The Underrated Greatness Of Emmitt Smith - Part 7

The Underrated Greatness Of Emmitt Smith - Part 7

For the final part of this series, I will be covering the 1993 season, which defined the player Emmitt Smith was and the legend he is today. Before I go into that, I want to set it up by talking about Emmitt's holdout, which defined how the Cowboys operated at that time. The holdout in 1993 was actually Emmitt's 2nd holdout, and it was even longer and more dragged out than the one in 1990, and neither of them had to be that way. Emmitt became a restricted free agent after his 3-year contract expired after the 1992 season, meaning the Cowboys could match any offer he got from another team.

Here is how the holdout started:

To make a long story short, Jerry Jones tried to pull a fast one and lowball Emmitt on a contract offer, and then Emmitt got angry and started looking at other options. For Emmitt's first move, he and his agent Richard Howell set up a meeting with the Miami Dolphins, but head coach Don Shula was convinced that the meeting was a ploy to force the Cowboys' hand, so he cancelled the meeting. After that, Emmitt and his agent contacted every other team in the league, offering them the chance to sign a 24-year old running back going into his prime, and nobody bit. There was a feeling around the league that Jerry would make Emmitt the franchise player and match the offer, so there were no offers. One GM even told Richard Howell that they would offer Emmitt $4 million a year, but there was no point because he knew Jerry Jones would match the offer. I remember Richard Howell saying back then that if Emmitt didn't get signed by the 3rd game of the season, that it wouldn't  get done. He also said that he thought Emmitt would sit out the whole season and then things would open up in 1994, and then some other teams would come around.

On May 14, 1993 Jerry Jones made Emmitt what he said was his "final take-it-or-leave-it offer", which was a ridiculously insulting contract WITHOUT a signing bonus and incentives that had annual salaries of $2 million, $2.2 million, $2.2 million, and $2.5 million. Then Jerry told Richard Howell "That's all you'll get, not a penny more." When Emmitt turned down the offer, Jerry Jones took offense to it and called Richard Howell a greed-obsessed agent out to take advantage of a client, which was hypocrisy in its highest form. How could Jerry Jones call somebody else greedy when he had just raised ticket prices for the upcoming season by 23%, then a few weeks later arranged an under-the-table deal that would give him 20% of every piece of Apex One-produced Cowboys apparel sold by JCPenny. That agreement went squarely against the NFL's CBA, and was rooted in greed.

The more the holdout progressed, the more arrogant Jerry got and the more determined he was to handle this situation on his terms. Here are a couple of quotes from Jerry to support that:

"I'd walk across Texas for five dollars."

"Emmitt Smith is a luxury, not a necessity for the Cowboys."


Let me attempt to put this in perspective:

In 3 years Emmitt Smith was instrumental in turning the Cowboys into a Super Bowl champion from a 1-15 team. How much is that worth? He also made 3 Pro Bowls, won consecutive rushing titles, and became the first running back to lead the NFL in rushing and win the Super Bowl in the same season. How much is that worth? Emmitt Smith was the dominant player on the field at EVERY level he played on. How much was that worth? The dominant player on the field wanted to be paid like the dominant player on the field, or else he wouldn't be on the field. It's one thing for a player to not perform to the standards of his contract, but it was the exact opposite for Emmitt in 1993.....he outplayed his contract. He was supposed to earn a base salary of around $500,000 in 1993, but realistically how could you expect a man that was the workhorse on a Super Bowl-winning team and leading the NFL in rushing 2 years in a row to settle for a salary that doesn't line up with his impact on the field and worth to the team?

In the 1993 NFL draft, the Cowboys selected Derrick Lassic in the 4th round as an insurance policy and to be Emmitt's backup. He didn't have a lot of expectations put on him, but as the preseason went on and Emmitt's holdout no closer to ending, he became the starting running back for the Cowboys. It was also a long season for Lassic, who spent most of it as Jimmy Johnson's target, and he came to strongly resent the head coach. The local media was hard on him as well.

