I'm just so impressed with Julius Jones...

[dargonking999]

Another (near) perfect post.

But this one gets an "A" for content as well.

Wow thank you LTN, I owe all my progress to you

 

[Doomsdayblitz]

I think you could have considerable debate on who had the GREATEST heart of any RB. I agree that Emmitt had heart but I would have to say that Sweetness had him beat, where that is concerned.

I'm a huge Earl Campbell homer and I acknowledge that freely but IMO, there has never been a player with more heart then Earl. I just watched him too long to ever doubt it. He left every bit of it out on the field. Not an ounce more he could have given IMO.

How can you say one player with great heart had MORE heart than another player with great heart?? Why not leave it that they both had hearts of champions? Does Sweetness have the market cornered on heart because he's dead? Sounds harsh, but I get so tired of players suddenly becoming Gods because they pass on.

NO ONE had more heart than Emmitt!! All you have to do is pop in the tape of the '95 Giants' game, when Emmitt played over half the game with one arm hanging at his side, & he still carried the freaking team!! Show me an example of Payton doing that.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

How can you say one player with great heart had MORE heart than another player with great heart?? Why not leave it that they both had hearts of champions? Does Sweetness have the market cornered on heart because he's dead? Sounds harsh, but I get so tired of players suddenly becoming Gods because they pass on.

NO ONE had more heart than Emmitt!! All you have to do is pop in the tape of the '95 Giants' game, when Emmitt played over half the game with one arm hanging at his side, & he still carried the freaking team!! Show me an example of Payton doing that.

Really pretty simple. I watched all of them play, there entire careers.

It's clear to me that you never did this or you wouldn't be asking this question. You take one Giants game and you lean on it as proof of the fact that Emmitt had more heart. Sorry, this doesn't hold water for me.

I'll give you a news flash here. Walter Payton was thought of in this manner long before he ever died. Walter Payton played on terrible teams. He was the offense most of his career with the Chicago Bears. This is a man that missed 12 games in 13 seasons, of which, 7 game in a single season. In 12 years, he missed 5 games. This is a man who averaged almost 350 touches a season for 13 seasons. There is nothing you can tell me about how Payton played with pain or when he was hurt. It's easy to play hurt when your team is winning. When your winning Super Bowls. It's another thing, all together, to play hurt when you know the only thing your playing for is a loss and thats what Payton did most of his career. I'm not trying to butter the toast here. I'm simply stating the facts. I appriciate Emmitt for all he was but if your asking me who had more heart, who played with more heart, I'm going to say that Payton did.

I also notice you don't mention Earl Campbell. Earl Campbell, IMO, played with more heart then any body. Not any RB but anybody. I watched him play. I saw what he gave to the game. Emmitt never came close to the same IMO. We're talking about heart here. Not production or who was greater. We're talking about who left it on the field. Earl Campbell was a player that I've never seen matched, in this respect. More so, even the Sweetness, IMO. To me, it's not even close. The discussion begins and ends with Campbell IMO.

 

[ravidubey]

This is one area where stats lie like rugs. The NFL Hall of Fame selection committee put Earl Campbell in the Hall of Fame because of his heart. He was not only an explosive battering ram but also a breakaway threat-- a tailback in the body of a fullback.

If anyone has any doubt about whether Earl left everything on the field, well understand that the man experiences to this day involuntary flashbacks to the collisions he experienced on the field-- exactly the same condition that plagues many war vets who experience severe and explosive combat. Imagine what the intensity and frequency of those collisions must have been to be taken as the equivalent of real bombardements? The most stunning thing was that most of those collisions were initiated by Earl against defenders and not the other way around.

 

[ravidubey]

This is a very good thread to read.

If I had to pick one Dallas player that I liked "potentially" it would be Jones. Many people may say Witten, but I will stick with Jones.

This is true. I think Witten's ceiling will be not much better than what he showed last year-- very good and even unstoppable at times but not a true game breaker. I hope he proves me wrong.

But I really believe Jones has game-breaking, maybe even Hall of Fame (I know, I know) ability if he can piece it all together.

Fortunately for both Witten and Jones, there is a great tradition in Dallas for both TE's and RB's. It will be fun to watch this pair through the years. Lock 'em up, Jerry!