Seth Joyner: Zeke better than Emmitt Smith

[DenCWBY]

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

Yes and then Troy, Michael and Emmitt have a good laugh about it over some beers.

 

[joseephuss]

apply all those excuses you made for Emmitt and use them for Morris....his career would be very Emmitt like if the Commanders used him they way they did his rookie year

the numbers are the numbers you don't have to massage them to make Emmitt look better

Massage the numbers? I just explained how the situations for each during their rookie seasons were different. Now you are implying Morris is on par with Smith.

Emmitt is better because he has the benefit of playing a full career. Elliot's career is yet to be determined. I'm hoping he is better and has a great career. I see the potential for him to be one of the greats. I didn't see that potential in Morris.

You have the opinion that if a back has more yards his rookie season than Emmitt did that it makes them the better back. I don't agree with that at all.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

This is stupid for many reasons. Not the least of which is that Barry in the hole 1 on 1 is also a more terrifying proposition than Zeke.

But that shouldn't be your only measure of the position.

 

[Jack Burton]

Seth Joyner has clearly been eating bath salts. He's lost his mind if he thinks any back could double what Emmitt did.

 

[Nightman]

You have the opinion that if a back has more yards his rookie season than Emmitt did that it makes them the better back. I don't agree with that at all.

That is good because I didn't say that......I said if any rookie gets over a 1000 yds they had a better year and are off to a better start than Emmitt

I also said you bent over backwards to excuse Emmitt's rookie year.......if you looked at Morris' career under the same broken microscope it could be twisted to make it better than it is and THAT would put him on an equal level after 4 years

 

[Soth]

"He's better than 22," said Joyner. "I've always said, if you took back Barry Sanders and you put him behind that line that Emmitt played, he'd double the amount of yards that Emmitt had."

This must be a joke. Comparing a rookie to the NFL's leading rusher of all time. Come on.

And then saying Barry would have doubled Emmitt's yardage behind the Cowboys OL?

Emmitt gained a ton of yards after contact. It was very hard to bring him down. He had amazing vision, never fumbled, great cutting ability, etc. He is saying Emmitt is not even a "great" back.

 

[tyke1doe]

you have the benefit of knowing how the story ends.....Emmitt is leading NFL rusher but 95% of NFL fans won't say he is the best RB ever.......records were made to be broken but some people still think Walter Payton was the best, some think Jim Brown, some Sanders....durability isn't the only benchmark...I think Adrian Peterso is great but he had a couple prime years taken from him.....comparisons are what makes sports great....being dismissive is annoying and no fun.....'get off my grass'

Of course, we have the benefit of knowing the end of the story. That's how you decide who is the best. There has to be some objective standard we use compared with subjective standards. One of those objective standards involves the length of one's career - consistency over a period of time.
Furthermore, speed and power aren't the only bench marks to determine whether a running back is the best either. Otherwise Christian Okoye would be considered the best back ever.
Moreover, it's interesting that you are comparing great running backs with other great running backs. We're comparing a great running back with one who is still a rookie. Your own examples don't support your argument. LOL!

And why would you be annoyed because one may not want to engage in such a discussion?

 

[Brooksey]

When he does it for 10-12 years with class like the great Emmitt Smith we can say that. Let's see Zeke get past his first year first. How about going back to the huddle after a 7 yard run instead of feeding with his imaginary spoon

 

[Nightman]

And why would you be annoyed because one may not want to engage in such a discussion?

because it is lazy and condescending......it is easy to say Zeke isn't Emmitt yet.....duh.....

But it takes a little vision and imagination to see the similarities.....waiting until someone flames out is easy

 

[gmoney112]

Why would you even say this?

For clicks, that's why. He got you guys good.

There's no need to compare him to anyone right now, all that does is make you slighted toward the great job he's done so far. When it's all said and done, I think he'll go down as one of the great Cowboys backs. Better than Emmitt? Who cares.

Just keep doing what he's doing and let's all enjoy watching him run over the competition.

 

[SlammedZero]

Well if you take Randy Moss and transport him to the 1980's and let him play with Joe Montana and Steve Young than he is better than Jerry Rice.


Why does the Dallas line apply to Emmitt Smith but any other player in history isn't judged by the same standard?


Let Zeke carry this team to a few Superbowls, win a league MVP, and break a few records before we say he is better than his greatness.

