This weekend. All the haters can suck it.

[dave]

All time leading rusher.
All time rushing TD leader
3 time SB winner
1993 NFL MVP
1993 sb mvp



YouTube- Emmitt Smith highlight video tribute...best of all time!

I'm an Eagles fan and have no hate for Emmitt Smith.
His accomplishments speak for themselves.
I don't think he's the best ever, but he's certainly top five RB of all-time.
I hate that he was a Cowgirl, but I will never disrespect Emmitt Smith otherwise.
A brilliant career.

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Overshadowed by Rice. Nobody cares about Emmitt outside of Cowboy fans. Great back, no doubt, but is never recognized as the best HB of all time (despite all his numbers and records) by the majority of people and for good reason.

Sorry to shit on your parade KOF, but you asked for it.

Neither is "Barry" for good reason.

Jim Brown GOAT almost unanimously by anyone and who has a clue.((Maddens Walter Payton the lone holdout)).

Ironically NFL networks coverage was dominated by "the triplets" and Emmitt Smith talk. Even his speech was better which had nothing to do with anything but thanks.

Sorry to push your shit back up your ass Tailback.
:box:

And Ron Rivers & Tommy Vardell vultured all his TD's.




Actually, that part is true.

Unpossible he didnt play with any fullbacks.:datass:

[1ke]

OJ Kills Emmit.....Oh wait....

[BigBucs]

Word. And if Ki-Jana Carter stays healthy is all a moot point.

Not even comparable no matter the point you are trying to make. Fact is Barry > Emmit...period. Yea, he played for your favorite team yadahh yadahh but Barry Sanders did him a huge favor retiring.

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

My unsupported opinion is Barry > Emmit...period.

Fixed it for ya.


Good read below. From 01 I think. I found this a short while ago. Used to pull it out everytime some assclown would say "its not even close" or "noone would pick Emmitt".

The two will always be bound by their greatness in the 1990s. Barry and Emmitt. Emmitt and Barry. Emmitt or Barry? That's the question The Dallas Morning News posed this summer around the NFL: If you could have one running back, Barry Sanders or Emmitt Smith, who would it be?

Head coaches were asked. Assistant coaches. General managers. Personnel directors. Offensive and defensive coordinators. Running backs. Linebackers. Quarterbacks. All-decade defenders. Former players. Former teammates.

To a man they acknowledged how difficult the question was.

The words "both are Hall of Famers" were uttered in answers from Smithfield, R.I., to La Jolla, Calif. All stressed that a preference of one was in no way intended to belittle the abilities of the other. It's the DiMaggio-Mantle debate in shoulder pads.

Three coordinators made selections but requested anonymity. Two chose Smith, one chose Sanders. But most answered on the record, however reluctantly. Two head coaches chose Smith, and both asked immediately afterward, "Am I the only one that picked Emmitt?"

No, not quite.

Final tally: 34-34

Of the 74 football authorities polled, 34 chose Smith.

"Emmitt is the greatest runner the world has ever known," said Bucs perennial Pro Bowl tackle Warren Sapp. "He'll prove that after his career is over and he's got the record. Barry did some great things but for a consistent, downhill, comin' at you it's Emmitt all day long."

Smith backers, however, were not in the majority. Nor were they in the minority. Sanders also received 34 votes.

"Barry was the ultimate back," said Jets Pro Bowl halfback Curtis Martin. "His ability to change directions and make big plays was beyond Emmitt or anyone else. He's the best by far. He's a running back's running back. He had all the moves the rest of us only dream about."

Six others polled would not pick one over the other.

"I'd take either one of them on my team," said Washington defensive end Bruce Smith, an all-decade tackler in the 1990s with Buffalo. "I'm not taking sides in that one."

So the voting was dead even in a not-so-random sampling of 74 experts. But it likely would have been dead even in a sampling of 740 voters, 7,400 voters, 7.4 million voters. That's how close a call it is between Sanders and Smith. It's a flip of the coin.

The Emmitt camp

Barry or Emmitt? One assistant coach sat silently for a full 60 seconds pondering the question. There was no simple answer because this was no simple question. To answer Barry or Emmitt, you must first answer a larger question runner or running back?


AP
Barry Sanders became one of three players to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season in 1997.
If you fancy the runner, your choice is Sanders. Even Smith backers concede that.

"Barry was a great back, probably the best running back I've ever seen in my life as far as touching the ball and making things happen," Cowboys safety Darren Woodson said.

"When Barry gets the ball, you hold your breath," added Ravens linebacker coach Jack Del Rio, a former Dallas teammate of Smith.

But if you fancy a running back and all that the position entails blocking, catching, running inside, running outside the nod goes to Smith.