Check out what Ed Werder wrote in the August 20, 1993 edition of the Dallas Morning News:

This is what Derrick Lassic is not:

He is not the first running back to win the league rushing title and the Super Bowl championship in the same season. He is not the Cowboys' running back with the chance to win three successive NFL rushing crowns. He is not the player who set Cowboys records for yards and touchdowns in a season last year. He is not the player who is missing training camp for the second time in four seasons.

Derrick Lassic is not Emmitt Smith.


Derrick Lassic was innocent in this whole situation, but he paid a significant price. In his first game as a pro (against the Redskins), he actually played well, gaining 75 yards on 16 carries against one of the league's better defenses. He blocked adequately for Troy Aikman, ran precise routes, and did what he was told. But the Cowboys' offensive line wasn't blocking with the intensity or the efficiency as the year before. The whole situation was unfair to Derrick Lassic.

On September 4, Richard Howell called Jerry Jones to ask for a trade to a team that would pay Emmitt what he wanted, and Jerry told him that it was totally out of the question. Two days later, the Cowboys lost 35-16 to the Redskins on opening day, and that's when things got real. At first glance, it looked like the Cowboys without Emmitt were just a mediocre team, but the truth was much deeper than that. The real underlying issue was the shattered team morale. While Emmitt stayed away, Jerry spoke openly and eagerly about renegotiating Troy Aikman's contract, which still had 2 years left on it, as well as a couple of other key players.

After being manhandled by the Redskins on opening day, the bottom fell out in Week 2, when the Buffalo Bills beat the Cowboys 13-10 in a rematch of Super Bowl XXVII, thanks to a game-saving interception by Matt Darby. It also didn't help that Lin Elliott missed 2 field goals (he was cut 2 days later), and Derrick Lassic gained 52 yards on 19 carries and fumbled twice. Even the fans were agitated at that point, which was obvious by the signs they were holding up across the stadium, urging Jerry to sign Emmitt. The other memorable moment from that day was Charles Haley storming into the locker room after the game and screaming "We'll never win with this rookie!!", then slamming his helmet into the wall. It wasn't Derrick Lassic's fault that Emmitt was still unsigned, but to him it felt that way. It's one thing for the fans not to show class, but it had to cut him to the core to hear a teammate say something like that. He only heard it from person, but he couldn't help but wonder what everybody else was thinking. 

I remember Mike Ditka, who was a part of the NBC crew at that time, being Emmitt's biggest supporter from the media. He was adamant on the NBC Postgame show that day about the Cowboys signing Emmitt. I still  remember this exact quote from him, "If the Cowboys don't want to go back to the Super Bowl, don't pay Emmitt Smith." That loss to Buffalo meant everything to the Cowboys, and I believe that was the only way they would get their whole team back. If they didn't lose that game, I don't think Emmitt would have been signed. On September 16, Jerry Jones broke down and signed Emmitt to a 4-year, $13.6 million contract, making him the highest paid running back in the NFL at that time. It made my day when I found out that Emmitt had signed the contract. I remember telling a few of my 8th grade classmates at school the next day, "It's on now, the Cowboys are going back to the Super Bowl!!" The Cowboys beat the Cardinals 17-10 in Emmitt's first game back. Even though he was a non factor (8 carries for 45 yards) in that game, with his return came hope, as well as a huge emotional lift that would carry the Cowboys for the rest of the season. Even though the Cowboys lost a few free agents from the year before, the only striking difference from the Super Bowl champion and 0-2 Cowboys was Emmitt.

I don't even want to imagine how the 1993 season would have turned out if Emmitt would have sat out the whole year like he threatened to. Him being out proved that he was the most important player on the team, and probably in the league. As much as Emmitt is penalized for the supporting cast he had, he was the key to the offense and to the team. He was the most indispensable out of The Triplets. The Cowboys won games without Troy Aikman, and he was as good as it gets at QB, and a perfect fit for the team. But Steve Beuerlein got them to the playoffs in 1991. Bernie Kosar won some games for them, and even finished off the 1993 NFC Championship after Troy left early with a concussion. Rodney Peete and Jason Garrett have even stepped in and carried the load at QB and the Cowboys won. They even won without Michael Irvin to stretch the defense, but they couldn't win without Emmitt, especially in 1993. The offensive line had some maulers on it - players who could flat out dominate a defense, but it takes a great running back to set up good blocks and take an offense to the next level. Once the Cowboys got Emmitt back, they were dangerous again. It took him much longer than it should have to get his new contract. Jerry Jones learned the hard way that you don't mess with your superstars. You might be able to cut a couple of corners, but that's not one of them. That was evident by the Cowboys starting the season 0-2, then signing Emmitt and never looking back. They won 7 straight before losing 2 in a row when Emmitt got injured and wasn't 100% for either game.

