Barry or Emmitt? (1 Viewer)

[sspunisher]

One thing where some are confused is that they seem to think the Cowboys made Emmitt better. The Cowboys won without Aikman there to throw to Irvin. It was Emmitt who they couldn't win without. It was Emmitt who made everyone else Hall of Famers, not the other way around. Barry clearly wins, but disrespecting Emmitt kills your argument's credibility.

Barry's a highlight machine but quitting in 1999 killed his legacy for me a bit, especially when he admitted it was because he couldn't take the losing anymore. A lot of people talk smack about Favre, but I personally love the fact that he just couldn't let go of the damn game. It bothers me how easily Barry walked away.

 

[Hoss_Cartwright]

One thing where some are confused is that they seem to think the Cowboys made Emmitt better. The Cowboys won without Aikman there to throw to Irvin. It was Emmitt who they couldn't win without. It was Emmitt who made everyone else Hall of Famers, not the other way around. Barry clearly wins, but disrespecting Emmitt kills your argument's credibility. Barry's a highlight machine but quitting in 1999 killed his legacy for me a bit, especially when he admitted it was because he couldn't take the losing anymore. A lot of people talk smack about Favre, but I personally love the fact that he just couldn't let go of the damn game. It bothers me how easily Barry walked away.

I respect the fact that he walked away when he did. IMO Barry Sanders is the 2nd best RB of all time, just ahead of Walter Payton. Big Bad Jim Brown is alone at the top and he walked away after 9 seasons, also on top

 

[Zimm]

Can we just switch this to the Jim Brown or Barry Sanders poll? It would make it more fair...

 

[cobalt_27]

debated to death and half the people are on the wrong side of the argument

Appears that more than half are on the wrong side of the argument, actually. Seems like the majority gets it wrong in most elections, so I don't see why this would be any different.

 

[BSanders2009]

Can we just switch this to the Jim Brown or Barry Sanders poll? It would make it more fair...

I agree. That is a much better argument than Barry vs Emmitt. I'm obviously a Sanders fan but have to admit that Jim Brown was one hell of a RB. I have to call it a tie.

 

[cobalt_27]

Can we just switch this to the Jim Brown or Barry Sanders poll? It would make it more fair...

I agree. That is a much better argument than Barry vs Emmitt. I'm obviously a Sanders fan but have to admit that Jim Brown was one hell of a RB. I have to call it a tie.

That's pretty messed up.

 

[hutchins929]

I don't think we will ever have another running back that will do for NFL fans what Barry Sanders did. IMO, He was The NFL's Running Back. Not just the Lions Running Back. He brought great hope to Detroit when we didn't have much to cheer about. But, like I said he was more than just the Lions RB. He was America's RB. Emmitt Smith was a great RB as well but he didn't do it single handedly, like Barry did.

 

[Bankerguy]

Barry better runner.

Barry faster.

Emmitt more power and break tackles.

Barry way more elusive.

Emmitt better blocker.

Emmitt better competitor.

Emmitt more heart.

Emmitt more SB's

It's Emmitt....sorry.

I also cant wait for all these Cowboy linemen getting into the HOF the way some people talk about them.

 

[ninerfanatic492000]

u know its barry when all the smith supporters have to go pulling stats when this is one of those eyeball test questions.

my favorite stat read of this article are the stats regarding Barry having so many negative runs. sure he was a dancer, but christ he was playing behind the lions OL for 10 damn years. he had to break/juke 3 tackles to get to the LOS half the time. anyone that watched televised cowboy games in the early to mid 90's can recall the fox crew laughing and joking as they'd put up Smith's yards before contact average for the game or year. it was at times so ridiculous and to the extend where they'd sometimes say he literally got 100yards today without contact. or that Barry didn't accumulate nearly the TD's, i'd ask for someone to look up how many times the lions actually made it the redzone.

i know to say this is a joke, but seriously with the middle being manned by step/allen/newton and whoever they lined at tackle who couldn't get 1k on the ground and untouched.

 

[Eastwood]

Could Emmit have done what he did in Dallas behind that crappy Lions offensive line? HELL NO. Could Barry have done what he did with that world class Dallas line? Yeah, easily, and probably put up even scarier numbers, which is hard to fathom.

This isn't close, I don't care how much you love the Cowboys. Their team and franchise was light years better than Detroit, but Barry is way way better than Emmitt. Its not close.

 

[cobalt_27]

Could Emmit have done what he did in Dallas behind that crappy Lions offensive line? HELL NO. Could Barry have done what he did with that world class Dallas line? Yeah, easily, and probably put up even scarier numbers, which is hard to fathom. This isn't close, I don't care how much you love the Cowboys. Their team and franchise was light years better than Detroit, but Barry is way way better than Emmitt. Its not close.

I agree. The line is perceived much better than it actually was because Emmitt made them look so good.And, you're right, it's not really that close. Give me a prolific grinder who will chew up positive yards on 95% of his plays and break off a few highlight real runs first. If I'm picking second, I'll take the flashy guy who couldn't get a tough yard to save his life, made his line look like buffoons, and then walked away from the game in a big pout just prior to his team's season and leaving them in a lurch.Not. Even. Close.