"If I hadn't coached Emmitt, I'd say Barry Sanders without a doubt," said Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, who has a Super Bowl ring from his Dallas days with Smith. "He's probably the most gifted back that's ever played the game. When you talk speed, quickness and athleticism, there's no comparison between Barry and Emmitt or anyone else.

"But being with Emmitt, seeing how he works day-in and day-out, knowing how tough he is, knowing his intangibles and what he stands for, I'd take Emmitt."

Toughness. That word came up repeatedly from Smith backers. He was tough enough to play with a separated shoulder the final three quarters of the 1993 season finale against New York Giants with the division title on the line.

"Emmitt is a warrior," Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis said. "His mentality is he's never going to be beaten, and he's not going to accept defeat. It's not like he's talent-free. But it's that mentality that puts him over the top."

Smith is tough enough to get you a yard when you need it.

"The game is won on the third-and-2s and fourth-and-1s," Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi said. "I'm not so sure in the last 25 years that, as an opponent, Emmitt Smith wouldn't be the last guy I'd want to see on fourth-and-1 at the goal line. He's going to get into the end zone."

Smith has rushed for an NFL record 145 touchdowns. Forty-three came from a yard out.

"On the third-and-1s and fourth-and-1s the hard yards I'd rather have Emmitt," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. "Barry will give you big plays, but Emmitt gives you consistency."

And Smith backers loved that consistency play-in and play-out, game-in and game-out, season-in and season-out.

"Barry would scare you on any one particular play because of his speed," said Houston Texans general manager Charley Casserly. "But I thought there were days when Barry could be contained on grass, in cold weather, in bad weather.

"I think Emmitt had more production in the bad weather in the rain, on slow fields. Sometimes that would affect Barry's production. I don't know that anything ever affected Emmitt's production."

Smith supporters also loved his style.

"I believe in running the football and pounding people," Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "Emmitt has done that. That's what his career has been all about."

Titles matter

Championship was another word that came up repeatedly from the Smith backers. Nineteen NFL head coaches were asked the Barry-Emmitt question. Fifteen chose Smith. Coaches aren't concerned about statistics. They're concerned about winning games and titles. Which is why the overwhelming majority chose Smith. He wins.

"If I'm a fan and I want to watch a player, I'd like to watch Barry," said Jimmy Johnson, who drafted Smith and won two Super Bowls with him. "But if I'm a coach and want to win championships, I'd take Emmitt."

Smith has always been a big-game player. He rushed for 100 yards in seven playoff games, including two Super Bowls. So it was no surprise that San Diego Chargers general manager John Butler chose Smith.

"We played against him in too many Super Bowls," said Butler, who was a member of the Buffalo front office when the Bills went to four consecutive Super Bowls, losing the last two to the Cowboys.

Others chose Smith because of his durability.

"The guy's been toting the football since he was 8 years old and toting it a lot of times, taking a lot of hits," said Pro Bowl linebacker and fellow Floridian Derrick Brooks of the Buccaneers. "He's withstood all those hits and continues to be one of the top 3-4 running backs in the game today."

Some wrapped it all together toughness, consistency and durability in their selection of Smith.

"In my mind, Walter Payton is the greatest football player ever," Titans general manager Floyd Reese said. "When I was in the NFC Central, never once did I ever see him step on a field that he didn't try to kill you. I was simply amazed that he could play that hard every down and stay healthy.

"That's Emmitt. If there's anybody who deserves to break Payton's record, it's Emmitt. Simply because he's been there every week good years, bad years, Super Bowl years, four-win seasons. That's the mark of a true warrior."

The Barry camp

Before the start of training camp in July, Detroit coach Marty Mornhinweg showed his team a highlight tape of the history of the Lions' franchise. Included was a 13-yard touchdown run by Sanders against Green Bay in a 1994 game.

Sanders started right, doubled back to his left and cut back three more times during the course of the run. Nine of the 11 Green Bay defenders hit Sanders pad-on-pad shots that could have resulted in tackles but none sent Sanders to the turf. Touchdown.

Virtually every touchdown Sanders scored and there were 99 was worthy of that highlight reel. He was a magician in cleats.

"Once he made me miss four tackles on one play," former Bears linebacker Bryan Cox said. "Amazing."

"We were in awe of Barry," added all-decade defensive tackle John Randle, who spent the 1990s with the Minnesota Vikings. "It seemed like he was going in slow-motion. But we'd try to grab him ... and he was gone. It was like it says on the side mirror objects may be closer than they appear."

But his creativity also spawned his strongest criticism. Sanders holds the world record for negative yards. Sometimes when he reversed his field he wouldn't always make it back to the line of scrimmage. He had 446 carries in his career that lost ground, totaling 1,114 yards.

Smith has had 338 negative carries for 710 in lost yards.

