Tony Dorsett has the built of a wide receiver with blistering speed and the combination of strength to his all around skills. His ability to hit holes before the anticipation of the defence was unmatched but he can make you miss, run through, around and by tackles with such ease. The most underrated running back in NFL history runs with graceful strides and accelerates at the same time showcasing explosive quickness, impeccable balance, nifty footwork having great peripheral vision and patience.
I loved watching Tony Dorsett run with the football. Whether anyone loved or hated the Dallas Cowboys, no one could deny that fans were always in awe when Dorsett was handed the football. TD was a true artist at running back.
As a long-time Cowboys fan, TD is my all-time favorite player! Between He and "Sweetness" you knew magic was bound to happen on the gridiron with the next hand off!
To all of the Darrell Green catches Dorsett from behind comments. It's not like Tony KNEW Darrell was hauling ass trying to catch him from SCORING! If Darrell Green (who I respect) was so much faster then Dorsett then WHY did he only catch Dorsett ONCE in all the years they played against each other? (TWICE A YEAR FOR YEARS) Maybe because all those other times Darrell was trying to catch up saying damn that kid is FAST! And who is going to make a case that if Darrell Green was a running back Dorsett wouldn't have caught him from behind AND with an angle......WHO?! Boy do people get caught up in a moment! Dorsett had blazing speed!!
Man, sometimes I forget how good he was. And somehow, it seems like he’s underrated. They always talk about Payton, Jim Brown, Sanders, Dickerson....I hardly ever hear his name anymore.
Tony was and still is a one of a kind. Emmitt and Tony shared one thing in common which is something I thought I'd never see again and that was the acceleration to the hole. Emmitt get's in the hole just as quick as Tony and that is rare.
555calex That is a very true statement. Emmitt Smith does accelerate into the hole with explosiveness just like Tony Dorsett and that is a rare but necessary attribute for a running back to have.
The day Emmitt Smith was drafted by the Cowboys, my friend Augie turned to me and said, "Look at his highlights. Who does he look like? Tony Dorsett." And then he started jumping around like a mad man, "We're going back to the Super Bowl! We're going back to the Super Bowl!" He called it back in the spring of 1989.
Emmitt has all the Cowboys records, but Tony has my heart. My favorite 5 runs in order (two personal) 5. 1985 Drraw play at the Vet. After every player before hand and even after the play they were ripping the ball out of his hands. So on the draw play he takes it up the gut an then takes the ball and shoves into Gary Cobb and Andre(a) Waters face and starts a fight at the Vet. AWESOME!! 4. 1985 against ATL for a 60 YD run. When you watch it he kicks into such another gear you can actually see the acceleration when he hits his stride. 3. 1981 GWG TD when he explodes through one eagle and then two are hanging off him when he goes in I was there at the Vet. 2. 1986 20 some yard run at the corner TD at the Vet an my number 1 favorite run was in 1980 at St. Louis. It is goal line he goes into the hole but before does he spins out and three Cardinals collide and hit each other. Tony turns left and goes in untouched . It was SO amazing. My favorite catches were both in 1985 when they sent him out on bombs vs the Steelers and then at RFK vs the Skins. There had not been that much speed running for a Cowboys bomb since Golden Richards and Bob Hayes. I was so very fortunate to see Tony play live every game in Philadelphia from 1979-1987. Tony did not play though in 1979 but I saw him on the sidelines and he waved to me during pre game. I was 6 years old. At the time in order my favorite Cowboys were 3. Tony 2.Roger and 1. Charlie Waters. Sad for me that day in 79 Charlie and Tony were injured and could not play but that was Roger's last game in Philly and he brought them back to win with a pass to Butch Johnson. Shutting up all of those scum bag eagles fans. I cannot even look at Tony in a Denver uniform, can not have it. In fact LOL..I have both paper and hardback of his bookand the hard back he was in a Denver uniform,something he now wished never happened, I tore that cover up and took the back cover. Tony now wishes he never went to Denver and wishes he took the lesser role and became the third down back Landry wanted him to become. Oh well. TONY WAS THE BEST! Tony had great lines in Dallas, I like those lines MUCH better than the 90's Cowboys lines because they could not screen. However imagines those holes and Tony going through them instead of Emmitt??? LOL..OMG
Dorsett runs are a thing of beauty. While I watched this video, I instantly thought of Felix Jones. IF(!!!) Felix can stay healthy - they have very similar vision, cutting ability, and shiftiness - then Dallas has another legend.