 

[FUBAR]

Oh wow, I totally disagree. Let's keep in mind I'm about to compare two greats, so don't take this as me saying Barry sucks. But Emmitt is by far the RB that I'd prefer, both on a Fantasy Team and real team. Yes, I'm a Cowboys fan but I'm a football fan first, and have actually grown to be annoyed by Emmitt due to his dumb as a rock language skills, so this isn't some blind loyalty to him, far from. I actually think Marshall Faulk is the greatest RB of all time but that's another discussion all together.

Let's forget for a second where the both of them played. If you put both of them in any system on any team, plain and simple, Emmitt's running style would translate to wins while Barry's running style would translate to losses. Why? Because Emmitt would rarely get tackled for a loss and he'd put his team in a better position to succeed, ala 2nd and 5/6. Barry on the other hand would constantly put his offense in 2nd and 12/13. Of course, over the course of the game Barry would break a lot of amazing long runs, but by that time his team was already in a huge hole b/c of all the punting it did earlier in the game. I also don't think it's fair to dismiss how amazing of a blocker Emmitt was. Last I checked, Running Backs who couldn't block were looked down upon. Yes Barry was more exciting to watch, but that doesn't make him better. I believe I watched or read somewhere that no RB got tackled for a loss more times than Barry Sanders did in his career. That's a lot of 2nd and longs and potentially a lot of punting.

I'd love for someone to look those stats up so we can compare how many times Barry was stuffed as compared to Emmitt, I have no idea where to find that kind of info.

Give me Emmitt, the wins and possible championships all day over a RB who would leave me in AWE but cause my favorite team to be a joke for almost a decade.

FF? Barry averaged 260 more yards and 1.7 less TDs than Emmitt - using only Emmitt's Dallas days.

 

[Go Blue]

One thing where some are confused is that they seem to think the Cowboys made Emmitt better. The Cowboys won without Aikman there to throw to Irvin. It was Emmitt who they couldn't win without. It was Emmitt who made everyone else Hall of Famers, not the other way around. Barry clearly wins, but disrespecting Emmitt kills your argument's credibility. Barry's a highlight machine but quitting in 1999 killed his legacy for me a bit, especially when he admitted it was because he couldn't take the losing anymore. A lot of people talk smack about Favre, but I personally love the fact that he just couldn't let go of the damn game. It bothers me how easily Barry walked away.

I respect the fact that he walked away when he did. IMO Barry Sanders is the 2nd best RB of all time, just ahead of Walter Payton. Big Bad Jim Brown is alone at the top and he walked away after 9 seasons, also on top

Brown, Sanders and then Payton are also my top 3 of all time. I will say that without football at this time of year, I really enjoyed reading this thread. Sanders and Smith are both great RB's, I think we can all agree on that.

 

[Raider Nation]

Barry was a warrior on a pathetic, loser team. Society identified with him and felt for him because Barry literally carried that team for 10 years.

Wow, he was stronger than I thought!

 

[death of the cool]

Wow another Barry was better than Emmitt thread on a football form.

Look....Barry Sanders was one of the best of all time, and he was the best to make highlight reel runs (which is what most people are using to base their opinion on). Emmitt didn't have those crazy runs...he just produced.

Blast your opinion of Smith all you want....he still has his rings and the rushing title.

 

[Yenrub]

How was he controversial?

Well...“You ever noticed how people who believe in Creationism look really unevolved? You ever noticed that? Eyes real close together, eyebrow ridges, big furry hands and feet. "I believe God created me in one day" Yeah, looks like He rushed it.” ~ Bill Hicks“If you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CD's and burn them.” ~ Bill Hicks

This differs from most comedians how? I like Hicks and think he's a funny guy. I just don't see how he's any more controversial than the typical comedian.

All this negative talk about Barry’s running style is ridiculous, sure he may have been less effective than Emmitt in the short yardage category but most of the time he didn’t have a lead back. I recall Detroit using mostly a one back set (except for a couple of years with Vardell).Many will say that Barry couldn’t run from the I formation . To those folks I would point you to his senior year in college. When he rushed for 2,600 yards and won the Heisman

 

[Bri]

Barry was the whole team for the Lions at times. I don't mean just offense, you wondered if he could play D and/or return kicks they were so bad. When they did play O, no one blocked and the guy ran sideline to sideline til those antics created a hole.

There were battles with Hardy Nickerson (other ten guys didn't play, just those two) that were so fun to watch. Hardy was a great MLB(he never gets the proper love) on a bad Tampa team. I remember one game where Barry was like 15 carries for 18 yards and Hardy seemed to tackle him all 15 times. Barry eventually broke through for a long gain and left Hardy in his dust so the stats were probably somewhat normal (for Barry) with like 18 carries for 100 yards, but that so didn't tell the story. Anyhow, Hardy and some others afforded Barry the chance to show the world he could also be the put your head down, move piles, and wear you down type RB if he had to.

I don't think Emmitt could have done either of these. Emmitt was awesome, but he had a phenomenal line. Sure, he was blessed with great vision and made the most of his blocks unlike any other back before him, but "in a world by himself" I can't imagine Emmitt being successful like Barry. Maybe Sayers and Brown...not many could do what Barry did. I don't feel like I'm disrespecting Emmitt.

 

[Bri]

One other point that I've heard recently in Emmitt debates that makes me raise an eyebrow because I believe there's something to it- If Emmitt played 5-10 years before, he never would have been anywhere near as successful. The Eagles had a rock solid D that was morphed by a "best of" caliber Giants D and a Redskins D that went to the Supe a few times.