That's why a lot of the offensive minds picked Smith.

"With Emmitt, you know you're always going to get something," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "Always. There was a great comfort in your play calling and what you could sequence. With Barry it'd be 30, minus-2."

Going for broke

But home-run hitters don't bat for average. You'll take the two strikeouts a game for that one tape-measure shot. And that was Sanders king of the tape measure. He holds the NFL record for touchdown runs of more than 50 yards with 15. He had two 80-yarders in one game against Tampa Bay. He was the Babe Ruth of the NFL.

"I like the home run hitters," said Ravens vice president of personnel Ozzie Newsome in his selection of Sanders. "Give me a guy who can break a game open on one play."

That's the way the Lions were built in the 1990s. They needed the big play from Sanders to win games.

"There's no guy I ever feared physically," said all-decade defender Reggie White. "But there was one guy since I've been playing that I was afraid of because he could beat us at any moment. That was Barry."

Look at the two supporting casts. Smith played with a Hall of Fame-bound quarterback (Troy Aikman), a Hall of Fame-bound wide receiver (Michael Irvin), a Pro Bowl blocking fullback (Daryl Johnston), a Pro Bowl tight end (Jay Novacek) and one of the best blocking fronts in NFL history.

Smith has played with six Pro Bowl blockers in his 11-year career: centers Mark Stepnoski and Ray Donaldson, guards Nate Newton and Larry Allen and tackles Erik Williams and Mark Tuinei. Sanders played with just two Pro Bowl blockers in his 10 seasons, Lomas Brown and Kevin Glover.

"Emmitt just had so much talent around him that basically they mauled everyone they played," Cox said. "They just had so many weapons. When teams tried shutting down their running game, Michael would kill them in the passing game.

"When you looked at Barry they [defenses] had nine guys in the box every game and still couldn't stop him. And he did it without a line for so many years. It was, 'Get out of my way, I'm going to run for 1,500 yards.'"

The Smith camp also points out that the Lions would remove Sanders at the goal line and short-yardage situations. That's the magnification of a small problem. Coaches Wayne Fontes took Sanders out at the goal line in 1996, and Bobby Ross didn't use him on third downs in 1998. But Sanders backers say that was more a reflection on the coaches than on Sanders.

"They should never have taken him out on third downs," said Jim Brown, who won eight NFL rushing titles with the Cleveland Browns. "I don't understand coaching like that. There was too much talent there not to coach it properly. If I'm the coach, believe me, I'd have taught Barry Sanders how to hit the hole when it was time to hit the hole and gain one yard."

White remembers the first time Sanders trotted off the field after the Lions had reached the goal line against the Packers.

"I thought, 'These people are crazy but thank God they are,' " White said. "It never made sense to any of us, even our coaches. You've got one of the greatest runners the game has ever seen and you take him out on the goal line?"

A good catch

Smith backers say their man was a better receiver, and he does have 100 more career catches than Sanders. Incredibly, Sanders still has 100 more receiving yards. He was the greatest yardage machine the game has ever seen. Sanders is one of only three backs in NFL history to average 5.0 yards per carry, and is the only back in football history to rush for 2,000 yards in both the NCAA and NFL seasons.

The mood in the Sanders camp was that Barry could do whatever he set his mind to do. Like the season finale against the New York Jets in 1998. He needed 131 yards for a 2,000-yard season.

"Everybody knew he was going to get it, even the Jets," White said. "If I played for the Jets, I'd have known."

Sanders rushed for 184 yards to finish with 2,053, the second best season in NFL history.

His backers also loved Barry's style.

"I can never remember Barry getting hit square," Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas said. "When you're as quick as he is, you don't get hit much and you don't get hit square."

Which is why the majority of the players polled 18 of the 27 chose Sanders. Not only do they play football, but also they watch the game as fans. If not the greatest runner the game has ever seen, Sanders may have been the greatest entertainer.

"When you're a child, you want to grow up to emulate Barry Sanders," said Pro Bowl running back Warrick Dunn of the Bucs. "You dream about having his moves, his quickness, his vision. He's irreplaceable."

So draw your own conclusion. Barry or Emmitt? Emmitt or Barry? Don't look for any help from the experts. They can't decide for themselves. But either way, you can't lose.

Always thought this was a good article. People always sound retarded with there hands down , "did him a favor" bullshit.

Looking around the web today people are just bordering on the retarded.
Ive seen Rice OUT of a top 5 all time players list.
Ive seen Don Hutson lauded as the greatest WR ever by the same guy who kept Jim Brown out of his top 5 because he dominated an era where defenses werent up to par to stop him ??
And Ive seen Ladanian Tomlinson ranked ahead of OJ Simpson, Emmitt , and Dickerson.

