InmanRoshi;2943661 said:
This came across my mind watching LT in Week 1. He's clearly lost several steps at 30 years old, and apparently has been relegated to committee back with Sproles. He's still 7,000 yards behind Emmitt. It's hard to imagine a runningback having a more dominating 7 year span of production in their prime years than LT did from 2002 to 2008 ... and he's still only at 60% of the yards needed to catch Emmitt.
Every year defenders get bigger, faster and stronger, and consequently runningbacks careers will get shorter and shorter. RB by committee is getting more and more popular as teams try to limit the abuse their runningbacks take, and utilize the opportunity to put more specialized players and packages on the field. With all these trends it makes me think Emmitt's record may be to runningbacks what Cy Youngs win record is to baseball pitchers. The right player at the right time in the right era of the sport that will never appear again.
I've been saying it all along, Emmitt's record will last longer than any other RB that has held it, even Jim Brown.
It requires a unique mixture of stuff, much of which is completely out of the hands of the player himself, to accomplish that feat:
For the player:
1. Talent - the RB obviously has to be good enough to gain a lot of yards.
2. Durability - the RB cannot miss a lot of games.
3. Longevity - the RB has to play a long time.
4. Consistency - the RB has to be good year after year.
5. Age Well - The player has to be able to produce even after he is 31 years old, that seems to be the mark when they fall of considerably.
6. Conditioning - I decided to add this because it came to me that Emmitt's success was due in large part to his conditioning coaches and chiropractors that kept him flexible and in shape.
For the team:
1. Contenders - the Team has to be a contender year after year.
2. Commitment to the run - the Team has to be committed to the run and not be a pass-happy offense.
3. Feature-back offense - a player in a RB-by-committee system isn't going to break this record.
4. Consistency - the team has to be consistently good game after game, year after year. If they are playing from behind a lot then they will run the ball less often.
5. Coaching - you good Coaching to break this record, both from the HC and from the position coaches.
6. Blocking - the Team must have a great O-Line and lead blockers for the RB to consistently gain yards.
For both:
1. Lucky - both the RB and the Team need to be lucky and win games they maybe shouldn't have.
2. Dedication - both the player and the team need to want to get that record and be willing to do whatever is necessary, without jeopardizing the team goals, to get it.
There are probably other factors but those are the main ones. To get ALL of those factors in place and keep them there for 14+ years is the trick and what will be the downfall of every RB who sets this record as his goal.
Adrian Peterson is the latest hopeful but he will fall far short before too long. Tomlinson looked like he might have a shot since he had a lot of those factors in place but at 30 he is slowing down and it doesn't appear that he will have the longevity required to make it.
When people debate who the greatest RB of all-time was, Emmitt has proven that it was him. He wasn't the best runner, but he is the greatest RB ever.
