Personally, I was always a Barry Sanders man. In the mid-1990s you were one or the other, a Barry or Emmitt guy. No matter where you were from, Kansas City, Chicago, Cincinnati, or wherever, you picked one over the other-for whatever reason.
Some thought Sanders was more talented, others picked the front-running Cowboys star, because they knew Wayne Fontes’s Lions would never beat Jimmy Johnson’s Boys.
I think it was because there was a kid in my homeroom in fifth grade who loved the Cowboys. In fact, he loved any team that was winning at that the time. He was the consummate bandwagon fan if there ever was one. He had the Chris Webber jersey from his playing days at Michigan; he wore his Dallas Cowboys Starter jacket incessantly throughout middle school; he did the “Tomahawk Chop” every October when the Braves made, and usually lost, the World Series.
Regardless of that fact, and despite my disdain for “America’s Team,” I am sad to see that Emmitt has intimated to close friend and ESPN loudmouth, Michael Irvin, that he will retire. Granted, Emmitt is not the same he was when he was with the Cardinals, but he still put up more than respectable numbers as the feature back in Arizona.
We’re not talking the end of Michael Jordan’s career here. Smith was just shy of 1,000 yards rushing, the benchmark for productive running backs.
Not bad for a man who will turn 36 in May.
Emmitt did miss one game, as well; so based on averages, he would have been right around 1,000 yards, had he played every game. Emmitt also carried for nine touchdowns and lost only one fumble in 267 attempts. All of this while averaging a respectable 3.5 yards a carry.
More importantly than what Emmitt did this season is what he has done for the past 15 seasons, 13 in Dallas and two in Arizona. Emmitt is the all-time leading rusher in NFL history having surpassed Walter Payton in 2002, Smith’s last season in Dallas. If he does retire, Smith will conclude his career 18,355 rushing yards. Smith is also first in the NFL in all-time carries, with 4,409 carries in 15 seasons. That works out to a solid 4.2 yards per carry for his career.
The 1990 first round pick from the University of Florida undoubtedly deserves to be mentioned whenever great running backs are discussed. He has proven over the past 15 seasons that he is durable, reliable and will run hard, regardless of age or location. He was an integral part of the Cowboys teams that won three out of four Super Bowls and was even named MVP in Super Bowl XXVIII. Smith also claimed four rushing titles in his illustrious career and more importantly averaged one fumble lost for every 10 games played, which is very impressive.
Emmitt suffered through some hard times after Troy Aikman, Irvin, Jay Novacek and Daryl Johnston left Dallas.
Those were some bad teams; he often found himself facing eight men in the box every week, and still he posted consistent numbers. In my mind, any running back who can run for 1,000 yards in a season where Ryan Leaf and Quincy Carter see the bulk of the time at quarterback, earns my respect. That is a terrible two-headed monster for one team to have under center. No wonder coach Dave Campo got fired.
As far as greatest running back ever, Smith definitely makes the top five, possibly the top three, but definitely not the best ever. That distinction has to go to the greatest running back turned actor this side of OJ Simpson: Jim Brown. Six feet, two inches and 230 pounds is a whale of a running back by today’s standards, so imagine what Brown was able to do at that size in the late 1950s, when he was bigger than most linemen.
Brown is the only man to average 100 yards per game for his career. That is preposterous. For comparison’s sake, Smith averaged 200 yards for a season only twice in 15 years. Brown leads all running backs with a .9 touchdown per game rate. Smith is second in NFL history with a rate of .76. Assuming Brown would have stayed healthy and as productive for 15 seasons, he would have finished his career with 20,520 yards. Not to take anything away from Emmitt; he is still definitively a top-five back of all time, but his career rushing title is the product of longevity.
That longevity, however, is unequivocally a standard for success, especially at a position that takes such a beating game in and game out.
Furthermore, Smith was a class act on and off the field, when in this day and age, that is something to be held in some regard. Smith never put a black eye on himself, his family, or any organization he was involved with.
It will surely be weird for NFL fans next year to know that the all-time leading rusher will not be wearing some kind of uniform for the first time since 1990. But take solace in the fact that such a terrific talent, and human being for that matter, graced us with his presence for so long. I am still unquestionably a Barry man, but I do have to give credit where credit is due. Don’t tell that bandwagon fan from middle school, but Emmitt Smith deserves just about as much credit as one can give.
