Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith comes in at number 28 on NFL Films' "The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players" show produced in 2010. Subscribe to NFL Films: goo.gl/XJTggL
yeah you do, emmitt was tough and durable no doubt, gotta give that to him, good in the open field too, but emmitt doesn't rack up those numbers while playing in cleveland or tampa. or detroit for that matter.
tomitstube ..then why did emmits back ups average 1.5 yards less then him when barrys back ups averaged only .5 less? Not to mention barry sanders has the most yards lost in nfl history
tomitstube ...barrys backups averaged only .5 yards less while emmits back ups 1.5 yds less. Emmit was the greatest runner after contact. Barrys only record is most yards lost in nfl history.
Emmitt is definitely not overrated, a great back compliments a line and a great line compliments a back. Until Emmitt arrived none of those offensive lineman had made one pro bowl, that is a fact. These guys all came together at the right time, stayed together and gelled, but without Emmitt it would not have been as great as it turned out to be. The man rarely lost yards, was a great blocker, durable and also caught the ball well out of the backfield. Anyone that thinks that Emmitt was an average back and was only the product of a good line clearly does not know football.
don't mind all these haters, anyone with a brain can watch the film and see plays where they attempted to tackle him BEHIND the line and he ended up breaking lose for 50 yards
inboundspies099, you're blind fandom sickens me. Smith is barely in the top 10 running backs of all time. Weather you like it or not he's not better than Sanders, Brown, Payton, Simpson, Campbel, Dickerson, Faulk, Peterson, Dorset, or Allen
Emmitt was the ANVIL of the Jimmy Dynasty. The ultimate weapon with which to hammer opponents into surrender. Oddly, an underappreciated player, which is a shame. A TRULY GREAT PLAYER.
That’s easy bro he was the main reason they was a dynasty once they drafted him that team become different, they became tough and played hard bc that’s what emmit was , hard work great talent
how can you possibly say that? what's overrated about him? frankly, he's underrated. it's an insult that he's listed as #28. emmitt is top ten without question.
He's the fastest player to ever get 15,000 yards and 150 TDs, he also did so with a pretty bad team. If you watched that 2007 divisional game vs. the Pats you would know what I mean.
His stats are nuts, he missed 12 1,000 seasons by only 15 yards, his rookie year he had 940 yards, his only off year was his second to last in Arizona. The dude ALWAYS put up numbers and his stats may never be broken. Same with Jerry Rice.
Most rushing yards and TDS in league history 1st round pick by Dallas out of the University of Florida 1990 (90/91 Rookie of the year, 93/94 MVP, Super Bowl 28 MVP, 3x Super Bowl champion)
underrated back, even though he had a great offensive line, he was still good his entire career, and was durable as hell. All people talk about is how Barry sanders (who is my favorite running back ever still) would've had the all-time leading rusher title if he played longer, and even though that's true, you don't continue to shit on a man for it, I've never seen a legend be so unappreciated.
I think Sanders is far better than Smith. Not only that, but he was a classy guy... He knew he could hold the all-time rushing record but retired knowing that the record was not going to define him. That is greatness.
James Gall That’s not class, that’s him giving up on his team. Look at Barry’s production in the playoffs. Guy wasn’t as durable as Smith, and just wasn’t as consistent or good. Just check around these comments, it’ll tell you all you need to know lol.
Barry Sanders is better than Emmitt Smith I want to see Emmitt Smith be a Detroit Lion I highly doubt he'll get a hundred yards I highly doubt he would even run for 2000 yards like Barry Sanders did and if you put Barry Sanders with the Dallas Cowboys I guarantee Dallas would have had five or six Super Bowl rings because Barry Sanders offensive line in Detroit was s***and Dallas is offense of line is considered one of the greatest of all time Dallas had better coaches a better owner and a better system than Detroit had for Barry Sanders.
Emmitt Smith was a true legend, don't get why people come on a video about him to talk trash. Stop comparing him to Barry Sanders and complaining about a line that was trash without him. He's the all time rushing champ for a reason...
The Cowboys can't ever win. They've been hated on since the 70's. People have nothing better to do than bash them. All I can say is "MY team has 5 rings, how many does yours have?" =) (Yes, the Patriots & Steelers have 1 more. Blah, blah, blah...) .
@@whattheyourgae9627 So, are you pissed off at Frank Gore or Adrian Peterson? Or, do you feel like a player can stick around, as long as he doesn't break any records?
