This is one thing I do not . . . repeat, do not, want Parsons even remotely concerned with records, especially All-Time.
The only record I want him concerned about, and I do realize he gives a rat's about my thoughts here, but, for me, the worst times as a Cowboys' fan ever was during the years we held on to Emmitt for so long that his skillset had declined so much that he became a detriment to the team. He was single-handedly tanking our seasons, especially those last two.
And, man, as a fan, you just couldn't say it (lest other fans lash out at you): that Emmitt Smiff's time and come and gone.... And then it left again the following year, and yet there he was still carrying the ball for the Dallas Cowboys. I say carrying, because he surely wasn't running it. The writing should have been on the wall for Emmitt when Darren Hambrick, our LBs brother, was actually better than him about two years before the time Emmitt finally decided to hang them up.
If Emmitt is proud of getting that record today with the benefit of hindsight, I'd have to wonder where how his priorities were ever good enough to be a key player on a championship team, because that was some selfish nonsense. Jerry was selling tickets that year, to the record. My roommates were there, holding the stupid sign you see after he broke the record.
The last thing I want is for Parsons to get hung up on records so much that he can't admit to himself when that old cliche' comes along and it's time to hang them up.
That's embarrassing, number one.
Number two, being a me player has little to do with the objective of being a player in the first place. Some will take this out of context. But you do not want to concern yourself with playing to break records.
You want to make sure everything you do helps you help your team win each game in the present or future.
Anything aside from that is just some dudes ego talking.
Emmitt can have the record all he wants. Anyone who had an inkling of a clue and watched both backs knew that Walter Payton was by far the better back. Emmitt played on great teams, with great WRs, great OL, great QB, and a great, great defense. Like 2022, the 90s Cowboys were also a young team, so he timed the prime of his career to coincide with the prime of Larry Allen, etc.
Contrastingly, one of my favorite moments as a Cowboy fan., and this is how much the whole "record" thing irritated me with Emmitt, just as it would with Parsons (I actually loved ES as much as everyone else. I could just admit he was done) or any player with enough talent to even have this conversation.
I say go for the record on a year-to-year basis, sure. Have a beer-bet amongst the rest of your teammates to keep each other and yourself accountable, sure. If you're Micah Parsons, maybe you talk some obligatory trash about breaking the sack record, because you know you're a beast and it's fun getting in people's heads with the mental game. But the last I checked, Pasrons is a linebacker, so chances are he most likely won't get enough opportunities at DE to realistically obtain the sack record, which most people would not know is held by Bruce Smith.
Speaking of Bruce Smith, he's my Sam Williams "potential" comparison in the draft zone NFL comparison thread.
Speaking of the Bills, we drafted another player who also shares similarities (physical similarities, at least), to another HOF Bills player Andre Reed, and that is Jalen Tolbert.
When the Bills coaches call 4 screen passes, so Reed could surpass Art Monk and solidify the #2 spot at the time (behind Jerry Rice), he was furious. As in, Reed got a standing ovation, but it set his temper off and was kind of the last straw for him on his way out from Buffalo.
At the end of the day, the only stat that matters is winning.
Here's a recap. Much respect for Andre Reed.