Seriously. I get so sick of that conversation (If Sanders had Smith's line).

 

[Scotman]

Leading up to the 1993 Halloween game, Joyner said of Smith, ""Gang tackle him, put four hats on him, and the rest come in and strip the ball."

Emmitt put up 237 yards on the ground against Joyner and the Eagles that day. I watched every minute of the game. At the time, all the praise went to Emmitt because he was relentless...driven. This was the same year that Emmitt had held out the first two games and the Cowboys went 0-2 without him. No one was talking about the line that day. It was Emmitt. It was his heart and his drive that motivated the team. Several people commented on it being one of the best performances they had ever seen by a running back...myself included. Joyner, nor any other Eagle, had any answer for Emmitt that day.

Joyner is suffering a serious case of revisionist history.

I LOVE what Zeke brings to the table. I hope he has a very long and VERY productive career as a Cowboy. He will have to in order to be considered BETTER than Emmitt.

 

[Scotman]

I would say Elliott is more talented than Emmitt, but not better.

As for the offensive line argument, I think it's been already covered. But it's funny how when the Cowboys trotted out Derrick Lassic, Sherman Williams and Blair Thomas, they couldn't hold Emmitt's jock strap running behind the Great Wall of Dallas.

Emmitt had intangibles you just couldn't measure and was a football warrior. It's way too early to start these silly comparisons. Maybe when Zeke gets six years under his belt and has the same or more yards than Emmitt did at the same juncture in his career we can talk about him being greater than Emmitt. But it's too soon to entertain such foolishness.

All of this times 100!

 

[bayeslife]

This is stupid for many reasons. Not the least of which is that Barry in the hole 1 on 1 is also a more terrifying proposition than Zeke.

But that shouldn't be your only measure of the position.

Barry in the hole 1 on 1 in crunch time not so much

 

[tyke1doe]

because it is lazy and condescending......it is easy to say Zeke isn't Emmitt yet.....duh.....

Sounds like you're a bit too sensitive about these arguments. Maybe you shouldn't engage in them if they sound condescending to you.

But it takes a little vision and imagination to see the similarities.....waiting until someone flames out is easy

With all due respect, this makes no sense. I can imagine that Elliott can fly, what does that have to do with practically being better than Emmitt?
And who is waiting for Elliott to flame out? I'm just saying he isn't better than Emmitt is right now. I hope Elliott IS better than Emmitt because we'd be winning more Super Bowls. I really have no idea what you're talking about or how you're interpreting my comments. Seriously.

 

[Dale]

Elliott has all the tools to be an all-time great -- perhaps even on Emmitt's level. But here's the funny thing when discussing all-time greats: it ultimately isn't their skill set or stats that generate the acclaim. They etch their place in history with unforgettable moments.

Emmitt carrying the team with a separated shoulder or breaking free through the middle to clinch a Super Bowl win -- those are the sorts of things that help you achieve all-time great status.

Murray is a perfect counter-example. He busted his butt to one of the greatest seasons ever turned in by a Cowboy running back in 2014. But 20 years from now, will anyone remember?

 

[percyhoward]

Emmitt was a good running back, but I wouldn't go so far as to say he was a great running back because he had the best offensive line. I mean, some of those holes were just -- you could drive a mack truck through it.

Emmitt was USA Today's national high school player of the year in 1986. Must have had a great OL at Escambia High.

 

[dallasdave]

Seth Joyner has clearly been eating bath salts. He's lost his mind if he thinks any back could double what Emmitt did.

 

[Dale]

Emmitt was USA Today's national high school player of the year in 1986. Must have had a great OL at Escambia High.

It's funny. The greatest offensive line ever, which allowed some "good" running back to masquerade as the league's most accomplished and productive runner EVER, has a single member in the Hall of Fame.

Can't have it both ways.

Either give Emmitt his due, or start inducting the rest of those guys from that line.

 

[Thomas82]

It's funny. The greatest offensive line ever, which allowed some "good" running back to masquerade as the league's most accomplished and productive runner EVER, has a single member in the Hall of Fame.

Can't have it both ways.

Either give Emmitt his due, or start inducting the rest of those guys from that line.

What the detractors fail to realize is that Emmitt was great on every level. I don't remember hearing about any of his high school linemen getting D1 scholarship offers, and only 2 of his college linemen even made it to the NFL.