@King Edrick Snowbeard Stark I get your point and I appreciate how adult your response was. Some people get so angry over these conversations, lol. I'm just appreciating the greatness of Emmitt. Barry did amazing things and is probably the best pure runner ever...better than Emmitt in that sense and had the best highlights ever...he was definitely a GOAT. Emmitt in my opinion was the better over all running back. Hear me out, he not only ran through the tackles for those tough yards, didn't come out on short yardage or goal line (which is why his ypc dropped) and stayed in the game in pass blocking situations. He did everything you want in a back which is why he is a complete back and also a GOAT. If you compare their 10 yr careers, Emmitt was behind in yards but had almost 40 more tds. Barry: 15,269 yds 99tds 5.0 ypc. Emmitt: 13,963 yds 136 tds 4.3 ypc. Even if Barry got the record, I don't think Emmitt would've given up his dream of being rushing king. Appreciate the feed back though, bro.
That is such bullshit. Emmitt's back ups when the Cowboys were winning super bowls were averaging 1.3 yards a carry less than Emmitt was. If it was the line, there should be a minimal drop off in average. Barry Sanders back ups were only about .5 yard worse than him and all I ever hear is how Barry had to do it all by himself and Emmitt had all this help. Total crap!!
Jim Brown played just 118 games in the NFL. Only Emmitt Smith was close to Jim Brown in rushing yards after 118 games. Emmitt was about 100 rush yards behind. Barry was over 1000 rush yards behind. Payton was about 400 behind and no one, not even Jim Brown was even close to Emmitt Smith in TD's after 118. And Emmitt Smith's playoff numbers completely dwarf those three greats. People just can't accept that he was that good!!
Enmitt was also a phenomenal blocker. If you were to ever watch the first Super Bowl against Buffalo, Smith kept picking up blitzing linebackers all game long, allowing Aikman to hit Novacek multiple times to important drives alive.
GOAT Running back. I hate dallas but he was the goat. Leading rusher and then all the sudden you factor in his playoff games. He blows everyone away, the closest running back was nearly 6000 yards behind. Emmitts back ups were always a yard or a yard and half behind him when they played so it wasn't his line, not only that only 1/3 of his career he played with that line. GOAT of all time RB.
Second Super Bowl against Buffalo and Emmitt carries the ball for all but one play on the drive and scores a touchdown leading to the SI cover. That was Emmitt...fierce determination and will to succeed, toughness, leadership! He was GREAT and I would take him for my all time team no question
Emmitt Smith was a complete back...he could do it all run, block and catch out the backfield...he always get overlooked when it comes to the greatest backs of all time but he can stack up with any other all time great at that position...he had a great line but I dont care what anyone says you couldn't have just put any average back behind that line and they would have accomplished what Emmitt did...he was also as durable as they come
To anyone saying negative things about Emmitt Smith, you are either a hater or regurgitating the false assumption that his line created him. He made that line. Dallas had several other backs who could not do anything with that line. Ps, when Aikman, Irvin, and the rest of the that great team was gone, Emmitt was still there gaining 1,000+ yards. Also, Barry Sanders could not run for 2,000yards with no line! yes they were not the Cowboys' line but they did have at one time pro bowl linemen, Herman Moore and a Scott Mitchell who was once a pro bowler as well. Emmitt is a legend and would have excelled anywhere! nobody says this stuff about Jerry Rice who played with two hall of fame Qbs...
+Adrianbillionaire When in the world was Scott Mitchell--SCOTT MITCHELL!!!--a Pro Bowler??? That's imagination, revisionist history, and Emmitt blowing working overtime! Emmitt has always been ranked way too high. Quiet as it is now kept, O.J. Simpson was better than Emmitt.
+Joseph Wright Scott Mitchell was not a problem bowler but threw for over 4200yds with 30+ tds to two wr's with 100 catches that year in 95'. OJ was great for what, four seasons? At least by the numbers...If Emmitt was so bad, why is he always compared to the greats? He is always at or near the top in nearly all nfl related rankings of the greats. Football is a team sport! No one plays the game by themselves...
adrianbillionaire Did you ever see Scott Mitchell play? No one EVER mentions his name when good QBs are mentioned--only you. Emmitt is mentioned with the greats only because he milked that line to get Payton's record. When Emmitt finally broke Payton's record he was WAY past his prime. He should have retired two years prior. He was running (no pun intended) on fumes.
+Joseph Wright Who said Scott Mitchell was great? I was saying Barry played on a less talented team but was not the only person on the field who produced...i.e. Herman Moore, Perriman, etc. Did you see Emmitt play? He did more than just run the ball, it's a reason they call him one of the most complete backs in history. Jerry Rice played longer than he should have, did all the same things Emmitt did yet only Emmitt gets scolded for "padding his stats." What do you have to say about Jerry, Brett Favre, and Ray Lewis hanging around too long? Does it take away from their greatest? I'll wait...
