A Football Life: Great Wall of Dallas
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Genghis Khan
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It's also a mistake to say 90s line as if it was the same 5 guys the whole time, and as if they were equally as dominant throughout Emmitt's tenure.
While they were legitimately the best in 92, by 97 or so that wasn't true. Players left or became less effective, yet Emmitt was still very productive.
Funny how you can plug in Donaldson, Kennard, Shiver, McIver, Adams, all starters for good stretches in the 90s, and Emmitt just kept plugging away at an all timer clip.
Sometimes people talk about those 90s lines as if it was Tuinei/Allen/Newton/Stepnoski/Williams the whole time. Not even remotely true.
To put this in perspective, Clay Shiver started for the better part of two seasons during Emmitt's prime.
Clay. Shiver.
While they were legitimately the best in 92, by 97 or so that wasn't true. Players left or became less effective, yet Emmitt was still very productive.
Funny how you can plug in Donaldson, Kennard, Shiver, McIver, Adams, all starters for good stretches in the 90s, and Emmitt just kept plugging away at an all timer clip.
Sometimes people talk about those 90s lines as if it was Tuinei/Allen/Newton/Stepnoski/Williams the whole time. Not even remotely true.
To put this in perspective, Clay Shiver started for the better part of two seasons during Emmitt's prime.
Clay. Shiver.
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Genghis Khan
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Generally, when you see Smitty talking in absolutes and extremes ("best of the modern era" with no room for debate, or "no one was in the same area code" as our current examples), the other side is a pretty good bet.
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I do not believe this to be true.
Genghis Khan
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I do not believe that you do not believe this to be true.
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I believe this to be true.
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They are showing classic Thanksgiving games on NFLN. Showed the Garrett Bowl, now the sleet game versus Miami. Oh goody, the RGIII game from last year. How that is more of a "classic game" than the Longley game is beyond me...but hey, it's RGIII.
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I believe you.
Smitty
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Well, I agree that was a big part of it, and I said that earlier in this thread as well.
I don't agree.
I didn't say it "made" him, but its definitely one of the key factors, if not the key factor, as far as why he is the all time leading rusher today instead of somewhere in the top 10.
Clay_Allison
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Judging by Pro Bowls, All Pros and Hall of Famers, Jim Brown actually ran behind a better line than Emmitt did. It's just been so long no one has heard of most of those guys.
Carp
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complemented
Genghis Khan
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Booze: "that line made Emmitt."
Smitty:
You didn't "say" it, but you clearly endorsed it.
Texas Ace
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I agree that both helped each other, but if you think that line made Emmitt better than he truly was, then maybe you need to be reminded of what he did once that team became average then dipped even lower and became complete shit.
By 1998, Cowboys were nowhere close to being a great team and that line wasn't anything special, but this is what he did that year: 1,332 yards rushing, 13 TD's, 2 TD's receiving. People were beginning to wonder after a tough 1997 if he had anything left. He proved in 98 that he had plenty left.
1999, at the age of 30 and on an 8-8 team with no Michael Irvin, and no Troy Aikman for a good part of the year, he put together one of the most impressive seasons of his career.
He led the NFL in 100 yard rushing efforts with 9, ran for 1,400 yards, rushed for 11 TD's and again, scored 2 TD's receiving. This was the season when teams began loading up the box because they had no reason to respect the Cowboys passing game, and yet, there he was having his best season in over 3 years. Remember that awesome night against the Vikings where he ran for 140 on the 1st half? He did that with Jason Garrett playing QB.....just sayin'.
2000 - this is the year where the Cowboys became total shit. No QB, no passing game, and Emmitt at the age of 31 ties an NFL record with his 10th straight 1,000 yard season. 1,200 yards rushing and 9 TD's.
2001 - this was probably the worst of those Campo teams. I mean, they had Quinthy at QB for crying out loud. There are no weapons on this team to speak of, but that doesn't stop Emmitt from setting an NFL record with his 11th straight 1,000 yard season......and keep in mind that he is 32 years old when he does this.
2002 - the first signs of decline, but like 2001, he is the only halfway decent offensive player we have and yet he still gets to week 17 with only 20 yards needed for another 1,000 yard season, but unfortunately, the O-line was awful against the Skins and he only gained 13 yards on 18 carries. While he didn't get his 1,000, it's clear that he wasn't just limping along. Most guys by this point at 33 are struggling to get to 800, but Emmitt was still a productive player for the Cowboys.
To me, what he did in his 30's, between 99 and 2002 on awful teams with bad O-lines, speaks volumes about how great he truly was. If you don't think he was equally responsible for his success in the early 90's, then we'll just have to agree to disagree.
By 1998, Cowboys were nowhere close to being a great team and that line wasn't anything special, but this is what he did that year: 1,332 yards rushing, 13 TD's, 2 TD's receiving. People were beginning to wonder after a tough 1997 if he had anything left. He proved in 98 that he had plenty left.
1999, at the age of 30 and on an 8-8 team with no Michael Irvin, and no Troy Aikman for a good part of the year, he put together one of the most impressive seasons of his career.
He led the NFL in 100 yard rushing efforts with 9, ran for 1,400 yards, rushed for 11 TD's and again, scored 2 TD's receiving. This was the season when teams began loading up the box because they had no reason to respect the Cowboys passing game, and yet, there he was having his best season in over 3 years. Remember that awesome night against the Vikings where he ran for 140 on the 1st half? He did that with Jason Garrett playing QB.....just sayin'.
2000 - this is the year where the Cowboys became total shit. No QB, no passing game, and Emmitt at the age of 31 ties an NFL record with his 10th straight 1,000 yard season. 1,200 yards rushing and 9 TD's.
2001 - this was probably the worst of those Campo teams. I mean, they had Quinthy at QB for crying out loud. There are no weapons on this team to speak of, but that doesn't stop Emmitt from setting an NFL record with his 11th straight 1,000 yard season......and keep in mind that he is 32 years old when he does this.
2002 - the first signs of decline, but like 2001, he is the only halfway decent offensive player we have and yet he still gets to week 17 with only 20 yards needed for another 1,000 yard season, but unfortunately, the O-line was awful against the Skins and he only gained 13 yards on 18 carries. While he didn't get his 1,000, it's clear that he wasn't just limping along. Most guys by this point at 33 are struggling to get to 800, but Emmitt was still a productive player for the Cowboys.
To me, what he did in his 30's, between 99 and 2002 on awful teams with bad O-lines, speaks volumes about how great he truly was. If you don't think he was equally responsible for his success in the early 90's, then we'll just have to agree to disagree.
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