Zeke rushing yards compared to Emmitt and Dorsett

[northerncowboynation]

Dorsett was faster, Zeke is a better over all RB than TD and I loved TD

 

[G2]

Dorsett was faster, Zeke is a better over all RB than TD and I loved TD

Barely faster. 4.3 - 4.4.

 

[MarcusRock]

Fair enough, we simply disagree

For anyone else who might be looking at it like I am:

In the 1977 the regular season was 14 games plus the Cowboys won the super bowl so they played 17 games

In 78, the regular season switched to 16 games and the cowboys made the super bowl again playing 19 games total

So depending upon how you look at it, Dorsett played or had the opportunity to play in 30 or 36 games

For Dickerson, he had 16 regular season games and 2 playoff games in his rookie year of 1983.
In 1984, he had 16 regular season games and 1 playoff game. So 32 games or 35 if playoffs are included.

For Zeke, he played in 16 games his rookie year plus 1 playoff game, then 10 games his second year since he was suspended 6 for a total of 26 or 27 games in his first 2 years

If only regular season games were considered for the comparison, then

Dorsett had 2,332 yards over a possible 30 games
Dickerson had 2771 yards over a possible 32 games
Zeke had 2614 yards over a possible 26 games
Emmitt had 2500 yards over a possible 32 games

Taking the number of games into account makes Zekes numbers more impressive imo

I didn't go so far as to look and see if each RB played in all the regular season games each year which would change how this data could be interpreted

Bottom line is Zeke is clearly in good company and considering the number of games he was able to accumulate his yards, he appears to have surpassed them all.

You missed my post. Dickerson had 3,913 yards in 32 regular season games.

 

[joseephuss]

Fair enough, we simply disagree

For anyone else who might be looking at it like I am:

In the 1977 the regular season was 14 games plus the Cowboys won the super bowl so they played 17 games

In 78, the regular season switched to 16 games and the cowboys made the super bowl again playing 19 games total

So depending upon how you look at it, Dorsett played or had the opportunity to play in 30 or 36 games

For Dickerson, he had 16 regular season games and 2 playoff games in his rookie year of 1983.
In 1984, he had 16 regular season games and 1 playoff game. So 32 games or 35 if playoffs are included.

For Zeke, he played in 16 games his rookie year plus 1 playoff game, then 10 games his second year since he was suspended 6 for a total of 26 or 27 games in his first 2 years

If only regular season games were considered for the comparison, then

Dorsett had 2,332 yards over a possible 30 games
Dickerson had 2771 yards over a possible 32 games
Zeke had 2614 yards over a possible 26 games
Emmitt had 2500 yards over a possible 32 games

Taking the number of games into account makes Zekes numbers more impressive imo

I didn't go so far as to look and see if each RB played in all the regular season games each year which would change how this data could be interpreted

Bottom line is Zeke is clearly in good company and considering the number of games he was able to accumulate his yards, he appears to have surpassed them all.

What are we disagreeing about?

It is clear the guy who tweeted was referring to regular seasons and wasn't considering how many games were in a season or how many games the player actually participated or started. He clearly wasn't including playoff games in his tweet, either. As your stats showed, he got the numbers right for Elliott, Smith and Dorsett by only counting regular season games over a full season their first 2 years in the league. He just didn't add up Dickerson's numbers correctly. Dickerson had 1808 yards as a rookie and 2105 yards his 2nd regular season for 3913 yards total rushing yards over his first 2 seasons. I'm not sure how he messed that up so badly.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Can he stay healthy like E and No way I would question Zeke's desire. Emmitt always said he was going to be the top RB of all time, not sure if Zeke has that desire but the man has always been a winner and knows how to win. He certainly has the desire. The heart? We'll see. Heath is a big big deal with RB's

I agree.....read where someone mention seeing a more business-like attitude from Zeke now. Say he seem more serious about his job and responsibilities. But I agree health is going to be the key for him. He has three years to prove he deserves the big second contract.

 

[yimyammer]

You missed my post. Dickerson had 3,913 yards in 32 regular season games.

i did, thx for pointing that out, that pretty much blows everyone out of the water

 

[joseephuss]

Here is a quick list of notable running backs who accumulated more rushing yards after their first 2 years in the league than Elliott.