+Joseph Wright Also how do you "milk" a line when you were one of the main reasons for the teams success? If your going to get on Emmitt, how many hall of famers were on Jim Brown's line? How about OJ'S "Electric Company" line that helped the team rush over 3,000 yds, guess he was just a product of the o-line. Oh Terrell Davis as well because he had a hall of fame qb, te, and pro bowl o-line men, and the list goes on. If you're going to hate, don't just hate on Emmitt for producing. No he was not the best but to say he was just a product of his line and anyone could rush behind that line is foolish. So why didn't any of his back ups do the same?
Not given enough credit for being an all around great football player. He could do everything. Strong, elusive, smart, block, catch. You name it had could do it. Everything he did, and there's still haters, its stupid.
Emmit was just great. There were flashier runners, more powerful runners - but none of them had more heart and determination and will than Emmit. I rooted for the Cowboys simply because I was a kid and Emmit was my favorite player - and I always had hated the Cowboys - I grew up a GIANTS fan. That's how great Emmit was that I didn't miss a Cowboys game on TV or cable if I could help it. I remember that separated shoulder game as it was against my Giants. I was rooting for us to win but I was rooting for Emmit to do his thing. Well we ended losing the division to the Cowboys by one game. We made the playoffs but got wrecked by the Niners. Emmit and the 'Boys ended up winning a ring. So I ended up winning either way😆
Daryl Clack was the G.O.A.T... get out of here with your IDIOTIC Dorsett was better NONSENSE!! DORSETT EVEN SAYS EMMITT WAS BETTER!! It’s pretty clear who was better looking at the numbers. Oh and Dorsett had H.O.F lineman too. I guess that means he was a scrub?? STUPID ARGUMENT!!!
I was at a Cowboys Practice before his rookie year. He caught a little swing pass out in the right flat. The DB came up for the tackle and Emmitt kind of shimmied with his whole body. The DB fell right on his face as Emmitt ran by him. That move actually caused the guy to collapse. Say what you want about the great line and Aikman and playmaker. Without Emmitt the Cowboys would have been also rans.
@@Supermanfan99 Jerry Rice caught passes from TWO HOFers, and 3 MVPs (Montana, two-time MVP, Young, 2-time MVP, Gannon, MVP 2002), but no one detracts from Rice's greatness because of it. I wonder why that is?
He made a difference as soon as he put on the pads for the Cowboys. When he was out, they weren't the same team. There may have been flashier and faster runners; but as a total all-around package, he was better. More importantly, he had a tremendous champions heart and a very deep desire to win.
Crazy... You don't have those numbers without being and all time great. He is the goat... He played with that team 6 seasons max and you telling me he nlt a top ten player of all time and hed number one in every rushing category, and number 2 in total touchdowns and yards to Jerry Rice yet its all about who he played with? Jerry Rice had TWO hall of fame Qb's and Joe Montana arguably top 3 all time
Cowboys haters: “Emmitt was only good because of his line! Aikman was only good because of the o-line! Irvin was only good because Aikman had that o-line!” The o-line had ONE HOFer who didn’t arrive until after they won two Super Bowls. According to these haters, there were no good players on a team that won 3 Super Bowls. 😂
It's the same with any jealous fans of other teams. Like haters of New England that say they somehow "cheated" their way to 6 Super Bowl wins out of eight appearances. Yeah right. LOL!
And don't take away credit from the o-line. No shame, you need great players, o-line needs credit , players would've shined anyways but with the o-line they all got the spot light!
Last I checked, football is a team sport. Yes, the o-line is phenomenal, but he was a tremendous RB! The man broke, shook, span around, and went through some big ass guys on that field. 18.3k yards speaks alot of words! Too all of you guys thinking that he was overrated, you need too stop watching football, because the word "team" doesn't mean anything to you obviously. To have a great RB and QB, you need an O-line that can block for you, in turn, gives you a legendary RB and QB by boosting confidence, morale, and everything else.
All time greatest *players*? #28? If the criteria is *runners*, then I can see why other goat RBs are ahead of him. But the criteria is greatest football players. Best blocking back I ever saw, played three downs, excellent receiver and route runner, shifty and durable with one hell of a nose for an endzone and was probably the toughest player to ever play that position. Oh, and he became the all-time leading rusher and he won three Super Bowls. If I'm building a highlight reel I'll take Sanders. If I'm building a football team, I'm taking Emmitt Smith.
@Marquis De Sade ummm Smith better short yardage/goal line runner,better blocker/picking up blitzes,better receiver. Sanders better runner not a better running back or football player
This ranking is a joke and seems to ignore its standard of placing the greatest FOOTBALL PLAYERS in their proper order. With the exception of Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith was a better football player than any of the running backs placed ahead of him. There are no holes in Smith's resume as evidenced by the fact that he won 3 Super Bowls, he was the NFL's all-time leading rusher, he scored more touchdowns than any running back in NFL history, he was an outstanding receiver, and a terrific pass blocker.