@@drzhivago8887 I knew he would have destroyed me in the 100 m but damn I didn’t realize I could beat him in the 200. If I had a good lane and and it would’ve took a good lean at the end.
+Kwame Ajanaku; Well, we don't have to chose we had both. With Dorsett we saw some of the most innovative running plays(I stated above) and with Emmit we had 3-4 years of watching one of the most powerful offensive lines ever built and I say this with respect to the OL Buffalo had with Thurmond Thomas which I would rate just behind the Cowboys. The Bills did not win a Super bowl but they went there five times if I am not mistaken..
@truthfulmind i feel ya on that. emmitt - so understated, but definitely the anchor to one of the great winners in football history. and they did it young too.
you know what tony was great pass catcher also ,I rememnber him hauling in some pretty long passes i still remember the one against washington in 1985 for a td
@playmayker88 I was an avid viewer of the "Super Stars" especially when NFL players were competing. Herschel Walker had better times than his 9.48. He also had times of 9.37 & 9.39 but the official "Super Stars" record is held by Willie Gault,, who ran a 9.35, and whom Walker could never beat when they ran against each other. Dorsett's 9.57 was the record for a number of years. I do agree that "Tony "D" was just a natural runner" and had he chosen track, he would've easily had been world class.
The Greatest Dallas Cowboys Franchise Historical 💙 RB, to ever play for our beloved Dallas Cowboys Franchise, 🤠 The Legendary Tony Dorsett Heisman Trophy winners and World 🌎 Champions, No questions hands down unbelievers. my Favorite from the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and to the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos 💙 ❤ teams 👍. for the Silver and Manilte Blue Uniforms. The Greatest and Best 👌 👍 to ever live and the Greatest College running back ever live to . No Questions asked here all you Haters trolls who can't see the Truth about this Great Legend 👍
I meant to write, He thought of TD as delicate. The man wasn't porcelain -- he was bone and muscle!
8 лет назад
ONE OF THE BEST EVER GO TONY WHAT BLINDING SPEED AND KILLER MOVES NOBODY COULD EVEN TOUCH HIM EVERYBOBY ELSE LOOKS LIKE THERE IN SLOW MOTION WHAT A GREAT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@cllamont Had an angle and a head start?! Are you serious? He was 10 yards behind Dorsett and coming from ALL THE WAY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FIELD!! That play is one of the most famous, if not THE most famous, "Run-down from behind" plays in NFL history. Get your head out of your ass.
Franco Harris fumbled the same number as Dorsett - but Dorsett finished with more yards than Harris and retired as the no. 2 all-time NFL rusher behind only Walter Payton.
I attended The University of Pittsburgh the same time TD. And Norm Nixon was attending Duquesne down the street. (Partied with both)Terry Bradshaw and the Steelers was doing their thing! George Benson was playing "live jazz" at the club. Shadyside cafes and boutiques was "hip!" Talk about having fun! For me the "Good Old Days!"
Everybody talks about how green caught dorsett from behind I remember that game......He had an angle on him.....If you ever saw the show superstars on ABC back in the day .......Tony ran a 9.4 100 yard dash not even trying in sneakers and pulled up at the tape....and held the record for the distance on the show for a while.
sicilianwop There was no angle. Of you are behind someone you are chasing you have to run a longer distance. If you have an angle you would be running a shorter distance. Tony ran a 9.57 not a 9.4 on the Superstars.
If the Cowboys run the football more he retires as the all-time leading rusher no question. Payton got 1,000 more touches than Dorsett. If Landry gives him 20-25 carries a game it's not even a question of who the GOAT is.
NCAA champion (PITT) Heisman Trophy 🏆 ROTY 🏆 Super Bowl XII🏟 Champion Longest run from scrimmage in NFL history (99 yards vs Vikings in 1983) Pro football 🏈 HOF College Football 🏈 HOF
My hero TD won a heisman national championship a Super Bowl and rookie of the year in then NFL In one year think about that and yes AND he left college the number one in yards rushed and when he retired from the NFL he was the second highest RB in yards gained ! Yes he was one if not the best RB in the world
Who ever did this video, a BIG THANK YOU! Tiny D , has always and will forever be my favorite running back, the guy did all that and Only at 180 lbs. I love dorsett .
