Thomas82
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.....never/still doesn't get the respect or credit that he deserves for the career he had? I had a discussion with a friend today and we both thought it was sad that a lot of people (media) don't even put Emmitt in their top 5. Some have him in the bottom half of their top 10.
Here are my thoughts:
First of all, I believe the Cowboys offensive line of the 90s got too much credit for the career Emmitt had, and it seems to me that he made that line look better than what it was. I say that because the first 2 years he made the Pro-Bowl, NONE of his linemen made it, or when he won his first rushing title none of his linemen made it. Jimmy Johnson and Nate Newton both admitted that there were several times when the line wasn't blocking well that Emmitt bailed them out. I will say that those linemen do deserve credit for stepping their games up, but Emmitt was a major factor in the way they were perceived, along with the coaches, and Moose.
The thing that kills me about the whole thing is the ridiculous misconception that the line had 5 garunteed Hall Of Famers, ANYBODY could run behind that line and get 1000 yards, Barry Sanders would get 2000 yards every year. There are a lot of people who think the line from that era is the best in NFL history. The thing about it is 3/5 of that line was there years before Emmitt got there. Jim Erkenbeck couldn't do much with them, and they were considered mediocre linemen. I'm talking about Nate Newton, Mark Tuinei, and Kevin Gogan. All 3 were there when Tony Dorsett was still on the team. Tuinei was there when TD was still IN HIS PRIME!!! He came to the team in 1983 as a DT, then got converted. Newton came in 1986, and Gogan the year after.
I just have one question: If that line was as good as everybody made them out to be, why couldn't Emmitt's back-ups come in and put up the same production whenever he wasn't in the game? They had to run behind that same line, and they got their chances to produce when Emmitt was either getting a breather, or when he was hurt and couldn't get it done.
I think the things that are said about Emmitt and that offensive line are better suited for Terrell Davis. How else could you explain Denver having a 1000 yard rusher in 10 out of the past 11 seasons? In that span they had 5 DIFFERENT backs go over 1000 (Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns). Whenever Terell Davis didn't play, the Broncos running game actually didn't miss a beat. That makes you wonder whether it was the offensive line or the system. I believe it was both. How else could Mike Anderson come in from the Marines and rush for almost 1500 as a rookie?
One last thing, I don't believe that the Lions line gets enough credit for what Barry Sanders did. Last time I checked, football was still a team sport. Barry didn't do all of that on his own, that line had to do SOMETHING right for him to get all those yards. People act like the offensive line wasn't there at all, like the offense was in skeleton and the defense had their full 11 players. ALL running backs look the same with no offensive line, even the best ones would look average. I don't care whether the RB is Jim Brown, Walter Payton, or whoever, if you don't have a line to block for you, you are going nowhere, PERIOD.
Here are my thoughts:
First of all, I believe the Cowboys offensive line of the 90s got too much credit for the career Emmitt had, and it seems to me that he made that line look better than what it was. I say that because the first 2 years he made the Pro-Bowl, NONE of his linemen made it, or when he won his first rushing title none of his linemen made it. Jimmy Johnson and Nate Newton both admitted that there were several times when the line wasn't blocking well that Emmitt bailed them out. I will say that those linemen do deserve credit for stepping their games up, but Emmitt was a major factor in the way they were perceived, along with the coaches, and Moose.
The thing that kills me about the whole thing is the ridiculous misconception that the line had 5 garunteed Hall Of Famers, ANYBODY could run behind that line and get 1000 yards, Barry Sanders would get 2000 yards every year. There are a lot of people who think the line from that era is the best in NFL history. The thing about it is 3/5 of that line was there years before Emmitt got there. Jim Erkenbeck couldn't do much with them, and they were considered mediocre linemen. I'm talking about Nate Newton, Mark Tuinei, and Kevin Gogan. All 3 were there when Tony Dorsett was still on the team. Tuinei was there when TD was still IN HIS PRIME!!! He came to the team in 1983 as a DT, then got converted. Newton came in 1986, and Gogan the year after.
I just have one question: If that line was as good as everybody made them out to be, why couldn't Emmitt's back-ups come in and put up the same production whenever he wasn't in the game? They had to run behind that same line, and they got their chances to produce when Emmitt was either getting a breather, or when he was hurt and couldn't get it done.
I think the things that are said about Emmitt and that offensive line are better suited for Terrell Davis. How else could you explain Denver having a 1000 yard rusher in 10 out of the past 11 seasons? In that span they had 5 DIFFERENT backs go over 1000 (Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns). Whenever Terell Davis didn't play, the Broncos running game actually didn't miss a beat. That makes you wonder whether it was the offensive line or the system. I believe it was both. How else could Mike Anderson come in from the Marines and rush for almost 1500 as a rookie?
One last thing, I don't believe that the Lions line gets enough credit for what Barry Sanders did. Last time I checked, football was still a team sport. Barry didn't do all of that on his own, that line had to do SOMETHING right for him to get all those yards. People act like the offensive line wasn't there at all, like the offense was in skeleton and the defense had their full 11 players. ALL running backs look the same with no offensive line, even the best ones would look average. I don't care whether the RB is Jim Brown, Walter Payton, or whoever, if you don't have a line to block for you, you are going nowhere, PERIOD.
