Jimmy Johnson Hints Zeke is Wee Bit Better than Emmitt

Outlaw Heroes

Outlaw Heroes

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Any possibility that Jimmy is still jostling for credit for those Super Bowls? Seems to be allowing a little shade to settle on some pretty key components of those teams.
 

thisiscowboyscountry

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SwensonDC said:
Smith over Tuinei
Leary over Newton
Frederick over Stepnoski
Martin over Gogan
Williams over Free


Post car wreck I'll take Free. And Allen over anyone but the center.
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Tough debate, but I would take Newton over Leary/Collins at this point, but that may change in a couple years. Frederick vs Stepnoski is moving towards a push. Overall though this OL is well on its way to becoming better than any line in the 90s. Smith, Martin, and Frederick are among the best at their position already.
 

thisiscowboyscountry

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CalPolyTechnique said:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/j...el-elliott-might-be-better-than-emmitt-smith/

Ezekiel Elliott has been so good through the first 11 games of his rookie season that he might just be better than Emmitt Smith. That's not just crazy talk either, that's coming from someone who probably actually knows: Jimmy Johnson.

During a recent interview on Speak For Yourself, Johnson was asked if he thought Elliott was already better than Smith ever was from a "skill-wise" standpoint.

The short answer: Yes.

"Norv Turner and I were talking about this a couple of days ago," Johnson said on the Fox Sports show. "Elliott's bigger, stronger, maybe even a step faster than Emmitt Smith, but they're both very similar. I think, you know, Ezekiel Elliott is a more powerful runner. He runs over people. Both of 'em can make people miss, so you don't really get a big shot on 'em. But Elliott will take on tacklers, whereas, you know, Emmitt never did this."

That's a pretty strong statement coming from Johnson, who won two Super Bowls during his five years in Dallas. However, the former Cowboys coach did give Smith the edge in two categories: Longevity and vision.

"Emmitt Smith had longevity. In professional football, running backs don't last very long. Emmitt Smith was the exception," Johnson said. "He lasted a long time, and he played at a high level for a long time."

Of course, there's no reason Elliott can't last as long as Smith did as long he continues to stay healthy.

As for the vision thing, Johnson pointed out that Elliott has a better offensive line in front of him, which means Smith had to have better vision to get through holes.

"Emmitt might have been a little bit better vision-wise, but I really don't think the power of the talent in front of him, the offensive line, was as good as the power in [Elliott's] line," Johnson said. "This line is a bigger, stronger group than what had with the Cowboys."

Comparing a running back who played for 15 years (Smith) to a running back who's only played for 11 games (Elliott) isn't exactly easy, so here's a more apples-to-apples comparison.

Through 11 games, Elliott has 1,199 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Through the first 11 games of his rookie year (1990), Smith had 522 yards and four touchdowns. Smith finished that 1990 season with 937 yards and was named rookie of the year. The Cowboys would end up finishing 7-9 during Smith's rookie year.

Elliott is currently on pace for 1,744 yards in 2016, a number that Smith only topped once during his entire 13 year career in Dallas.
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Elliott is definitely bigger and stronger than Emmitt, probably faster too, but so was every other back, which was the knack on him... Emmitt was special because he defied the odds and his critics. He did everything extremely well, ran with incredible vision and had great lower body strength. His size benefitted him because at 5'9 he was difficult to locate behind the massive line and by that time he was already through the hole.
 
QT

QT

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I agree with Jimmy but let's see what kind of heart or toughness Zeke has if he gets a separated shoulder with a first round bye and home field advantage on the line ala Emmitt Smith.
 
EMMITTnROY

EMMITTnROY

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The headline is misleading-- Jimmy never said that Zeke is better than Emmitt. He talked about what each of them were better than the other at.

Bottom line, both are incredible, all around backs. Zeke is more of a physical specimen than Emmitt, but Emmitt's vision, heart, toughness, durability, longevity, and all those things can't be measured.

Also, I'm so glad he said that this o-line is better than the 90's one. I get so sick of the 90's o-line getting all the credit for what Emmitt did. Nate Newton said it best when he said something to the effect of: "We were all just a bunch of unknown fat dudes before Emmitt got here." The 90's o-line was great, no doubt. But it's been overrated throughout the years and given a bit too much credit. Larry Allen was the only HOFer of the bunch, and he didn't show up until Emmitt's fifth year, after he'd already won a couple Super Bowls, rushing titles and an MVP.
 
mattjames2010

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Smith is top 3-5 all time in the history of running backs.

You could argue that maybe his ceiling is higher than Smith's. But as of right now, Smith is a legend and Zeke is having a great rookie year.
 
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