I realize "no one" did well against those teams, but there's also a point of those teams going through rough patches (post superbowl for Gmen and Redskins) and coincidentally that's when Emmitt thrived.

Even if ya go outside the NFC East, the 49ers had a tough D when they were in Supes and the Bears also had a "best of" caliber defense.

Emmitt's timing was especially fortunate.

ETA but one more point about this-

think of the coaches in the NFC East before Emmitt and once he arrived. It's like HOF to "don't remind me he coached our team."

 

[Yenrub]

Here is a list of the Lions leading passers while Barry was there

Bob Gagliano

Rodney Peete

Erik Kramer

Dave Krieg

Scott Mitchell

Charlie Batch

 

[Bri]

Here is a list of the Lions leading passers while Barry was thereBob GaglianoRodney PeeteErik KramerDave KriegScott Mitchell Charlie Batch

I pictured you typing top passers, no no best passers, no no...OK let's go with leading

 

[Gamblin'man]

It's Barry and it's not close.

I watched both for their whole careers. Emmitt was solid great RB, Barry was a once in a lifetime athlete. You will see many RBs in the future do what Emmitt did on a yearly basis. They will run hard and score TDs, they will even win SBs and average a respectable 4 YPC.

You will never see another Barry Sanders. Much like the great Jim Brown, he's one of those once in a lifetime players that there is never another of. Just be glad you were fortunate enough to witness it while it happened.

I also agree this poll should be Sanders vs. Brown. That would be a serious tough call. Emmitt just isn't in the same league as those two.

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

Barry Sanders ran behind a good offensive line. All you ever hear is how great Barry would have been if he had the Cowboy O-line.....he had a good one. It wasn't as good ad the Cowboy line but it was good, probably the Lions O-line hasn't been as solid as that O-line since.

Barry Sanders did things Emmitt Smith couldn't do. His ability to stop and go a different direction was phenominal, best I've ever seen at it. Barry was a fantastic runner but was not the leader the Lions needed him to be. Barry didn't need a different O-line, Barry needed someone on the Lions who was a true leader to help take that burden off his shoulders. Barry ended his career by quitting on his team and left them with very little time to fill a huge gap before the start of the season and helped send the Lions into a huge tailspin.

Emmitt Smith doesn't get the credit he deserves due to playing on a great team but he was the best player of the bunch and that alone should tell you something. Emmitt was a great team leader, played well when it counted most and if the Cowboys had a chance to trade Emmitt straight up for Barry looking back at how everything went down they would not pull that trigger.

As a Cowboy fan but native Detroiter for 40 years I've battled this argument with friends soooooo many times it hurts my head. I'm fine with the fact that people under appreciate what Emmitt Smith did to become the all time rushing leader in NFL history and ignore how weird it was when Barry's father had to speak for him in the Detroit papers and then Barry quit.

Nobody can ever knock Barry for his ridiculous moves as a runner but I can knock him for how he chose to end his career. As a Cowboy fan, I would never give up what Emmitt did for Dallas compared to what Barry did for Detroit.

Barry Sanders even today isn't around the Lions, one of their greatest players ever. It is just odd to me how he just disappeared.

Barry over Emmitt as a runner but there's a lot more that goes into football than just being a runner and Emmitt's accomplishments in his life speaks to that.

 

[mcd]

Barry Sanders ran behind a good offensive line. All you ever hear is how great Barry would have been if he had the Cowboy O-line.....he had a good one. It wasn't as good ad the Cowboy line but it was good, probably the Lions O-line hasn't been as solid as that O-line since.Barry Sanders did things Emmitt Smith couldn't do. His ability to stop and go a different direction was phenominal, best I've ever seen at it. Barry was a fantastic runner but was not the leader the Lions needed him to be. Barry didn't need a different O-line, Barry needed someone on the Lions who was a true leader to help take that burden off his shoulders. Barry ended his career by quitting on his team and left them with very little time to fill a huge gap before the start of the season and helped send the Lions into a huge tailspin.Emmitt Smith doesn't get the credit he deserves due to playing on a great team but he was the best player of the bunch and that alone should tell you something. Emmitt was a great team leader, played well when it counted most and if the Cowboys had a chance to trade Emmitt straight up for Barry looking back at how everything went down they would not pull that trigger.As a Cowboy fan but native Detroiter for 40 years I've battled this argument with friends soooooo many times it hurts my head. I'm fine with the fact that people under appreciate what Emmitt Smith did to become the all time rushing leader in NFL history and ignore how weird it was when Barry's father had to speak for him in the Detroit papers and then Barry quit.Nobody can ever knock Barry for his ridiculous moves as a runner but I can knock him for how he chose to end his career. As a Cowboy fan, I would never give up what Emmitt did for Dallas compared to what Barry did for Detroit.Barry Sanders even today isn't around the Lions, one of their greatest players ever. It is just odd to me how he just disappeared.Barry over Emmitt as a runner but there's a lot more that goes into football than just being a runner and Emmitt's accomplishments in his life speaks to that.