I dont think people know how to seperate there hatred long enough to make a a halfway decent top anything list.

Overshadowed by Rice.

Yup...totally overshadowed.





P.S damn Cheryl Burke is fine.





btw this was post #22 =-)

[KNUBB]

Thanked cuz of Cheryl.

I would wifey that hoe

[BigBucs]

Fixed it for ya.

Unsupported? How about when they were both playing. Barry Sanders consistently was the best in the league playing one one of the worst teams in the league behind one of the shittiest lines. He would make magical runs because as soon as he would get the rock there would be 2 defenders bearing down on him. How many 2000 yard seasons did Emmit have behind that offensive line that had 2 and 3 pro bowlers year in and year out. Did Barry Sanders have players like Jay Novachek, Moose, Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, Nate Newton, Larry Allen, Mark Stepnowski to assist him?

GTFO with that unsupported opinion. Im not a Lions fan. Barry is the best running back I have seen in my lifetime. He made the pro bowl every single year he was in the league without half the talent the 1990s Cowboys teams had.

[nflman2033]

As a life long Cowboys fan all I want to say is...

Emmitt Smith is fucking OVERATED..

[mgoblue2290]

So coaches picked Emmitt because he won? All that means is he had better talent around him.

[steeljake]

dont forget that emmit the faggot cant speak english for shit. also dallas sucks ass. that is all.

[Primetime]

dont forget that emmit the faggot cant speak english for shit. also dallas sucks ass. that is all.

So how does this relate to his career at all?

[bucky]

Jim Brown and Walter Payton both share the GOAT. Being a GBP fan, I don't want to recognize the Bears for anything.

Next comes Barry Sanders. Smith always had very good O-Lines in front of him, and just like the Bears and Payton, Barry had sub par O-lines. And still, Barry consistently was better than Smith year in and year out.

After Barry, I'd have to think about it.

I loved watching Earl Campbell Play. No one could really match both his power and speed. If he could have lasted more years, we may have been talking about him the same way we talk about Payton.

[Aso]

The Lions in the '90's weren't that bad.

[ralaw]

I've never understood the rational behind the argument of "he played with a great O-line, QB, WR, coach, etc" as a way to downgrade a player. Yes, Smith played with a great offensive line, but he also end up being the leagues all-time leading rusher, so in the end the argument could be made that he worked with what he had and maximized it. What more could he have done? Asked to be traded to a lesser team?

It's almost as if a player who plays with other great players is automatically taken out of consideration as an all-time great, yet we conveniently ignore that rule when looking at a guy like Montana. As much as Smith was a product of the system he also was an integral part of the system. I don't think Smith is the GOAT, but he's obviously in the discussion for the all-time greats and certainly earned every accolade he's ever received.......far from overrated.

[Aso]

I've never understood the rational behind the argument of "he played with a great O-line, QB, WR, coach, etc" as a way to downgrade a player. Yes, Smith played with a great offensive line, but he also end up being the leagues all-time leading rusher, so in the end the argument could be made that he worked with what he had and maximized it. What more could he have done? Asked to be traded to a lesser team?

It's almost as if a player who plays with other great players is automatically taken out of consideration as an all-time great, yet we conveniently ignore that rule when looking at a guy like Montana. As much as Smith was a product of the system he also was an integral part of the system. I don't think Smith is the GOAT, but he's obviously in the discussion for the all-time greats and certainly earned every accolade he's ever received.......far from overrated.

People aren't downgrading Smith because he played with great players but because Barry Sanders accomplished more with less than what Emmitt had. I mean, Andre Ware, Rodney Peete, Erik Cramer, Scott Mitchell with the exception of his one good season. From 1991 to 1995 the Cowboys easily had a better QB, easily had a better offensive line on an offense that was focused around the run.

Look at once Aikman and Irvin started to decline and that offensive line wasn't as good. Emmitt Smith from 96-02 never averaged more than 4.2 ypc. In Barry Sanders entire career with less talent around him never averaged less than 4.3 ypc.

In 10 years Barry Sanders had a total of 15,269 yards at 5.0 ypc.
In 15 years Emmitt Smith had a total of 18,355 yards at 4.2 ypc.

Barry Sanders played 10 season making the Pro Bowl every single season.
In Emmitt Smith's 15 year career he made the Pro Bowl 8 times.


I'd take Barry Sanders over Emmitt Smith any day of the week.



EDIT: Btw, Montana won with less talent around him. In Kansas City in 1993 he got his team to the AFC Championship game and they would've won it too had Montana not gotten hurt and the KC defense didn't decide to use a dime defense vs the Bills base offense. Look at what he did in 1993 with JJ Birden, Willie Davis, a declining Marcus Allen... C'mon. Montana is the greatest quarterback of all time IMO.