Emmitt Smith on all-time ranking: My stats speak for themselves

Angrymesscan said:

Rice had some of the greatest QB's in history throwing him the ball

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true, but that has nothing to do with him getting open on his own

and were benefitting of one of the greatest offensive minds (Walsh) and his offense...

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he was still stellar when Walsh left

bbgun said:

true, but that has nothing to do with him getting open on his own



he was still stellar when Walsh left

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And in Emmitt's case he was still putting up huge seasons in 98 and 99, long after the great O-line of the 90s was gone.

bbgun said:

true, but that has nothing to do with him getting open on his own



he was still stellar when Walsh left

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Yet it was the great placement that allowed him to make some of those catches and get all those YAC...
And that is why I said his offense which Seifert et al. kept...

I'd take Barry over Emmitt.

L.T. Fan said:

This isn't a matter of who is the flashiest running back. It's who is the best. The purpose of a running back is to gain yards. That in itself defines who is the owner of that category. What other criteria is there?

The same could be said of who is the best golfer. The obvious answer is who has won the most tournaments.

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So, who do the statistics show as the greatest RB of all-time? What stats are you using?

I don't think 'career rushing yards' is a standalone sufficient determiner. Emmitt, the dumbass that he is, is claiming this statistic is essentially a sufficient standalone determiner. If so, Jerome Bettis is #6 all-time and better than Jim Brown and Earl Campbell?

Jim Brown was the best and he retired after only 9 seasons.

pdom said:

So, who do the statistics show as the greatest RB of all-time? What stats are you using?

I don't think 'career rushing yards' is a standalone sufficient determiner. Emmitt, the dumbass that he is, is claiming this statistic is essentially a sufficient standalone determiner. If so, Jerome Bettis is #6 all-time and better than Jim Brown and Earl Campbell?

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TDs and Superbowl wins aren't bad either. His YPC is pretty good for playing all those years as well. Bettis YPC is harbage.

pdom said:

I'd take Barry over Emmitt.

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I wouldn't. Emmitt got the dirty yards to win games.

People claiming Emmitt benefitted from "the greatest offensive line in NLF history"..... Please tell me how many of those offensive lineman are in the hall of fame.


And Jerry Rice didn't benefit from playing with arguably the greatest QB in NFL history (Montana) and another hall of famer (Young)? He didn't benefit from playing for an offensive mastermind who basically revolutionized the NFL? Playing in the infancy of the WCO when most defenses were still built for size, not speed, and ill prepared to defend it?

Was Emmitt the flashiest back in NFL history? Nah... but Randy Moss has a much sexier highlight film than Jerry does. A lot of receivers do, actually.

I just don't get it. Be it rings... Emmitt is there. Be it yards, Emmitt is king. Be it touchdowns, Emmitt owns that record. Be it durability or longevity, Emmitt is king. Be it rising up in big games? Guy carried us with a seperated shoulder against the Giants for home field. He took over the second half opening drive against the Bills that changed the tone of that game. The guy has that. But all any one wants to do is discredit him.

And you guys discrediting him can also suck a fat dick.

midswat said:

And you guys discrediting him can also suck a fat dick.

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You're the only one that's discredited Emmitt here.

I'd choose Barry over Emmitt, but Emmitt is an f'n legend. In no particular order, Emmitt, Barry, LT, Adrian Peterson, Faulk are my Top 5 that I've seen play AND dominated over 5+ years. Terrell Davis, Priest Holmes, Chris Johnson didn't do it long enough, imo.

I didn't watch Dickerson, Payton, Brown, OJ to know how they'd compare to the aforementioned RBs.

midswat said:

I just don't get it. Be it rings... Emmitt is there. Be it yards, Emmitt is king. Be it touchdowns, Emmitt owns that record. Be it durability or longevity, Emmitt is king. Be it rising up in big games? Guy carried us with a seperated shoulder against the Giants for home field. He took over the second half opening drive against the Bills that changed the tone of that game. The guy has that. But all any one wants to do is discredit him.

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Also, Emmitt did it against the fiercest defenses in the NFL six times per year. The Eagles, Giants and Redskins of the early 90s era.