I just couldn't disagree more with how you have the 2 pegged. Sanders always came off as a quite, humble person who never wanted the spotlight on him. The way he retired didn't surprise me a bit, it was totally in character for him. Every player retires, some stick around till they are no longer effective & are thrown out. Sanders left on his own terms, leaving at the top of his game. Records meant very little to Sanders, who as a rookie, needed 10 yards to lead the NFL but decided not to reenter the final game once the game was in hand. He also chose to retire with the all time rushing record in his sight, it just wasn't important to him in the overall picture.Smith was the opposite, after scoring a TD Smith would tear off his helmet & run to the cameras. They actually created a rule to eliminate that practice because of him. He hung around piling up yardage as a shell of his all pro days, in order to add as many yards to his record as possible. It was his driving force over his last few seasons. He was a guy that always layed out on the ground after a big hit, drawing attention to himself, even though you knew he was getting up & wasn't hurt. We used to have a drinking game where everyone chugged a beer every time Smith would lay on the ground until the announcers questioned whether he was hurt. After he retires he embarrasses himself as an announcer because he loves the limelight.One loved the spotlight, while the other didn't want anything to do with it.

 

[RhymesMcJuice]

Barry Sanders ran behind a good offensive line. All you ever hear is how great Barry would have been if he had the Cowboy O-line.....he had a good one. It wasn't as good ad the Cowboy line but it was good, probably the Lions O-line hasn't been as solid as that O-line since.Barry Sanders did things Emmitt Smith couldn't do. His ability to stop and go a different direction was phenominal, best I've ever seen at it. Barry was a fantastic runner but was not the leader the Lions needed him to be. Barry didn't need a different O-line, Barry needed someone on the Lions who was a true leader to help take that burden off his shoulders. Barry ended his career by quitting on his team and left them with very little time to fill a huge gap before the start of the season and helped send the Lions into a huge tailspin.Emmitt Smith doesn't get the credit he deserves due to playing on a great team but he was the best player of the bunch and that alone should tell you something. Emmitt was a great team leader, played well when it counted most and if the Cowboys had a chance to trade Emmitt straight up for Barry looking back at how everything went down they would not pull that trigger.As a Cowboy fan but native Detroiter for 40 years I've battled this argument with friends soooooo many times it hurts my head. I'm fine with the fact that people under appreciate what Emmitt Smith did to become the all time rushing leader in NFL history and ignore how weird it was when Barry's father had to speak for him in the Detroit papers and then Barry quit.Nobody can ever knock Barry for his ridiculous moves as a runner but I can knock him for how he chose to end his career. As a Cowboy fan, I would never give up what Emmitt did for Dallas compared to what Barry did for Detroit.Barry Sanders even today isn't around the Lions, one of their greatest players ever. It is just odd to me how he just disappeared.Barry over Emmitt as a runner but there's a lot more that goes into football than just being a runner and Emmitt's accomplishments in his life speaks to that.

I just couldn't disagree more with how you have the 2 pegged. Sanders always came off as a quite, humble person who never wanted the spotlight on him. The way he retired didn't surprise me a bit, it was totally in character for him. Every player retires, some stick around till they are no longer effective & are thrown out. Sanders left on his own terms, leaving at the top of his game. Records meant very little to Sanders, who as a rookie, needed 10 yards to lead the NFL but decided not to reenter the final game once the game was in hand. He also chose to retire with the all time rushing record in his sight, it just wasn't important to him in the overall picture.Smith was the opposite, after scoring a TD Smith would tear off his helmet & run to the cameras. They actually created a rule to eliminate that practice because of him. He hung around piling up yardage as a shell of his all pro days, in order to add as many yards to his record as possible. It was his driving force over his last few seasons. He was a guy that always layed out on the ground after a big hit, drawing attention to himself, even though you knew he was getting up & wasn't hurt. We used to have a drinking game where everyone chugged a beer every time Smith would lay on the ground until the announcers questioned whether he was hurt. After he retires he embarrasses himself as an announcer because he loves the limelight.One loved the spotlight, while the other didn't want anything to do with it.

Sure, Sanders was humble but IMO he lacked heart - something Emmitt had in spades. Sanders was without a doubt a far more talented runner, but there is more to winning in football than just talent.

 

[spider321]

Barry Sanders was head and shoulders better than his peers, including Emmitt Smith.

 

[JuSt CuZ]

Lets ask this question:

If you are starting a team fantasy or real and they both have the same O-Line and same QB, are you still taking the guy with the lesser average or lesser HR hitting abilities?

No need to even hate on either of them, but the votes are telling what people think. That there are 22 Cowboy fans on this site, lol.

Remember, if you pick Emmitt on your new team, you dont get the Dallas Line...Do you still take a guy with a 4.2 average and 175 TDS over a guy with a 5.0 average and a 2k season with the same O-Line? No you dont, TDs are a situational stat, they can come from any player if the ball is on the 2 yard line and you have a stacked line.

 

[cobalt_27]

Barry Sanders was head and shoulders better than his peers, including Emmitt Smith.

Now you're just sounding silly.

 

[cobalt_27]

It's Barry and it's not close.

I watched both for their whole careers. Emmitt was solid great RB, Barry was a once in a lifetime athlete. You will see many RBs in the future do what Emmitt did on a yearly basis. They will run hard and score TDs, they will even win SBs and average a respectable 4 YPC.

You will never see another Barry Sanders. Much like the great Jim Brown, he's one of those once in a lifetime players that there is never another of. Just be glad you were fortunate enough to witness it while it happened.

I also agree this poll should be Sanders vs. Brown. That would be a serious tough call. Emmitt just isn't in the same league as those two.