Once again, 1993 was Emmitt's best season because just about everything that made him who he is happened that year. That season defined the player he was and the legend he is today, as well as proving his value to the Cowboys. Here is the best way to sum it all up:

Before 1993, no team had ever lost the first 2 games of the season and went on to win a Super Bowl. After Emmitt ended his holdout, he was an every-week constant for the Cowboys. He gained more than 100 yards in total offense in 10 of his 13 starts. He touched the ball 355 times and only fumbled twice. He ran for 1,486 yards, becoming only the 4th player in NFL history to win 3 straight rushing titles, and the first player to win a rushing title after missing the first 2 games. He averaged 114.2 yards in his last 12 games of 1993. A full season with that average would have put him at 1,827 yards. 

The Cowboys' staff worried sometimes that they were using Emmitt too much. Every time they made plans to rest him, a situation came up where they needed him. The was the case throughout his entire prime, not just 1993. The Cowboys finished the season with a 12-4 record. The reason they didn't finish 11-5 was because of Emmitt, who willed the team to a 16-13 overtime win in the season finale against the Giants after separating his shoulder in the 2nd quarter. Emmitt fought through obvious pain to run for 168 yards on 32 carries, and 10 catches for 61 yards and scored the Cowboys' only TD. He was the Cowboys' workhorse in overtime, leading to a game-winning field goal. In my opinion, this was the game that showed everybody that Emmitt was the most important player in the NFL. That was a game the Cowboys had to have because the outcome of that game meant the division title, a first round bye, and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. How much harder would it be to get to the Super Bowl on the road? The Cowboys went on to win their 2nd straight Super Bowl, and Emmitt became the first running back to win the rushing title, NFL MVP, and Super Bowl all in the same season.

Emmitt could have broke the rushing record much earlier than he did. The biggest obstacles in his career, especially in his early years, were Jerry Jones the contract negotiator and David Shula the play-caller. Both of Emmitt's holdouts cost him hundreds, if not a couple thousand yards, or at least enough yards for him to have the record 2 years earlier. During Emmitt's rookie year David Shula had a hard time trying to fit him into the offense. He only had 8 carries in his first 2 games, and didn't get his first 20-carry or 100-yard game until Week 5 against the Bucs. In 1990, they didn't give Emmitt the ball until halfway through the season because they didn't know what they had. In 1993, Emmitt spent his first 2 games trying to get in shape. He got his rhythm in his 3rd game. After that, he and the Cowboys never looked back. Emmitt had other great years, but none like the one he had in 1993. That year was all about him.

The Underrated Greatness Of Emmitt Smith - Part 6

The Underrated Greatness Of Emmitt Smith - Part 6


To me, it's mind-blowing that a running back of Emmitt Smith's caliber can be so underrated. It's almost impossible to have one of the greatest records in all of sports and all of the other accomplishments that Emmitt piled up and still be underrated, but that's exactly what he is. In my opinion, Emmitt is undoubtedly a top 3 all-time running back, and a case can be made for him as the greatest of all-time. What makes Emmitt underrated his that most "experts" have a hard time putting him in their top 3 and possibly top 5 all-time running backs list. 

It just blows me away that for whatever the reason is, Emmitt seems to be the only all-time great that gets penalized for the teammates he had. All great teams have MORE THAN ONE great player. You don't hear much of anything about wins coming so easily for Jim Brown, Joe Montana, or Jerry Rice because of the talent surrounding them.

