He was a beast for sure.
Closest we have to him now is Derrick Henry.
Sports Rank your Top 5 NFL Running Backs of All-Time
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Closest we have to him now is Derrick Henry.
Gamer
Emmitt Smith was a "look at me" dude. They had to make a rule to keep him from ripping his helmet off as soon as he scored.
He was good. Not great.
The fact is - any RB would have been successful behind that line. Smith was durable - I'll give him that - probably because he was getting tackled by tiny little DBs most of the time thanks to the giant holes his line created.
He's way overrated and shouldn't be on anyone's Top 5. It's a shame that he has the most all time yards instead of Sanders (and Payton)
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Sanders had 1500 yards rushing in his last season. Good enough for 4th in the league that yesr (Smith was 5th that year and plugged along for 6 more mediocre seasons so he could pass Walter)
Sanders retired because the Lions front office sucked and wouldn't trade him.
Sanders averaged 99.8 yards/game (5 yards/att) behind the worst line in football - year in and year out. And he was humble in doing so.
Smith averaged 81.2 yards/game (4.2 yards/att) behind the best offensive line in football - year in and year out. And he was a pompous ass in doing so.
I don't even know if Smith makes my Top 10.
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True, and that’s when I was a die hard fan
If the Lions would have traded Sanders and he played out his career - he gets to 20,000 yards with ease.
If he played behind a decent line his entire career, that number is probably closer to 25k.
Many of the plays that Sanders turned into 50+ yard TD runs, Smith likely gets tackled for a 3 yard loss.
If Detroit drafted Emmitt Smith, he's a "whatever happened to" guy who ended up being out of the league in 5 years with limited production.
Hauler.
Spitting.
Facts.
If he played behind a decent line his entire career, that number is probably closer to 25k.
Many of the plays that Sanders turned into 50+ yard TD runs, Smith likely gets tackled for a 3 yard loss.
If Detroit drafted Emmitt Smith, he's a "whatever happened to" guy who ended up being out of the league in 5 years with limited production.
Hauler.
Spitting.
Facts.
sanders was too damn injury prone. Don't get me wrong he was magic. But he was made to be a martyr because of his terrible team. Emmit yes had an incredible line but also a top 3 receiver on his team and a top 5 qb. Add in sanders etc. He shared the workload.
Emmitt gets downplayed a lot. In reality he had beyond elite balance and vision. He also had solid power and agility. He and the O-line set the tone for a talented team.
Sanders was the flashier player but also had a ton of runs for negative yards or no gain. He had the sicker highlights, moves that made your jaw drop, and was looked at like a martyr (cause Lions) by the general football population. Barry wasn't a leader or winner though.
In reality Emmitt was and is the better player. He could go around, through, or under ya and found holes other bigger backs couldn't get to.
Most all time I think. Like 1400 yards.
Which further makes my point of him doing so much with so little. Plenty of times he was getting tackled before he even got the ball.
Smith was good. Not great.
He landed in the perfect system for his style.
Put him behind that Detroit line and he doesn't have a single season over 1000 yards.
just not true. You don't accomplish what he did without being great. greatest, probably not. but absolutely great.
Maybe. I'm not able to hide my bias. I didn't like the guy's style.
More facts:
In 7 of his 13 seasons, the backup RB had a better yards/carry average than Emmitt did.
It's very possible he wasn't even the best RB on his team - let alone all time. ?
Sanders made an ass out of Ken Norton jr, who is an all time favorite defender I’ve ever seen
He owned the cowboys and is a legend
He made me just shut my mouth and watch in amazement
Edit : And I’m the most stubborn tw@ known to man, but I gave in when he embarrassed an entire team and I swallowed my foot and was in awe
He owned the cowboys and is a legend
He made me just shut my mouth and watch in amazement
Edit : And I’m the most stubborn tw@ known to man, but I gave in when he embarrassed an entire team and I swallowed my foot and was in awe
I know you're a Cali guy, but Faulk??
All time yards from scrimmage
He was 4th all time in only 176 games
#1 receptions
#1 receiving yards
#2 receiving tds
#8 rushing tds
#12 rushing yards
#4 combined tds for RB
#7 combined tds for rb/wr
#
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Why not Chris Warren?
He had a better yards/carry than Emmitt did in 2 of the 3 years he was there.
Same with Troy Hambrick
Same with Sherman Williams.
Hauler.
Spittin.
Facts.
Faulk was a beast, bruh.
I'll give ya $5 for that.
I dont deny that, but Top 5? I dunno man.