I agree, they've still got some work to do to get up into his league.1. Emmitt Smith 18,355

2. Walter Payton

3. Barry Sanders 15,269

4. Curtis Martin

5. Jerome Bettis

6. LaDainian Tomlinson

7. Eric Dickerson

8. Tony Dorsett

9. Jim Brown 12,3122

 

[Eastwood]

How did Smith do without the Cowboys line in Arizona? Barry is 1000000x a better RB than Smith. No, make that 100000000000000000000x better.

 

[dmac37]

You have one championship game to win, which RB do you want on your team?

I'm a Barry fan but will take Emmitt all day for the win.

 

[JuSt CuZ]

It's Barry and it's not close.

I watched both for their whole careers. Emmitt was solid great RB, Barry was a once in a lifetime athlete. You will see many RBs in the future do what Emmitt did on a yearly basis. They will run hard and score TDs, they will even win SBs and average a respectable 4 YPC.

You will never see another Barry Sanders. Much like the great Jim Brown, he's one of those once in a lifetime players that there is never another of. Just be glad you were fortunate enough to witness it while it happened.

I also agree this poll should be Sanders vs. Brown. That would be a serious tough call. Emmitt just isn't in the same league as those two.

I agree, they've still got some work to do to get up into his league.1. Emmitt Smith 18,355

2. Walter Payton

3. Barry Sanders 15,269

4. Curtis Martin

5. Jerome Bettis

6. LaDainian Tomlinson

7. Eric Dickerson

8. Tony Dorsett

9. Jim Brown 12,3122

It took him 5 more seasons and about 1300 more carries for that number. Barry retired when he was still elite and ten years into his career with a healthy track record. A reasonable person could see that there is no reason to not think that Barry would of had that record in just 2 years....and if you need to see greatness and why Emmitt is losing by 100 votes, ummmm, here you go!

Edit to fix link

 

[bostonfred]

You have one championship game to win, which RB do you want on your team?I'm a Barry fan but will take Emmitt all day for the win.

If my team is already stacked and a favorite to win, Emmitt. If my team needs its running back to be outstanding to win the game, then Barry.

 

[JuSt CuZ]

Since Barry only played 10 years we will use the first 10 years of Emmitt's career.

Barry had 3062 carries for 15,269 yards, an average of 1526.9 yards a year, and a 5.0 ypc average.

Emmitt had 3243 carries for 13,963 yards, and average of 1396.3 yards per year, and a 4.3 ypc average.

More carries and Less yards for Emmitt? That don't seem right of someone who should win this battle.

Emmitt did have more TDs thru that time, but thats a by product of the team you are on being better.

 

[sspunisher]

How on Earth do you take something like Emmitt wanting to break the rushing title and turn it into a negative? That's just ignorant. B/c we all know damn well if we were in his position, we'd go for that title. And if you say you wouldn't you're full of it. Emmitt didn't stick around in Arizona to break the record, he had it broken in Dallas in 2002. Parcells cut him in 03 and he played two more years, what's that have to do with his legacy? Are you seriously going to look at a broken and battered Emmitt Smith in Arizona to gauge the rest of his 13 year career?

Emmitt cocky or arrogant? More ignorance right there. He broke that record with class. If you didn't notice, he was very close with Walter Payton's wife and son and they were openly rooting for him to break the record. He honored that record as he broke it.

And twisting Barry's quitting into a "he walked out on the top of his game?" That's because you all sympathized or empathized with Barry for 10 years of losing and think the idea of saying something bad about him is blasphemy. When Saban left Miami for College, he wasn't following his heart, he was a quitting traitor. When Ricky Williams left football, he wasn't trying to conquer his demons and square his life away, he was a quitter pothead. Bobby Petrino walking out on his team b/c of the losing, he wasn't a guy that got screwed by Mike Vick, he was a gutless quitter. Jay Cutler can't finish a playoff game, let's ignore his torn MCL, he quit on his team.

But not Barry, right? He was the best runner of all time, but sorry, definitely not the best Running Back. Barry might have been a Lion, but he didn't have the heart of one. That was all #22.

 

[JuSt CuZ]

How on Earth do you take something like Emmitt wanting to break the rushing title and turn it into a negative? That's just ignorant. B/c we all know damn well if we were in his position, we'd go for that title. And if you say you wouldn't you're full of it. Emmitt didn't stick around in Arizona to break the record, he had it broken in Dallas in 2002. Parcells cut him in 03 and he played two more years, what's that have to do with his legacy? Are you seriously going to look at a broken and battered Emmitt Smith in Arizona to gauge the rest of his 11 year career? And Emmitt cocky or arrogant? More ignorance right there. He broke that record with class. If you didn't notice, he was very close with Walter Payton's wife and his son and they were openly rooting for him to break the record. He honored that record as he broke it.And twisting Barry's quitting into a "he walked out on the top of his game?" That's because you all sympathized or empathized with Barry for 10 years of losing and think the idea of saying something bad about him is blasphemy. When Saban left Miami for College, he wasn't following his heart, he was a quitting traitor. When Ricky Williams left football, he wasn't trying to conquer his demons and square his life away, he was a quitter pothead. Bobby Petrino walking out on his team b/c of the losing, he wasn't a guy that got screwed by Mike Vick, he was a gutless quitter. Jay Cutler can't finish a game, let's ignore his torn MCL, he quit on his team. But not Barry right? He was the best runner of all time, but sorry, definitely not the best Running Back. Barry might have been a Lion, but he didn't have the heart of one. That was all #22.

Whos saying anything about that being a negative? I didnt read that anywhere.

