Seth Joyner: Zeke better than Emmitt Smith

[wrongway]

I don't think it is crazy to project

EE has all the tools and the perfect situation to exploit them

Emmitt proved to have a heart and grit that couldn't be scouted at a combine...maybe Zeke does too to go with the amazing tools we can measure

I hate when people disregard comparisons to the greats.....Emmitt was just a late first rounder that was too small and too slow to do what he did in college

Elliott could be a great one....there is no logical reason to say he couldn't be

He sure seems like he could be great. The only worry I have is his style might not lead to longevity. Sure hope he stays awile

 

[viman96]

Pretty sure Emmitt himself said Zeke was better

Just saying

Part of the process. Emmitt is being cool and passing the torch. Irvin said Dez is better and Troy has said Romo is better.

 

[TX_Yid]

The reason Emmitt was special for me was his balance. His ability to get YAC because he didn't just go down. Yeah he had a good line, but he was difficult to bring down, he could make something out of less than nothing too.

I see the same traits in Zeke, I love how he keeps his legs churning, but he's going to need to do it for a looooooooong time before I'm willing to talk about him being as good as or better than 22.

 

[TX_Yid]

Julius Jones had a pretty great rookie season too, heck I bought his jersey. Lot of ways this can turn out!

 

[Idgit]

Click bait. The Barry v. Emmitt argument is old. Emmitt has the rings and the record. Barry can keep the what-ifs.

As for Zeke, he's got a long, long way to go to prove he's in Emmitt's class. Not just in terms of production and team success, but in staying on the field. He's got a shot to do it, though, too. Too soon to tell, obviously.

 

[vlad]

The amount of disrespect Emmitt gets is insane, and the hyperbole behind the line of the 90s is also a bit much.

They were a great line, but people act like Sanders didn't have a few pro bowlers on his line. Plus those defenses we played against in the division those years were stacked.

Besides isn't the idea to be better than the sum of your parts?

 

[Joe Realist]

Zeke is playing great and probably has a 8-9 year shelf life,

 

[CATCH17]

Headline Pron as they call it on twitter.

It is one of the subjects that actually gets me upset.

Emmitt is judged differently than any other great player in this league ever.

As good as our team was Emmitt Smith was an absolute warrior and there was a noticeable difference when he wasn't playing vs when any other player on the team wasn't playing including Troy Aikman.


Because we all watched Emmitt get old, slow, and play on bad teams that is what people seem to remember and they just want to credit his OL.

His OL was amazing but Emmitt was every bit as amazing as any of those guys if not more amazing.

Also, Emmitt was great at every level and he was a first round pick for a reason. It's not like he didn't have a high pedigree.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Emmitt made the O-Line better than it was. And the O-Line was a better pass pro unit than run block unit. For instance, the team won without Troy . They won with Steve Beuerlein, an aging Bernie Kosar and even Jason Garrett. They NEVER won without Emmitt in those prime years.

Barry Sanders is the most overrated player I have ever seen and will likely ever see in my time watching football. He had 2 perennial Pro Bowlers on his O-Line and had Herman Moore who was a Pro Bowl WR threat. He lost yards because he didn't follow the design of the play as in Sanders' own words...he didn't like getting hit. Putting Sanders behind the Dallas O-Line would have led to years of heartache and not being able to get it done in the postseason.

As far as Elliott goes, I think he's better than Emmitt at the same stage. He had Emmitt's vision, patiences, low CoG, explosion and cutting ability. He's noticeably faster and a bigger threat in the passing game.

But, that's all he is at this point.




YR

 

[Zekeats]

Emmitt will always be number 1.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

High praise from a great competitor and worthy Cowboys opponent.

Zeke has a lot to prove before he can be compared to Emmitt. He appears to have the tools, though.

 

[CWR]

Zeke has the potential. Emmitt however had the heart and the durability that only a mere handful of backs will ever compare to. Lets hope Zeke can do half of what Emmitt did.

Such a tired argument for Sanders. Emmitt did what he did in Pensacola without that line too. Say its not a slight if you want, but its a slight. Emmitt wouldn't be denied period. Beasting with a separated shoulder and willing his team to victories wasnt something Sanders was able to do. Emmitt couldn't match Sanders in the talent department but when it came to perseverance he had everyone before him licked.

 

[yimyammer]

Emmitt was a good running back, but I wouldn't go so far as to say he was a great running back

Idiot

<Joyner, not you RS12>

 

[CyberB0b]

Let's see if Zeke is even playing in 5 years.

 

[Kevinicus]

IIRC, emmitt had more yards against the eagles than any team.

just saying.

also, the offensive line argument against emmitt and barry on any other team argument are both bunk.

riggins played behind a hell of a line (and he ran like a hammer), but he was not the back that emmitt was.

roger craig played in a fantastic niners offense, but he was not the back that emmitt was.

sanders played behind a very good line, too, and in an offense that spread the defense (only offense in history with two receivers to amass 1,000 yards im the same season), but no one discounts him for that.

anyway... zeke has a looooong way to go to equal emmitt, but he does have power and speed and a natural pass catching ability that emmitt didn't have. it makes the prospect of what he could accomplish so exciting.

Actually, the Detroit receivers both had over 100 receptions. Others have had multiple players with over 1,000 yards. Your point remains.

Nobody should give credence to anything Joyner says about Elliott being better than Emmitt. He might be right, but the rest of his comments are idiotic, so if he happens to be right in the end, it appears that it will be from dumb luck.

 

[StarGazer1]

Emmitt was a great RB and only one member of his O-Line is in the HOF, so tell me again Joyner how Emmitt gained 18,355 yards with 164 rushing TDs and had 515 receptions for 3,224 receiving yards and 11 receiving TDs.

Either the other four linemen need to be inducted into the HOF or people need to stop using that lame argument.

 

[theogt]

He is better than Emmitt right now. But one can only hope he can play better than Emmitt for as long as Emmitt played. Emmitt was an exceptional back, but what sets him apart is that he played at an exception level consistently over a very long period. That's what made him a once a generation player. There are lots of players who have had shorter careers that were better than any similar span of Emmitt's career.

 

[tyke1doe]

Couldn't the same logic Joyner is using to take Emmitt down a few notches in terms of RB rankings, be used to knock Elliott too? Elliott is running behind the best or 2nd best OL in football right now.

Who would be the first?

 

[mattjames2010]

There is one part of our team right now arguably better than some of the legends we had here and that's 3 starting players on our O-line: Martin, Fred, and Smith

That's it. Throwing any other one of our starters into the discussion is ridiculous and jumping the gun.

 

[tyke1doe]

I don't think it is crazy to project

EE has all the tools and the perfect situation to exploit them

Emmitt proved to have a heart and grit that couldn't be scouted at a combine...maybe Zeke does too to go with the amazing tools we can measure

I hate when people disregard comparisons to the greats.....Emmitt was just a late first rounder that was too small and too slow to do what he did in college

Elliott could be a great one....there is no logical reason to say he couldn't be

But Joyner is saying he's better than Emmitt. No, he isn't. Not yet.