Silky smooth!! I grew up watching Tony. My favorite games were Cowboys and Redskins. You had the big bruiser John Riggins versus the smooth burner Tony Dorsett. That was football in my mind. That babe at minute 2:46 is not bad either. Lol
The Cowboys offensive line was injured, inexperienced and smallish the second half of Dorsett's career. Smith has a terrific offensive line for most of his career. Both great backs but hard to fairly compare to each other. Also, Smith had Aikman, the best QB of his era and Irvin the best receiver of the same era.
Emmitt smith was great and had great stats but in my book dorsett was way more talented. Never played heavier than 192 but ran under 4.4 right till retirement. Emmitt had 20 pounds on him but not nearly as fast and didn’t have his moves
didn't really realize how fast Dorsett was, because Green is really fast and he actually pulled away from Green, he got him with a show string tackle. Emmitt is not in the same class as Tony!
Another thing about TD is how strong he was.Even though he was 5' 11" 190# it was well known back in the day he could bench as much as the linemen. Madden used to say " you never see anyone knock Dorsett backwards, nobody ever gets a clean hit on him. Even the best backs would get nailed once in a while by a linebacker shootin the gap and get knocked back off their feet. But Dorsett would always make a slight move or spin and get a glancing blow to save the punishment"
I"m a huge TD fan, watched him at Pitt and through the Dallas years. Playmayker is right on. Once Tony got to about 20 carries they would stop using him, so many times he would have about 100 in the 3rd quarter and averaging like 6 a carry and if he got to 20 or so carries Landry would shut him down. In contrast, my best friend's favorite back was Dickerson and if he was running wild they would give him like 30 or so touches in the game
Right. The man was a Ferrari, and held up great. It's very important for a player not to get hurt a lot, and it is a remarkable fact that some of these great runners knew how to be tackled without getting hurt. That is part of the art of running. Look at Rothlisberger. It is always painful to watch a quarterback try to run the ball because you know it will end awkwardly (unless you're Michael Vick or someone like that). And awkward mean injurious. At least Montana knew how to slide.
Good point. The list goes on. I think that after Brown I would pick OJ, but it's tough. Emmitt always got the all-important 4 on first down. There were no down-for-a-loss with him. But with Dorsett or OJ you might get two 40-yarders in one game. If that happens then the game is probably won. Earl? Well Earl was just the greatest guy ever going into a tackler. Never saw anything like it. And he was cool, too. Kick your head in like a mule and then really southern friendly.
I am a lifetime Cowboy fan. I went to games in the Cotton Bowl in the 1960's. This Cowboys team was a great team. Their problem?They palyed in an era with an even greater team.Those Steeler teams were just so dominant. Both teams were great. The difference? The Cowboys were a finesse team and the Steelers were an aggressive team. The Steelers were big, mean and played with intimidation. They epitomized toughed-nosed football. I hated them then, but have a lot of respect for them now.
Landry admitted years later that he was worried about Dorsett. Dorsett was durable, could run up the middle, of course, and he wanted to ball 25 times. But Landry mistakenly thought of TD as TD -- I guess because he was so damned slick with fine cuts and great speed. In the end, when you add it all up, only Brown was more effective (production, consistency, durability, blocking), but after Brown, there are only Dorsett, Sayers, OJ, Barry, and Eric. Maybe Dorsett tops that list.
And to think that Landry worried about Dorsett, thinking him too delicate to hit holes up the middle. The whole point of his game was that he could bust a screen past for 75 yards but he was also good for 6 up the middle. He wanted the ball 25 times, he NEEDED 25 carries to be effective. And for beauty -- wow! Only Sayers, OJ, Barry, and Dickerson had that kind of dancer's grace. Thanks for the vid.
No one, not even Barry Sanders accelerated like Tony Dorsett did. If he only learned how to take a handoff, his final career stats would have been made even scarier.
@ColumbusnewWorld I agree. Having watcch that game recently on NFL Network, if Dallas had stuck with the run intead of trying to get fancy, they might have won. Pittsburg couldn't stop Dorsett and it would've kept the Steelers and Bradshaw, whom the Cowboys couldn't stop, off the field.
@fhdjsahfdjsha barry's better than both. and jim browns their daddy, rite. no question. i was actually on a post earlier that said zonk was better than jim brown.lmao zonk was a battering ram and a joy to watch, but jim is the truth.
@xSportsKingx 3 superbowl, records, HOF, and many awards. We could had Barry, but we got Troy aikman, also a HOF. So if we never had Troy we would have had 1 superbowl with the Barry. So I'm glad we didn't get Barry.