 

[sspunisher]

Whos saying anything about that being a negative? I didnt read that anywhere.

Oh my bad bro, I thought you meant something else. But to answer your question, b/c people consider it a positive that Barry walked away within reach of the rushing crown and on top of his game. Then point to how Emmitt stayed in Arizona and dragged out his career.

 

[Shane Falco]

Emmitt cocky or arrogant? More ignorance right there. He broke that record with class. If you didn't notice, he was very close with Walter Payton's wife and son and they were openly rooting for him to break the record. He honored that record as he broke it.

You mean the guy who took off his helmet every time he scored to the point where the NFL started a rule that you had to leave the helmet on? He also kept every ball from every TD.Just saying...

 

[Hipple Long Ware & Peete]

not even close

 

[sspunisher]

Emmitt cocky or arrogant? More ignorance right there. He broke that record with class. If you didn't notice, he was very close with Walter Payton's wife and son and they were openly rooting for him to break the record. He honored that record as he broke it.

You mean the guy who took off his helmet every time he scored to the point where the NFL started a rule that you had to leave the helmet on? He also kept every ball from every TD.Just saying...

When I say cocky or arrogant I think of Terrell Owens and DeSean Jackson. Emmitt celebrated to fire up his team, the fans and himself. Jackson celebrates to mock his opponents, which is what I classify as cocky or arrogant. That's how I saw it anyway. I never saw it as disrespect. When TO did that whole star thing, it was Emmitt who defended it the first time before Teague laid him out the second time. But I liked that Emmitt was so passionate even though Garcia and Owens were whooping on Dallas. I won't get into that whole keeping the ball thing. I heard he did it for charity or his parents but who knows, maybe he's got 150+ TD balls chillin in his bedroom.

 

[Yenrub]

Here is a list of the Lions leading passers while Barry was thereBob GaglianoRodney PeeteErik KramerDave KriegScott Mitchell Charlie Batch

I pictured you typing top passers, no no best passers, no no...OK let's go with leading

That is exactly what I did

 

[Da Guru]

Try to think about Barry on the Cowboys and Emmitt on the Lions during the same period.

Barry would have probably been a even bigger star and had 20K+ yards and we would be saying Emmitt who?? Emmitt would have probably been out of the league after 4-5 seasons.

 

[Truman]

Put Barry behind that Dallas O line and he probably owns all the RB records

The Cowboys would have never traded Emmitt for Barry.

 

[mcd]

Emmitt cocky or arrogant? More ignorance right there. He broke that record with class. If you didn't notice, he was very close with Walter Payton's wife and son and they were openly rooting for him to break the record. He honored that record as he broke it.

You mean the guy who took off his helmet every time he scored to the point where the NFL started a rule that you had to leave the helmet on? He also kept every ball from every TD.Just saying...

When I say cocky or arrogant I think of Terrell Owens and DeSean Jackson. Emmitt celebrated to fire up his team, the fans and himself. Jackson celebrates to mock his opponents, which is what I classify as cocky or arrogant. That's how I saw it anyway. I never saw it as disrespect. When TO did that whole star thing, it was Emmitt who defended it the first time before Teague laid him out the second time. But I liked that Emmitt was so passionate even though Garcia and Owens were whooping on Dallas. I won't get into that whole keeping the ball thing. I heard he did it for charity or his parents but who knows, maybe he's got 150+ TD balls chillin in his bedroom.

I look at Emmitt's days in Arizona like Franco Harris & his final few years in the league. Harris was used up & done but he wanted to catch O.J. Simpson so badly that he just kept trying to go on. That record was very important to Smith & he would have played as long as a team would bring him in to keep adding to the total. How you can spin Smith pulling his helmet off & shooting over to a camera as a way to get his teammates motivated is funny. Half the time he was pushing through those teammates, who wanted to celebrate with him, to get to his spot in front of the camera. News flash to the Dallas homers, the antics of Irvin & Smith is what led up to the cockiness of Owens & Jackson.As far as Sanders quitting suddenly on his team, I just don't think it is true. He announced his retirement on July 28, but the idea that this came out of the blue is ridiculous. The Redskins had been trying to trade for him at least 3 weeks before that. Ross has spoken how he had tried to call Sanders a dozen times in the off season & had actually written him 4 different times. The Lions management knew that Sanders was talking retirement, just because they refused to believe him & didn't act to shore up the RB position isn't his fault. I saw a documentary on Earl Campbell years ago, where the guy could hardly walk. Pulling out the grade school "quitter" tag just doesn't apply to guys playing in the NFL. Sanders played 10 years in a league that physically destroys players for life. He was an amazing talent that left his mark on the game & he got out on his own terms with his health intact. Good for him. He was the greatest running back I ever saw play & he did it with class.

 

[Truman]

Scratching my head on that one... I'll be the first to admit that I have not seen a ton of tape on Smith, but have seen Barry run many times and been to more than 2 dozen games at the Silverdome during his time in Det. Everyone knew he was the one weapon on the team. They knew he was going to be running. They would game plan to stop him and still he had an unbelievable 10 years. I have no idea who you were watching but Barry made the Lions respectable, not the other way around. He did was Suh is doing right now.

