earl Campbell, he was fun to watch...

 

[TheCount]

This is a blog post (from Blogspot, which hosts free blogs for anybody) from 2006, guys.

 

[Thomas82]

I always felt Emmitt was very underrated and there is not a back that played in his era I would take over him... not Barry not Thurman and not Faulk...

as for Jim Brown, was he better than Emmitt? really?
when Brown played the Dline was probably his size or smaller/ I am sure there were games where he might have been the biggest guy on the field...

take that guy from the giants for example... If Jacobs would have played when Brown played would he have accomplished what Brown did or close to it...when he would have been bigger than most who tried tackling him????

would any one say that Jacobs is a better back than E. Smith. I think not....

as for Walter Payton , yes he was a great player but was he really better than Emmitt ? for me they were very close to the same player...

some will always argue for the guy back in history that may be more folk lore than fact....

for me as a huge Cowboy fan I vote E.Smith.....

my favorite non Cowboy back was Earl Campbell, he was fun to watch...

Jim Brown also had at least 3 Pro Bowl linemen blocking for him at all times, and 3 of his linemen are in the HOF. Did I mention that his backup stepped in and led the NFL in rushing after he retired, and he is also in the HOF?

 

[RoadRunner]

Better limit that to "The greatest ever ... in my football watching days."
"Ever" is a long time and extends beyond your days. So does "All time."

None you have seen are greater than Jim Brown, and he is still alive. Others are gone.

Emmitt was better than Jim Brown, PERIOD.

Little known factoid is that Emmitt matched Brown's record of scoring his 100th TD by career game 93, and Emmitt did it in an age where he was much smaller than most of the defenders while Brown did his in an era where Brown was bigger than most of the defenders.

I have no doubt at all that Emmitt Smith would do better in Jim Brown's era than Jim Brown would do in Emmitt's era.

With the best combination of stats and championships, Emmitt Smith is easily the greatest running back in the history of football. Oh, and check out what he did in high school and college as well. Emmitt has absolutely dominated at every level.

 

[jobberone]

Jim Brown also had at least 3 Pro Bowl linemen blocking for him at all times, and 3 of his linemen are in the HOF. Did I mention that his backup stepped in and led the NFL in rushing after he retired, and he is also in the HOF?

You must not have seen him or Sayers play. Even Payton wasn't as good as those two. But then old timers are always remembering the good ole days.

If you want to compare players you just have to divide the eras up and compare them to their contemporaries.

Do you know of a 6-2 235lb HB/FB who can run a 4.3-4.4? And consider now that 6-2 235 is probably 6-5 and 265. That's comparing his size to his contemporaries relative to players today.

 

[RoadRunner]

Jim Brown also had at least 3 Pro Bowl linemen blocking for him at all times, and 3 of his linemen are in the HOF. Did I mention that his backup stepped in and led the NFL in rushing after he retired, and he is also in the HOF?

Yep, and how many of Emmitt's linemne have even been considered for HOF? Newton, Gesek, Gogan, Stepnoski, Tuinei, Williams? Not a damn one of them. Larry Allen will get there but he wasn't one of Emmitt's original linemen. He came in later.

 

[BourbonBalz]

I think so too. I get the impression that he is in his early 20s.

You failed to understand the article. Go back and read the first couple of sentences. The guy clearly said "in his football watching days". He's talking about the players he actually got to see play, not all that have played the game.

 

[jobberone]

You failed to understand the article. Go back and read the first couple of sentences. The guy clearly said "in his football watching days". He's talking about the players he actually got to see play, not all that have played the game.

He said the greatest player of all time. Read it all.

 

[CATCH17]

I'll take 22 ony my team over anyone.

 

[Hostile]

Barry Sanders uke:

 

[BAT]

Jim Brown also had at least 3 Pro Bowl linemen blocking for him at all times, and 3 of his linemen are in the HOF. Did I mention that his backup stepped in and led the NFL in rushing after he retired, and he is also in the HOF?

Exclamation point. Nuff said.

 

[Thomas82]

He said the greatest player of all time. Read it all.

I did see that, that's why I said I got the impression at first that he was so young.

 

[Thomas82]

Barry Sanders uke:

I'll cosign for you on that one.

 

[GalvestonCowboyFan]

Do you know of a 6-2 235lb HB/FB who can run a 4.3-4.4? And consider now that 6-2 235 is probably 6-5 and 265. That's comparing his size to his contemporaries relative to players today.

Darren McFadden is around those numbers. Brandon Jacobs is nearly as big as your hypothetical, and not too terribly much slower than that, although no one would call him a pure burner (I could be mistaken on this last point, but I think his 40 time was decent). I'm not claiming either of those men could sniff Brown's jock, but it shows that the measurables aren't everything. Bo Jackson is one man who puts anyone's numbers to shame--including a hypothetical modern beefed-up Jim Brown. Still, over everyone, I would take Emmitt for his all around football-playing prowess. I don't care how big he was or wasn't or how fast his 40 was, Emmitt always came through. Always. When he held out, his supposedly dominant team couldn't win a game. When he stepped on the field, he produced every time, for more seasons (at the elite level) than anyone else ever has as an RB. Give me 22 any day.

 

[THUMPER]

My guess is this guy has only been watching football for about 15 years. I don't disagree with the general premise, but his list of top backs was a little wanting.

I agree. I've seen every RB since Jim Brown was playing in the early 60s. To not include: Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Earl Campbell, and Eric Dickerson in his comparison leaves it a little short IMO.

Still, I do agree with him that Emmitt is the greatest ever!