Food for thought...take away the "Greatest OL Ever" argument. Let's look at 5-yr stats (1996-2000) with a deteriorated OL with the Cowboys only going 1-3 playoffs and missed twice with <.500 seasons.

Emmitt still averaged 1,242 rushing yards/season. Take Emmitt on the Back 9 of his career without the Greatest OL Ever and it still compares to other RBs in their prime.


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* Barry's final 5 years averaged an incredible 1,696 rushing yards/season.

pdom said:

Food for thought...take away the "Greatest OL Ever" argument. Let's look at 5-yr stats (1996-2000) with a deteriorated OL with the Cowboys only going 1-3 playoffs and missed twice with <.500 seasons.

Emmitt still averaged 1,242 rushing yards/season. Take Emmitt on the Back 9 of his career without the Greatest OL Ever and it still compares to other RBs in their prime.


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* Barry's final 5 years averaged an incredible 1,696 rushing yards/season.

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Right, Emmitt is still a great running back.

But he definitely got a bump. Even if it's not the greatest OL ever, and I think it was definitely up there, it's at least the best OL in the league for those years.

And Barry was amazing. There is something to be said for playing for a successful, winning team versus a team that has been losing for 60 years.

mschmidt64 said:

Right, Emmitt is still a great running back.

But he definitely got a bump. Even if it's not the greatest OL ever, and I think it was definitely up there, it's at least the best OL in the league for those years.

And Barry was amazing. There is something to be said for playing for a successful, winning team versus a team that has been losing for 60 years.

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Yeah it's a different dynamic when your team is continually getting blown out in games. Barry was special, no question about it. But it didn't lead to much in the win column. I mean arguably Sanders best season (Rushed for over 2,000 yards) only led to a 9-7 record. Just a totally different dynamic. It's what makes RBs hard to judge.

I mean hell look at Zeke. Amazing season last year. Looks like a special back. But would he be judged in the same light if he had played for say the Rams and got his face smashed in on every play? It's one of those things that no one will ever know.

Cowboysrock55 said:

Yeah it's a different dynamic when your team is continually getting blown out in games. Barry was special, no question about it. But it didn't lead to much in the win column. I mean arguably Sanders best season (Rushed for over 2,000 yards) only led to a 9-7 record. Just a totally different dynamic. It's what makes RBs hard to judge.

I mean hell look at Zeke. Amazing season last year. Looks like a special back. But would he be judged in the same light if he had played for say the Rams and got his face smashed in on every play? It's one of those things that no one will ever know.

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Steven Jackson and Corey Dillon are underrated in this regard. Even worse than what Barry Sanders endured.

Even Adrian Peterson has had garbage support aside from one Brett Favre year. Tarvaris Jackson and Christian Ponder?

Landry said:

Jim Brown was the best and he retired after only 9 seasons.

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Jim Brown was a big angry black guy who played in a racist NFL where the owners had mostly white defenders.

Thats like putting me, an adult college educated man, in a spelling bee against third graders. I'll dominate the field but that doesn't make me the greatest speller of all time.

I'd take Walter Payton over Emmitt, but that's about it. Ranking him 10th or 16th all time is just insanity. People who'd pick Barry over Emmitt are nuts. Barry had the flash, but if you want to win games, you take Emmitt every time.

I am pretty much beyond the stage that I invest a lot into arguing about our history.

Hard to maintain that pride with every decade that passes without much success.

I wonder if this is how Browns fans in the early 1980s felt.

Oh yeah? See this muthafucka? Got three rings bay-beee!!

Go a good couple decades, it tends to get less important to be passionate about.

Sadly, it also applies to the players. I used to care if Emmitt gets his due.

Now, I really don't give a shit.

I will love those Cowboys forever, but as time goes on, I care even less.

Smith's success was a bit sullied by how he behaved at the end.

22cowboysfan22 said:

People who'd pick Barry over Emmitt are nuts. Barry had the flash, but if you want to win games, you take Emmitt every time.

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Exactly. People that say they would rather have Barry Sanders on their team than Emmitt Smith are either just looking for a reaction or are retarded. Sanders was a wonderfully gifted runner, but there are probably ten guys I'd rather have than him on my team carrying the ball. There is much more to the position of RB than just flash.