Why bother comparing him to others period? Dorsett was amazing in his own right. Look at the fluidity of his running style, he barely looks like he's running fast at all until you realize the other guys can't catch him.
I concur - there is no back like him in the league now. Reggie Bush doesnt have his toughness or versatility to run inside and out. I dont think Adrian Peterson has his speed,
@npgfunk I'm sorry but that's just factually incorrect. The reply won't let me paste the link but do a search in RU-vid on "Darrell Green runs down Tony Dorsett on Monday Night Football ". At the 6 second mark, you'll see #28 flash into the screen at bottom in front of Tony Hill, and have to turn and loop around to give chase. Tony is already even with or by him going at full speed. Green was one of the faster ever. There is no shame in being caught by him. My post stands as fact and correct.
Tony D. "Whoosh." He was gone. He ran tough between the tackles. He was Emmett with world class speed. Tony and Dickerson were the 2 fastest NFL running backs I've ever seen. Zero to 60 in one half of a step.
Dude, TD was PURE speed. His GAME was speed. Since high school and in college where won the Heisman on speed alone. Are you looking these tapes? He's running BY people. He and the Dick were never caught from behind. Only angles. OMG. He was one of the first NFL players to clock 4.4 speed. Bo and Hershel both ran track and field in college but E.D. and T.D. were not taking a back seat to either of them. I beg to differ. I saw them ALL.
Cordell Senior Tapes do not prove you have world class speed. The only thing that proves you have world class speed is getting timed in a real race. You also cannot reach world class status without years of sprint training. Natural speed alone will not do it. Believe it or not Jackson was not a world class sprinter either his best 100m was only 10.44 while Walker ran 10.23 which at the time was world class. TD and ED did not have times close to that. And world class sprinter Darrell Green caught both of them from behind. There are no angles if you are behind the person you are chasing. Having an angle means you're running a shorter distance than the person you are chasing which is impossible when you are behind. TD and ED were fast, but no where near world class.
It's a relative term. Anybody running and breaking a 4.4 40 meter dash has world class speed. I ran track in the late 80s and 10.2 was a world class sprinter. And still is. Anybody in the 10.anything in "the class". 13.anything is world class speed in the 400 meter high hurdles. 20.anything in the 200 meters is world class. I'm done with this argument.
Cordell Senior No it is not a relative term it's clearly defined. The 40 yard dash doesn't measure how fast you run. It only measures quickness and partial acceleration because the really fast runners don't reach top speed till about 50-60m out. So the 40 yard dash cannot determine how fast you are if you are not running your fastest. There is no such thing as a world class 40 yard dash. 1. Because no one outside of American football players run it. 2. It is not a race it is a test. The IAAF sets the standards for world class. There are no world class standards for the 40. I would be done with this argument too if I was being consistently debunked.
@schizlor TD ran a 4:3 40 yard dash. He could fly. But Darrell Green was probably the fastest player in the league for about 10 years. i agree with other comments. TD was tougher than given credit for. He definitely should have gotten more carries early in his career.
The video is deceiving, it does not truly give you that acceleration this back had. Dorsett at that time was the fastest back I ever saw from stand still to the hole and through it. Then Emmitt came along and it was almost like watching Dorsett from stand still to the hole and through it. both had that acceleration but Dorset had the quickness to change directions and long speed to boot. I say all this with total respect to OJ who I think is still one of the fastest to date.
@xSportsKingx :rolleyes: Yet time-after-time Barry was pulled from the field by his coach on 3rd/4th-and-short or goal-to-go situations. When'd this EVER happen to Emmitt Smith? Barry Sanders is the NFL's alltime leader in NEGATIVE RUSHING YARDS with over one thousand (1114) yards 'tackled for loss' through his career. Sanders was spectacular to watch and truly great 'between the 20's' - but E. Smith could do it all - and FROM GOAL LINE TO GOAL LINE. And E. Smith IS alltime - suck it Barry fans.
Barry also had a horrible o line and constantly had to make his own plays while emit didn’t and could hide behind his o line which was the best in the league when he played
@dal4018 I remember Curtis Dickey from his days @ Texas A&M where he was the 2nd leading rusher, behind Earl Campbell, in Southwest Conference History, when he left in 1980. But what people seem to forget is that he is the only person in NCAA history to win 3 consecutive 60 yd dash titles. Dickey stood 6'1 and @ 205lbs ran a 4.25. In the Colts 1981 highlight video, he is announced by the legendary John Facenda as "the fastest man ever to play his position." Glad U recall how fast he was. I do!
