October 17, 201115 yr A thread in the college forum brought this up, so I thought I'd start a new thread here to discuss it. First off, the fact that Emmitt was a great player isn't up for debate. At the same time, I don't believe the fact that he owns the all-time rushing record makes him the best by default. Some facts about Emmitt: 21,579 total yards (18,355 rush yards, 4.2 avg), 175 TD 11 seasons of 1000+ rush yards (all in succession from '91-'01) Other than '03 when he was injured, he never finished with less than 900 yards rushing in a season 3 Super Bowls (1 Super Bowl MVP) 1 Regular Season MVP 4-time NFL Rushing Champion It also cannot be denied that Emmitt benefitted from playing on one of the best team's in NFL history. I think it would be hard to argue that any RB ever got to run behind a line as good as Emmitt's for as long as he did, not to mention the other offensive talent around him. QB - Troy Aikman (6 Pro Bowls, 3-time All-Pro) FB - Daryl Johnston (2 Pro Bowls, 2-time All-Pro) WR - Michael Irvin (5 Pro Bowls, 3-time All-Pro) TE - Jay Novacek (5 Pro Bowls, 5-time All-Pro) OT - Erik Williams (4 Pro Bowls, 3-time All-Pro) OT - Mark Tunei (2 Pro Bowls, 2-time All-Pro) OG/OT - Larry Allen (11 Pro Bowls, 7-time All-Pro) OG - Nate Newton (6 Pro Bowls, 2-time All-Pro) OG - Kevin Gogan (3 Pro Bowls) C - Mark Stepnoski (5 Pro Bowls, 3-time All-Pro) Stepnoski and Irvin were voted on the NFL's All 1990's team. Larry Allen was selected for both the All 1990's and 2000's teams. Aikman and Irvin are HOFers, and it's possible some more of those guys will eventually be there. But, it doesn't end there. They were stacked on defense as well. DE - Charles Haley (5 Pro Bowls, 4-time All-Pro) LB - Ken Norton, Jr. (3 Pro Bowls, 2-time All-Pro) SS - Darren Woodson (5 Pro Bowls, 4-time All-Pro) There were numerous other guys on the D-line like Russell Marland, Tony Tolbert and Leon Lett who made a Pro Bowl or two, but were high quality guys. CB Kevin Smith was an underrated player who made one All-Pro team. When placing other guys above Emmitt, this is generally the first argument. Who else ever played with a roster that stacked for the length of time Emmitt did?
October 17, 201115 yr Jerry Rice benefitted from having multiple stars around. He had Montana, Young, Craig, Rathman, Lott, Deion, Norton, Haley off the top of my head. I am sure I am missing others but I am certain if properly researched we'll see that Jerry benefitted as well as Emmitt.
October 17, 201115 yr When I think of him I put him in the top, but I go way back and put backs like Jim Brown Gale Sayers as one and two. Then OJ, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, then Emmitt.
October 17, 201115 yr I don't think that Emmit Smith was the best of all tim but he is certainly amoung them. Men like J. Brown, W. Peyton, G. Sayers, B. Sanders are all with Smith as a group of the best. Personally Jim Brown and Walter Peyton are imo the two best.
October 17, 201115 yr What I like most about football is that it is not a numbers driven game. Most could tell you that he is the all time leading rusher, but no person has any idea how many yards that is. He is typically not recognized as the best of all time even at his own position. He is the Hank Aaron of football.
October 17, 201115 yr I forgot Walter, yes he is ahead of my choices but behind Gale. To play 10 seasons means a lot also.
October 17, 201115 yr Author Jerry Rice benefitted from having multiple stars around. He had Montana, Young, Craig, Rathman, Lott, Deion, Norton, Haley off the top of my head. I am sure I am missing others but I am certain if properly researched we'll see that Jerry benefitted as well as Emmitt. Definitely true. Why is that the argument seems to carry more weight with Emmitt?
October 17, 201115 yr Definitely true. Why is that the argument seems to carry more weight with Emmitt? I wish I knew. I have been trying to knock Rice off of that pedestal he is on for years now with little to no luck.
October 17, 201115 yr Smith was a very good RB who benefited from having a VERY good O-line. Nothing more, nothing less. He's still up there among the top running backs in history, but he's not the best ever IMO.
October 17, 201115 yr Emmitt is top 10....not top 5. That's what I was thinking, I think I may have inspired this thread.
October 17, 201115 yr I have always thought of Emmitt as the best ever. He had great players around him and he was the centerpiece to the dynasty. I am not someone that thinks that this can't be argued- I can see the case for about 5 guys as the best RB ever. I put Emmitt at the top- then Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders and LT.
October 17, 201115 yr I was young but I always thought Barry Sanders was better. Looking back, I still do. I've always felt Emmit was overrated, a top 10 guy but not in the top of the RB class.
October 18, 201115 yr It also cannot be denied that Emmitt benefitted from playing on one of the best team's in NFL history. I think it would be hard to argue that any RB ever got to run behind a line as good as Emmitt's for as long as he did, not to mention the other offensive talent around him. QB - Troy Aikman (6 Pro Bowls, 3-time All-Pro) FB - Daryl Johnston (2 Pro Bowls, 2-time All-Pro) WR - Michael Irvin (5 Pro Bowls, 3-time All-Pro) TE - Jay Novacek (5 Pro Bowls, 5-time All-Pro) OT - Erik Williams (4 Pro Bowls, 3-time All-Pro) OT - Mark Tunei (2 Pro Bowls, 2-time All-Pro) OG/OT - Larry Allen (11 Pro Bowls, 7-time All-Pro) OG - Nate Newton (6 Pro Bowls, 2-time All-Pro) OG - Kevin Gogan (3 Pro Bowls) C - Mark Stepnoski (5 Pro Bowls, 3-time All-Pro) Stepnoski and Irvin were voted on the NFL's All 1990's team. Larry Allen was selected for both the All 1990's and 2000's teams. Aikman and Irvin are HOFers, and it's possible some more of those guys will eventually be there. But, it doesn't end there. They were stacked on defense as well. DE - Charles Haley (5 Pro Bowls, 4-time All-Pro) LB - Ken Norton, Jr. (3 Pro Bowls, 2-time All-Pro) SS - Darren Woodson (5 Pro Bowls, 4-time All-Pro) With all the great players that he played with, what do folks make of the 1993 season? Remember that Smith was not under contract with the Cowboys for the first two games of the season and the team went 0-2, getting blown out by Washington 35-14 on the road (Washington went 4-12 that year) and losing to the eventually AFC champs in Buffalo 13-10 at home. Does this show how valuable Smith was to those teams and bump up his value in the eyes of some (maybe he was the straw that stirred the drink, so to speak?)?
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