Ok fair enough, that bolded statement was a bit exaggerated. He clearly was the only reason that team was competitive. But all those negative yards over a career? Of course he'd eventually get his yards in the positive stat column, but I'm convinced that his running style isn't optimal for winning football games. NFL coaches preach going downhill as soon as possible for a reason. Offenses can better handle 2nd and 6 than 2nd and 10+. Sure sometimes it'd go 70 something yards for a TD, but he'd get stuffed a few times as well.

Yep, Barry had a better highlight reel but if you're trying to actually win football games you want a guy who can move the chains consistently instead of dancing around looking for the big play. A boom/bust runner is going to put up good numbers but also put his offense under pressure with inconsistency.Thankfully we do know what Emmitt Smith would do behind a mediocre offensive line, though unfortunately we don't know just how good he would have been in his prime, because Emmitt was 29 years old when he was on some very bad Cowboys teams....

Consider the period from 1998 to 2000. During that time, the Cowboys were one game under .500, were coached by Chan Gailey and Dave Campo, and won zero playoff games. I'm a big Aikman fan, but he was pretty much finished. So was Irvin. Some of the great names were still on the line, but their best years were way behind them at that point. These were the age 29, 30, and 31 seasons for Emmitt, who had taken a ridiculous amount of punishment in his first 28 years. What you've got there is a situation where an RB who was merely above average would probably struggle.

Emmitt rushed for 3900 yards and 32 TDs during those three years. And they weren't Eddie George yards, either. He was above 4.1 yards per carry all three years. He was in the top five in the NFL in rushing yards two of those three years.

We don't need to speculate on what Emmitt would have done if he had played for a mediocre team. He did play for a mediocre team from 1998-2000, and what he did was amass more rushing yards from age 29-31 than any player in NFL history aside from Walter Payton and Curtis Martin (yes, I know, Sanders and Brown retired before their age 31 seasons). Most good-but-not-great running backs are struggling to hold a job at age 30. Emmitt was a top five rusher on a bad team.

Those of you who would now accuse me of selecting that particular three-year stretch in an effort to make Emmitt look good would be walking right into a trap. The fact is that you can pick any three-year stretch out of Emmitt's career and he will be among the leading rushers in NFL history in that age group. And the point is that his supporting cast wasn't great in all of those stretches and was downright bad in others.

Smith played on good teams early in his career and bad teams late in his career. Walter Payton did the opposite. Barry Sanders played on bad teams in September and October every year and good ones in November and December. Jim Brown, of course, only played on good teams. During his career, Emmitt's Smith's teams were a total of 12 games over .500. Jim Brown's were 45 games over .500. Walter Payton's were 28 games over .500. (Sanders' were four under). Why does Emmitt get singled out for being a coattail-rider?

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=8

 

[Truman]

How did Smith do without the Cowboys line in Arizona?

He was one of the best 34 year old RBs ever.

 

[griff321]

It's Barry and it's not close.

I watched both for their whole careers. Emmitt was solid great RB, Barry was a once in a lifetime athlete. You will see many RBs in the future do what Emmitt did on a yearly basis. They will run hard and score TDs, they will even win SBs and average a respectable 4 YPC.

You will never see another Barry Sanders. Much like the great Jim Brown, he's one of those once in a lifetime players that there is never another of. Just be glad you were fortunate enough to witness it while it happened.

I also agree this poll should be Sanders vs. Brown. That would be a serious tough call. Emmitt just isn't in the same league as those two.

I agree, they've still got some work to do to get up into his league.1. Emmitt Smith 18,355

2. Walter Payton

3. Barry Sanders 15,269

4. Curtis Martin

5. Jerome Bettis

6. LaDainian Tomlinson

7. Eric Dickerson

8. Tony Dorsett

9. Jim Brown 12,3122

It took him 5 more seasons and about 1300 more carries for that number. Barry retired when he was still elite and ten years into his career with a healthy track record. A reasonable person could see that there is no reason to not think that Barry would of had that record in just 2 years....and if you need to see greatness and why Emmitt is losing by 100 votes, ummmm, here you go!

How could a guy run like that and not have heart!? You people are being f**king ridiculous.

The post with the lion's QBs is a great one. Look at the offensive balance that some of those Cowboys teams had. I remember watching the Vikes vs the Lions for many years as a kid and the only game plan would be to stop Barry and we rarely could.

 

[Moniker]

Barry was the better runner. Emmitt was the better running back.

This is a common cliche, throwaway answer. And it is wrong. Smith was a better blocker. Sanders was a better runner and receiver. Being a better runner and receiver equates to being a better RB.

It may be a "common cliche" to you now, but it's the truth. Emmitt was the better running back. On top of being a better blocker, better in blitz protection and better receiver - we'll have to disagree on that one, he got the touch yards, he didn't dance around behind the line of scrimmage, and he was money on the goal line. Barry was the better runner and his highlights are legend, which is what most people remember when they re-write history - as this poll shows. Emmitt was the better running back.

 

[sspunisher]

Pulling out the grade school "quitter" tag just doesn't apply to guys playing in the NFL. Sanders played 10 years in a league that physically destroys players for life. He was an amazing talent that left his mark on the game & he got out on his own terms with his health intact. Good for him. He was the greatest running back I ever saw play & he did it with class.