2774 yards Barry Sanders
3147 yards Earl Campbell
2655 yards Terrell Davis
3099 yards Clinton Portis
2919 yards LaDanian Tomlinson
2639 yards Curtis Martin
3101 yards Adrian Peterson
3262 yards Edgerrin James
2767 yards Eddie George
3234 yards Chris Johnson

I don't think judging a running back over total yards accumulated after just 2 regular seasons is a great measuring stick. You hope for many more productive years.

 

[CouchCoach]

The difference is Elliott was go to from the get go and had a strong OL. Emmitt's OL was developing with him.

Tony and Emmitt had a better supporting cast of skill position players, including QB, and we're harder to defend and didn't have to rely on the run game as heavily.

Not saying Elliott isn't good and possibly great but I'd still take Tony and Emmitt over him, and in that order. Tony was the best pure runner in Cowboys history, Emmitt was the best all around.

 

[xwalker]

Baller in the finest. Doesn’t have the rushing champs heart or Dorsett’s speed. Still love me some Zeke.

Zeke probably has the most physical talent of the 3.

His speed is very close to Dorsett while outweighing him by about 35 pounds.

Emmitt probably had the most determination of any elite player that's ever been in the NFL.

 

[yimyammer]

What are we disagreeing about?

you said:

I think it is pretty straight forward what he means by "first 2 seasons".

I felt his comments were lacking and needed elaboration, specifically comparing them all on an equal number of games played

no big deal, just my take, its not worth any more keystrokes

 

[AdamJT13]

Don't know where he's getting his numbers.

Hey, he missed only 14 players in his list.

Elliott is 16th all-time in rushing yards through two seasons, although everyone with more yards also played at least four more games than Elliott. In yards per game, Elliott is third behind Dickerson and Clinton Portis.

 

[aria]

Smith had a great O line. And if you look at the passing numbers they were much lower compared to this era. They ran the ball more.

Zeke had and will have a better O line. I predict the future better than Colon Cowherd.

 

[aria]

Hey, he missed only 14 players in his list.

Elliott is 16th all-time in rushing yards through two seasons, although everyone with more yards also played at least four more games than Elliott. In yards per game, Elliott is third behind Dickerson and Clinton Portis.

What was the average carry for each running back.? Right now Zeke averages at least 5 more carries per game (in reality its much more) and plays behind one of the best O lines in the NFL. Comparing total yards is a ridiculous stat. Morris averaged less than a half yard per carry compared to Zeke.

 

[DFWJC]

Pretty impressive, especially w/o 6 games missed 2017........

I get tired of these guys posting inaccurate data as if its gold.

Dickerson had over 1000 yards more the hes claiming.

He completly left out Edgarrin James and Chris Johnson
Both also had more rushing yards

 

[DFWJC]

Here is a quick list of notable running backs who accumulated more rushing yards after their first 2 years in the league than Elliott.

2774 yards Barry Sanders
3147 yards Earl Campbell
2655 yards Terrell Davis
3099 yards Clinton Portis
2919 yards LaDanian Tomlinson
2639 yards Curtis Martin
3101 yards Adrian Peterson
3262 yards Edgerrin James
2767 yards Eddie George
3234 yards Chris Johnson

I don't think judging a running back over total yards accumulated after just 2 regular seasons is a great measuring stick. You hope for many more productive years.

Its embarrassing how off that tweet was.
People need to hammer him for it because hes a fairly prominant Cowboys writer.

 

[Diehardblues]

Pretty impressive, especially w/o 6 games missed 2017........

Not sure if anyone mentioned here or old enough to remember but Dorsett didn’t start until the 10th game his Rookie season and still gained over a 1,000 yards.

 

[Zekeats]

Pretty impressive, especially w/o 6 games missed 2017........

And he missed 7 and a half games

 

[glimmerman]

Still not bad for a player that had a bogus suspension for 6 games. Good for us. Let’s hope he stays a productive work horse. We will run him into the ground for the next 3 years. Maybe we sign him to a long term if he is still a stud after that. Look what this Offensive style did for murray.

 

[Flamma]

Zeke had and will have a better O line. I predict the future better than Colon Cowherd.

It doesn't matter which OL is or was physically better, what matters is which one dominated their competition more.

The Cowboys OL in the mid to early 90s were over sized for that time if I remember correctly. That OL was better. They were pushing around all but the best defensive lines. It's hard to do that today without grouping together all pro bowlers.​

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

Smith had a great O line. And if you look at the passing numbers they were much lower compared to this era. They ran the ball more.

This, dont tell the Barry Sanders fans that Emmit Smith didnt have a great OL. Plus this line still dont have anyone that has the nastiness of Big Williams before the accident.