man does this bring back memories

[rynochop]

That was awesome

I'll say it again...those who say he was only awesome because of the O-Line thru all those years..how many of those guys on the line are in the HOF??

And the Sanders comparison are stupid..you didnt have to take Emmitt out at the goal line...and how many times did Emitt run for negative yards in a PLAYOFF game??

 

[Boyzmamacita]

That was awesome

I'll say it again...those who say he was only awesome because of the O-Line thru all those years..how many of those guys on the line are in the HOF??

And the Sanders comparison are stupid..you didnt have to take Emmitt out at the goal line...and how many times did Emitt run for negative yards in a PLAYOFF game??

Say it again and again.

 

[Cowboy4ever]

Not bad for a back that was to small and to slow to play at the NFL level!! You can measure everything you want to at a Combine or pro day.. but you can never measure a Man's heart and that is what made ES the best to ever play at his position.

 

[hardcorebob]

Thanks for the memories!!! Wow....can't believe I actually didn't watch all the games back then like I do now!

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Two of the most tired, abused arguments in the history of professional sports start like so:

1) "If Barry had Emmitt's line..."

2) "Poor Barry. He was always running for his life..."

The first one is a gross overstatement, and the second is blatantly wrong. Barry's line started two consistent Pro Bowlers in Lomas Brown and Kevin Glover. Brown played in seven Pro Bowls and will probably be elected to the HOF someday soon.

In truth, only one member of Emmitt's line is a lock for the HOF, Larry Allen, and he wasn't a full-time starter until 1995--Emmitt's final year as a truly elite back. Consequently, the most productive period in Emmitt's career occured behind a line that featured many good, though not necessarily great, players.

 

[Big D]

I almost cried!

 

[LowTech]

You know, to be slow, it sure seemed like there was always alot of people BEHIND Emmitt

 

[CF74]

Man that move he put on Green towards the beginning was sweet!!!:starspin

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Wow!!!

For all the talk about Barry Sanders and his changing direction and making fast cuts.... Emmitt did his share of changing direction and fast cuts.


The O-line played very well for him... barely being touched coming out of the backfield... his teammates TRULY acceled with him.... lots of blocking... very nice. A team effort

No debate. Emmitt > Sanders

 

[BouncingCheese]

That was awesome

I'll say it again...those who say he was only awesome because of the O-Line thru all those years..how many of those guys on the line are in the HOF??

And the Sanders comparison are stupid..you didnt have to take Emmitt out at the goal line...and how many times did Emitt run for negative yards in a PLAYOFF game??

You don't need to have hall of fame lineman to quantify having one of the best lines of all time, especially in that time period...There were barely ANY holes( I mean that in the negative sense) in those O-lines we had... Look at Daryl Johnston; when he was in his prime, Emmit had his best years when Daryl was blocking as a FB for him, he didn't really have as great numbers when Daryl became injured and cosecuently retired... But do you think that Daryl will ever be considered for the HOF? Not likely. It is VERY hard to have lineman get into the HOF, and you need to be consistently the top 3 at your position IMO for more than half the decade to even garner consideration... Emmit benefited from an amazing line.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

You don't need to have hall of fame lineman to quantify having one of the best lines of all time, especially in that time period...There were barely ANY holes( I mean that in the negative sense) in those O-lines we had... Look at Daryl Johnston; when he was in his prime, Emmit had his best years when Daryl was blocking as a FB for him, he didn't really have as great numbers when Daryl became injured and cosecuently retired... But do you think that Daryl will ever be considered for the HOF? Not likely. It is VERY hard to have lineman get into the HOF, and you need to be consistently the top 3 at your position IMO for more than half the decade to even garner consideration... Emmit benefited from an amazing line.

And vice versa. That line looked a whole lot better because it was blocking for #22. Granted, that Cowboys team was deep at every position and those O-linemen were indeed skilled, but Emmitt does not get enough credit for what he accomplished as an NFL running back. He made his teammates better. Emmitt was more important to his team than the other backs of his era. Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders were great, but their teams' peformance did not completely cave when they were out of the lineup. The Cowboys were better than the Bills and Lions, respectively, but without Emmitt, you saw a marked difference in their performance. Emmitt Smith was the centerpiece of one of the greatest teams of all-time and they faltered without him. That is the mark of true greatness.