The quitting thing is not a judgment on Barry, it's just a fact. Call it "walking away," call it riding off into the "sunset." Whatever you want to call it, he did it. And saying it's "grade school" doesn't mean it didn't happen. Why are we trying to put a positive spin on it? Don't bother with the saving his body argument, it's not a mystery why he left. He finally fessed up to it after a few years, he was sick of losing.And seriously man, how can you speculate what motivates a player to keep playing? I mean who are we to make that judgment? Jerry Rice's last few years weren't exactly epic. Favre's last year? You seriously think these guys only care about records and stats? Maybe it's just me, but I think walking away from a game you've probably played for 25+ years would be extremely emotional and difficult. It's such a dramatic change in their lives and everyone does it on their own terms. Some like Barry walk away early. Some like Elway have their career peek at just the right time. Some like Favre cling on as long as possible. Everyone falls somewhere in between.

 

[mcd]

Pulling out the grade school "quitter" tag just doesn't apply to guys playing in the NFL. Sanders played 10 years in a league that physically destroys players for life. He was an amazing talent that left his mark on the game & he got out on his own terms with his health intact. Good for him. He was the greatest running back I ever saw play & he did it with class.

The quitting thing is not a judgment on Barry, it's just a fact. Call it "walking away," call it riding off into the "sunset." Whatever you want to call it, he did it. And saying it's "grade school" doesn't mean it didn't happen. Why are we trying to put a positive spin on it? Don't bother with the saving his body argument, it's not a mystery why he left. He finally fessed up to it after a few years, he was sick of losing.And seriously man, how can you speculate what motivates a player to keep playing? I mean who are we to make that judgment? Jerry Rice's last few years weren't exactly epic. Favre's last year? You seriously think these guys only care about records and stats? Maybe it's just me, but I think walking away from a game you've probably played for 25+ years would be extremely emotional and difficult. It's such a dramatic change in their lives and everyone does it on their own terms. Some like Barry walk away early. Some like Elway have their career peek at just the right time. Some like Favre cling on as long as possible. Everyone falls somewhere in between.

Really, the Smith fans can't argue that Sanders was the better runner so we hear about the heart that Smith had, we hear about what a quitter that Sanders is. He quit on his team right before the season started, the team was not prepared, he quite because of the losing. How Sanders left the game should play no part in his assessment as a player, but it always is brought up.In truth, Sanders retirement wasn't a surprise to the Lions at all, they just thought he was bluffing. Yes, Sanders mentioned that the losing got to him in the end. He also talked that he was tired of the constant rebuilding that the Lions were going through. They had drafted Charlie Batch & were planning to throw him in as the starter, let Glover go over a minor contract issue. They had also let another lineman (maybe Lomas Brown) go in that period. My favorite quote from Sanders describing the situation was, "My desire to exit the game is greater than my desire to remain in it."As you said, "I mean, who are we to make that judgement?" Right?

 

[sspunisher]

Pulling out the grade school "quitter" tag just doesn't apply to guys playing in the NFL. Sanders played 10 years in a league that physically destroys players for life. He was an amazing talent that left his mark on the game & he got out on his own terms with his health intact. Good for him. He was the greatest running back I ever saw play & he did it with class.

The quitting thing is not a judgment on Barry, it's just a fact. Call it "walking away," call it riding off into the "sunset." Whatever you want to call it, he did it. And saying it's "grade school" doesn't mean it didn't happen. Why are we trying to put a positive spin on it? Don't bother with the saving his body argument, it's not a mystery why he left. He finally fessed up to it after a few years, he was sick of losing.And seriously man, how can you speculate what motivates a player to keep playing? I mean who are we to make that judgment? Jerry Rice's last few years weren't exactly epic. Favre's last year? You seriously think these guys only care about records and stats? Maybe it's just me, but I think walking away from a game you've probably played for 25+ years would be extremely emotional and difficult. It's such a dramatic change in their lives and everyone does it on their own terms. Some like Barry walk away early. Some like Elway have their career peek at just the right time. Some like Favre cling on as long as possible. Everyone falls somewhere in between.

Really, the Smith fans can't argue that Sanders was the better runner so we hear about the heart that Smith had, we hear about what a quitter that Sanders is. He quit on his team right before the season started, the team was not prepared, he quite because of the losing. How Sanders left the game should play no part in his assessment as a player, but it always is brought up.In truth, Sanders retirement wasn't a surprise to the Lions at all, they just thought he was bluffing. Yes, Sanders mentioned that the losing got to him in the end. He also talked that he was tired of the constant rebuilding that the Lions were going through. They had drafted Charlie Batch & were planning to throw him in as the starter, let Glover go over a minor contract issue. They had also let another lineman (maybe Lomas Brown) go in that period. My favorite quote from Sanders describing the situation was, "My desire to exit the game is greater than my desire to remain in it."As you said, "I mean, who are we to make that judgement?" Right?

Good post, dude. I don't think it's fair to use the "quitting" to take away from what Barry actually did. But it does make me question his leadership and his impact on his peers, in terms of raising their level of play over the course of his 10 year career. For example, people often equate Smith's Week 17 Game where he injured his shoulder against the Giants with him being tough, but that was all leadership and heart, man. Single handedly carried his decimated team that day and secured a much needed 1st Round BYE that eventually resulted in a Super Bowl Title. While quitting is just one of the many arguments that Emmitt supporters have, the hands down #1 argument that Barry supporters have is the surrounding cast. But that in my mind is using Emmitt's strength and erroneously turning it against him. That team was as dominant as it was BECAUSE of Emmitt. He led and carried them, it was pretty clear how bad they played when he was hurt or when he was holding out. They didn't just plug in some backup and turn him loose.