The stigma is attached to Emmitt because:

1.) He is a Dallas Cowboy.
2.) He was always compared to Barry Sanders, and everybody falsely proclaimed that Barry was doing it all on his own.


All of the evidence proves the opposite, and Emmitt Smith is the only case you can say that about. Jerry Rice's team won the Super Bowl the year before he got there, and every year he was dominant he had a Hall Of Fame QB (see Joe Montana, Steve Young) throwing to him. Jim Brown's teams were always dominant, and he always had at least 3 Pro Bowl/Hall Of Fame linemen blocking for him.

Here is the evidence on Emmitt:

1.) Made The Cowboys A Winner

The Cowboys were the worst team in football in 1989 with a 1-15 record, then had a 6-game turnaround in 1990. The team wasn't a winner before him and haven't been without him.

2.) Made Everybody Around Him Better

The best example of this, is the fact that most of his offensive linemen were there years before he got there, even blocked for a prime Herschel Walker- still no Pro Bowl. Also, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin would be the first to tell you that their careers didn't take off until Emmitt became their teammate.

3.) Most Important And Talented Player On One Of the GOAT Teams

The Cowboys won games without Troy Aikman or Michael Irvin, but not without Emmitt.

4.) Most Successful Running Back Of All-Time (Stats/Rings)

Emmitt was the most consistent and successful running back ever at every level. He is the only running back in the history of football to break the state rushing record in high school, the school record in college, and the NFL all-time rushing record.

5.) Enduring Greatness

After the Super Bowl years and Emmitt had slowed down, he had a bad line, the Cowboys had no other weapons on offense, defenses still sold out to stop him, and he still had the greatest post-30 football career of any running back in NFL history, not to mention his 2 years with the Cardinals.


Judging from the impact he had on his team, I don't know if there has ever been another running back in the history of the NFL that made as big a difference to his team's success as Emmitt Smith. In his 15 seasons in the NFL, he made an impact that few players can match at any position or any era. His impact was obvious even in high school. Before Emmitt got to Escambia High, the Gators had one winning season in the previous 18 years. Head coach Dwight Thomas, who got there the same year Emmitt did (1983), called the program "the most negative, apathetic, losing environment I've ever been in, ever." As soon as Emmitt got there, all of that changed. The Escambia Gators went 42-7 during Emmitt's 4 years at the school, winning the state championship in 1984 and 1985. Emmitt ran for over 100 yards in 45 out of his 49 games (still a national record), and left high school as the #2 all-time rusher in high school history with 8,804 yards and 106 touchdowns. Even today the yardage and touchdown totals are the third highest in national high school history. Emmitt also averaged 7.8 yards per carry and only fumbled 6 times.

Coach Dwight Thomas described his game plan that he had for Emmitt back then, "For four years we did 3 things, and won 2 state championships doing them. Hand the ball to Emmitt, pitch the ball to Emmitt, throw the ball to Emmitt". Also, if the offensive line was the reason for his success, how do you explain the fact that Emmitt had 45 100-yard games in high school? He was named the High School Player Of The Century in the state of Florida, ahead of several players who are already in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. Not to sound ignorant or disrespectful, but how many HOFers did Emmitt have on high high school line? Unless I just wasn't paying attention, I never once heard anything about any of Emmitt's high school linemen even making it to the NFL, let alone the HOF.

After high school, Emmitt went on to conquer college football at the University Of Florida the same way he did in high school. He was all Florida had going for them when he was there, almost single-handedly keeping the football program afloat after all of the trouble the school was in from those NCAA violations in the early 80's. The Gators had a lot of gambling scandals, NCAA investigations, and crippling scholarship sanctions. They went to 3 bowl games in Emmitt's 3 years (Aloha, All-American, Freedom), and all 3 of those particular bowls are now defunct. Without Emmitt, Florida wouldn't have even been to THOSE bowl games. They only reason they even got invited was because Emmitt was a national draw. The Gators' whole game plan was to try to keep the game close with defense and hope Emmitt got hot. In 1987, an undermanned Florida team went 6-6, and in the following NFL draft, no Florida player got drafted in the first 5 rounds.

