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.
-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.
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