Emmitt Smith

[Old Tiger]

Where do you rank him among the greatest of all-time?

[Z motion 10 out on 2]

One of the greatest.

Remarkable what he accomplished being too small and too slow.

[TheDOCTORdre]

Emmitt Smith ranks as either the 2nd or 3rd greatest running backs of all time. Number one is Jim Brown, who I obviously never saw play, but anytime I hear the experts talk on the subject, Jim Brown is always #1 on the list. The toss up for #2 goes between Smith and Walter Payton. Smith was great despite being undersized and too slow, but Payton was a great athlete in the backfield who could run, catch, pass and even punt. So its kind of depends on your preference whether you put Smith or Payton at #2. thats just my opinion

[Bellville22]

Could be the best "complete" back ever. Tremendous runner, great receiver, GREAT BLOCKER, and unbelievable durability. Did the guy have a great line? Absolutely. But in we can't fault him for that. He's the leading rusher of all-time, period. I don't buy the "if Barry had Emmitt's line" argument. Barry was an entirely different runner. He wasn't a see the hole, hit the hole runner, he was an artist, a dancer. Emmitt hit holes, had tremendous vision, and finished off runs better than anyone his size ever has. Too young to have seen Walter, Earl, Jim, or Gale, but from what I've heard and seen, here's mine....

1. Walter Payton
2. Jim Brown
3. Emmitt Smith
4. Barry Sanders
5. Earl Campbell

[TheDOCTORdre]

Oh ya got mention Emmitts toughness, I still remember watching that game when I was still a young Dre when Smith played against the Giants with the seperated shoulder, that was awesome

[JasperDog94]

Barry Sanders might not even make my top 5 for the way he ended his career. Great back, but not a good way to go out.

Comparing Emmitt to Brown is tough. They're completely different backs. Both completely dominated the game when they played. It's a tossup for me.

[big daddy russ]

Depends on whether you're talking about a complete back or a pure runner. If you're talking about a pure runner I'd put Gale Sayers on top, Jim Brown second and Barry Sanders third. Overall:

1. Jim Brown
2. Walter Payton
3. Ernie Nevers (from way back in the day)
4. Gale Sayers
5. Jim Thorpe
6. Emmitt Smith (he could run between the tackles, unlike Sanders)
7. Earl Campbell
8. Barry Sanders
9. Marshall Faulk
10. Franco Harris

Of course I never saw Thorpe or Nevers play... and I've only seen highlights of Brown, but based on what info I do have this is how I'd rate them.

[Bull's-eye]

O.J. Simpson and Eric Dickerson were also very good. In 1973, Simpson rushed for 2003 yards in only 14 games. He averaged 6.0 yards per attempt! In 1984, Dickerson rushed for 2105 yards averaging 5.6 per carry. Dickerson did benefit from having a 16 game season. Simpson finished with 11,236 for a career average of 4.7 per attempt and Dickerson finished with 13,259 yards and a 4.4 average.

One current back not mentioned, but one that could possibly break Emmitt's record is Curtis Martin. He has rushed for 1000 plus yards in each of his first 10 seasons of his career. He just finished his best season (1697 yards) to give him a career total of 13,366 yards.

[Leopards,class of 75]

1. Jim Brown.......2. Emmitt Smith.......3. Walter Payton........4. Earl Cambell......... 5. Barry Sanders

[spiveyrat]

Originally posted by JasperDog94
Barry Sanders might not even make my top 5 for the way he ended his career. Great back, but not a good way to go out.

I've been seeing Barry in a lot of local TV commercials here recently. He's from here, and for all I know, he may be living here again.

[Bull's-eye]

Tony dorsett finished with 12,739 yards and a 4.3 per carry average. His stats rank far better than Earl Campbell's, but I think most people consider Earl the better back.

ESPN 's NFL Experts top 10

1. Jim Brown
2. Walter Payton
3. Emmitt Smith
4. Barry Sanders
5t. Eric Dickerson
5t. O. J. Simpson
7. Earl Campbell
8. Gale Sayers
9. Marshall Faulk
10. Tony Dorsett

[big daddy russ]

Looking back on my list I could've probably bumped Campbell and Harris for Dickerson and Simpson. I forgot about those two, and thinking about it now I probably overrated Campbell. More of a sentimental favorite for me.

But I'll stick by Nevers and Thorpe, and I'd also say Red Grange is somewhere just past the top ten.