In his very first game as a Florida freshman against Alabama, Emmitt ran for 224 yards on 39 carries, a single-game rushing record for Florida that had stood for 40 years. He finsished the 1987 season with 1,341 yards and 13 touchdowns, and was voted SEC Freshman Of The Year and National Freshman Of The Year. Emmitt also finished 9th in the Heisman Trophy balloting, which is almost unheard of for a freshman. It was only the 2nd time that a freshman had made the top 10.

In 1988, Lynn Amedee took over as offensive coordinator at Florida, and inherited Emmitt and 2 unproven quarterbacks. With disasterous results, he tried to install a passing offense. At the time, UF had just signed Willie McClendon, a promising freshman RB out of Jacksonville. Coach Amedee told the Florida press that McClendon was bigger and faster, and would make fans forget about Emmitt. That's not quite how it worked out. Emmitt started the 1988 season strong until his knee injury against Memphis State. The Gators started the season 5-0 with Emmitt leading them, lost the game he got injured in, as well as the next 3 he wasn't able to play in. 

Emmitt managed to stay healthy for his junior year, finishing with 1,599 yards and 14 touchdowns. He even shattered his own previous single-game rushing record he set during his freshman year with a 316-yard game against New Mexico. Emmitt finished the 1989 season in 7th place in the Heisman Trophy balloting. He finished his college career with 3,928 yards and 36 touchdownd, along with 58 school records in just 3 seasons. He was also named All-American and All-SEC 3 times. Emmitt skipped his senior year to enter the 1990 NFL Draft, mainly because of concern about his role in new Florida coach Steve Spurrier's reportedly pass-first offense. Emmitt was inducted into both the Gator Football Ring Of Honor and the College Football Hall Of Fame in 2006.


In Emmitt's 3 years at Florida, 7 of his offensive teammates were drafted:

-David Williams (1)

-Ernie Mills (3)
-Stacey Simmons (4)
-Cedric Smith (5)
-Bob Sims (6)
-Kerwin Bell (7)
-Tony Lomack (9)

As for Emmitt's offensive line in college, 2 of his linemen were drafted, but only one of them made it, and that was David Williams. He played 9 years with the Oilers and Jets. No Florida player did more with less than Emmitt Smith.


Emmitt has had a few coaches along the way who have failed to recognize his greatness. Coming out of college he was projected as a change of pace running back who, after some seasoning, could get maybe 15 carries a game. He didn't compare (in the scouts' eyes) to Penn State running back Blair Thomas (bigger, faster, stronger), who was drafted 2nd overall by the Jets. Jimmy Johnson actually wanted defense, but scout Walt Yarowski and running backs coach Joe Brodsky were able to convince him to draft Emmitt. The Cowboys were 1-15 the year before he got there. Jimmy Johnson was the butt of a lot of jokes and viewed as a college coach out of his element, Troy Aikman was a tackling dummy behind an offensive line that gave him no protection, and Michael Irvin missed a chunk of the season with a serious knee injury.

Before Emmitt was drafted, Terrence Flagler was traded to the Cowboys from the 49ers a few days before the draft. He was cut at the end of camp, around the time Emmitt got there after ending his holdout. With Emmitt holding out in 1990, the Cowboys' top running back in camp was Timmy Smith, the same running back that ran for 204 yards in Super Bowl XXII playing for the Redskins. With Timmy Smith not working out for them, the Cowboys eventually got desperate and sent 2 draft picks to the Oilers for fullback Alonzo Highsmith, who played for Jimmy Johnson in college. He wasn't the same after 2 arthroscopic knee surgeries.

Once Emmitt ended his holdout, he instantly bolstered the Cowboys' running game, giving them the threat they lacked after trading Herschel Walker. Troy Aikman was starting to come around, but was still raw, as evidenced by his 66.6 QB rating. Michael Irvin caught 20 passes after coming back from knee surgery. Back then, nobody was talking about Emmitt being on a stacked team full of Hall Of Fame players and All-Pro linemen. The Cowboys finished the 1990 season with a 7-9 record, with Emmitt being their only Pro Bowler. 