To everyone who says Barry was the better back, let me know if he played with a separated shoulder and continued to play against a tough Giants team in the cold, on hard turf with a first round bye on the line. Don't get me wrong, I loved Barry as a kid, but Emmitt had more of my respect with his game against New York. He easily could've sat out that game but he knew what was at stake and kept fighting through it like Johnston said. And enough with the 'product of his O-Line' stuff. He STILL had to break tackles, make defenders miss and being tough around the goal line. I really can't think of a lot of RBs better than this man. It's a VERY short list.
It's a matter of perspective & positioning/seeding as well as adversity meeting opportunity. How many opportunities did Barry have to be in a situation where his team was vying for a playoff position with him having an ailment of some sort. Heck, when we Barry every injured? I recall his lowest output was in 93 where he only gained 1100yds, & I believe he missed 5 games that season. The guy was rarely injured in his career!
OK all you Emmitt haters, it wasn't just the offensive line. He played great ball through high school, college and is still the NFL's leading rusher. Greatest running back ever until somebody breaks that record. Oh, and there is also his 175 career touchdowns in the NFL which places him at 2nd all time.
Emmitt Smith was the best running back ever for the Cowboys, and amongst the top 10 ever for the NFL. I'll always call Jim Brown number one ever for the NFL, but Emmitt was in the top 10 for sure. For Emmitt, tackles were meant to be broken, and break them he did.
The reason being that even you would have been the NFL's all time rushing leader if you had played tailback for the 90s cowboys. Emmitt is a joke. In his heart of hearts even he knows it
@@rickyj1250 he wouldn't even be the all time leading rusher if Payton played two more seasons or Sanders played two more so to say just because he got there for playing longer IMO he should be only in the top 30 tbh
ricky j Emmitt was a joke??? STFU! Smh. Dude was a stud kid I’m not saying he was Barry or Payton but being disrespectful like that shows how little you know. Cowboys go 0-2 in 1993 he comes back after signing contract and I don’t think they lost another game that season. Football isn’t for you kid maybe try tennis.
What I like about Emmitt he ran downhill... He moved the chains... It's not sexy. It doesn't make the highlight reel, but it's how you win football games.
28? good joke. He's top 3 RB or the best RB (opinion varies) i don't see how Emmitt isn't a top ten player of all time. Are you really going to take that much away from him because of the dynamic the whole team had? I mean does the NFL realize the cowboys were good for a decade but only dominant for 4 years, only....4....years. His accomplishments happened with varying lines and different coaches using different systems.
You can see he had the ability to make Barry Sanders like runs. Nobody's as shifty as Barry, but Emmitt was bouncing off guys, making good tacklers miss, and changing direction on a dime to make big plays also. But Dallas had a rare thing in a guy his size that could be a north south, between the tackles, move the chains, power rusher. That combination of power with agility, vision, speed and elusiveness is what made him great. He probably would have done well in a pass oriented spread wide offense like Detroit, but that's not Dallas football and they had another great player, #48, that made Emmitt even better. They had some great linemen in his time, but they weren't just leveling everyone on every play and letting Emmitt run to glory untouched like some knuckleheads think, the other teams/defenses are good too.
Emmmit at 28 yea this list is deff a joke i bet nfl films regrets it he is top 10 player of all time i dont care what anybody has to say if you dont see that its absolutr hate twprds the Cowboys point blank
One who saw his first football game in 1958 with the NY Giants and the Baltimore Colts, and who has seen the likes of Jim Brown, Gale Sayers and Walter Payton when he was in college at Jackson State, Orenthal James (OJ) Simpson is far and away the greatest running back ever to play the game.
Emmitt should be regarded the same way Rice is. Putting any rb over Emmitt is the same as putting any wr over Rice, any qb over Brady ect.. Records and championships speak for themselves
People forget Emmitt's line wasn't good after 1995. They got old. I actually saw a documentary on this years ago and their were players who said this. That line lost it's dominance after 1995. The only lineman that was really good in 1996-2004 was Larry Allen but that's one man. But yet Emmitt was still rushing over 1k every year with a bad line. In fact in 2000 they got Troy Aikman killed and even tore up Randall Cunningham and he was a scrambler. It didn't stop Emmitt from have another 1k season. So, Emmitt deserves more respect than he gets. He was a great back.
Emmitt was probably the best back when it came to making use of his o-line and setting them up as the play broke down which is why he ran for so many yards. A very smart RB