As far as which running back made the biggest impact in the NFL in his career, I would definitely have to choose Emmitt. There is more to the story than what stats alone could possibly tell, especially since they don't always reflect the contribution or value of a player to his team, but at the same time numbers don't lie. In my opinion, Emmitt Smith is the most productive and most important running back in NFL history. No running back has ever contributed to the success of their team like Emmitt did. No franchise rode a back harder, longer, or to as many championships as the Cowboys did with Emmitt. No running back has accomplished more. That's why a case can be made for Emmitt as the best running back of all-time. Let the "experts" tell it, a 5'9" running back that runs a 4.5 in the 40 is not supposed to be an NFL star, but now Emmitt has the most prestigious record in football. One other thing I want to point out is that the rushing record is the hardest to get because a running back has to go through a lot of defenses selling out to stop him, along with staying healthy. To me, that's pretty convincing. I was lucky enough to grow up watching Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders, and even though I'm not old enough to have seen Jim Brown play, I have seen a bunch of his highlights and heard personal accounts from several people at NFL Films who all have basically said that he was a monster. I would easily have Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, and Walter Payton as the top 4 running backs ever, and not necessarily in that order. A case can be made for all of them as the best ever.

Emmitt Smith was everything you want in a running back. He was the epitome of a complete running back. He was tough as nails, a warrior (with durability only matched by Walter Payton and Jim Brown), a ferocious blocker, a lethal receiver out of the backfield, and if he had an open lane, most likely he would be adding another football to the collection in his storage room. He was also the Cowboys' best 3rd down back, best goal line back, and best pass protector.....in the good and bad years. Emmitt was also one of those runners who had that something special that you can't really explain. Even though Emmitt played on stacked teams full of Pro Bowlers, his accomplishments should not be diminished. I never heard of anybody penalizing Joe Montana or Jerry Rice for playing on stacked teams. Also, that Bill Walsh-inspired West Coast offense they played in transformed Steve Young into a Hall Of Famer from a backup quarterback. 

So many people have a hard time acknowledging that Emmitt was a very special running back. He made it look easy, and so many people took it for granted. There is a reason the Cowboys could never win without him in the '90s. I'm not taking anything away from Troy Aikman or Michael Irvin, or anybody else from Emmitt's supporting cast, but the offense was completely different without Emmitt. He was the key to the offense running so smoothly. Nobody knows for sure what Emmitt's prime would have looked like without that supporting cast. I won't argue that he would still be the NFL all-time leading rusher if he had switched places with Walter Payton or Barry Sanders. I also won't deny that he benefited from some good fortune......which ALL record holders do. All I'm saying is that Emmitt is one of the very best running backs in the history of not just the NFL, but football period.

Emmitt had arguably the greatest 5-year run of any player, regardless if position, in NFL history from '91 to '95. He won 4 rushing titles, becoming the first player to post 5 consecutive seasons of more than 1,400 yards rushing. The Cowboys won a record 3 Super Bowls in 4 seasons, and Emmitt became the first rushing champion to be on a Super Bowl-winning team. He was the league MVP and Super Bowl MVP in 1993. At that point, he was just starting a streak that would make him the first player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in 11 straight seasons and the first to pass 1,000 yards that many times in his career.

The fact that Emmitt Smith's resume is full of the words first, most, greatest, and record-breaking still doesn't impress a whole lot of these "experts" who crave flashier and more dynamic players. Just to show how important Emmitt was to his team's success, I want to share these numbers:

-The Cowboys/Cardinals were 65-18 in the regular season when Emmitt rushed for over 100 yards.

-The Cowboys/Cardinals were 101-26 when Emmitt had at least 20 carries.

-The Cowboys were 5-0 in the postseason when Emmitt rushed for over 100 yards, and 8-2 when he had at least 20 carries.


Once again, Emmitt Smith has a compelling case for being the greatest running back of all-time, and is easily top 3 all-time. For the final part of this series, I will be covering the 1993 season, which defined the player he was and the legend he is today.