Barry or Emmitt

This video illustrates exactly what was forgotten about Emmitt. Look at those incredible moves he puts down with ease. One of the greatest ever all around, but vastly underrated as far as his ability to make guys look really bad
The Link
 
Barry was the better runner.

Emmit could do more in that he blocked and had more power. He is one of the smartest runners I have ever seen in that he used his blocking extremely well. That said, he needed the blockers and supporting cast to achieve the stats he managed. He would have taken a severe beating in an O that provided him with the tissue thin cover that would have come with bad team, and he would have had less opportunities to be a chain moving RB.

Barry Sanders had a freakish ability to change direction without slowing down at the usual rate, and he had vision like a MFer. His stride was also unusually long for a guy his size. He could go from sprint to lope to juke to lope to sprint with two changes of direction without losing that much momentum or speed. He would have been really successful on almost any team.

Sanders over Emmit, though taking Emmit is not really a losing proposition.

Emmit was a sort of poor man's version of Payton. Both were tough, smart runners who blocked tenaciously and would catch the ball out of the backfield. Payton was also more elusive and faster.

The only thing that Payton did not have was unfair size. That is why Jim Brown remains the greatest of all time, in my opinion, as he was faster than almost everyone he played against and was bigger than most. If you put sprinter's speed into a 260 pound RB with change of direction and vision you would have a modern day JB. He was a a true freak.

1. Brown
2. Payton
3. Sanders

After those guys, who I consider the cream, you have others like Campbell, Dickerson, Simpson who were elite.

Sayers was amazing but his career was so short it is hard to know where to put him. I mean, Campbell has a similar issue, but he did not dominate quite like a Koufax, and Sayers lags behind Campbell noticably.

Smith would come just below that second tier grouping. He is the best of the Franco Harris level players. Top 10 ( and Harris might fall just out of that first dime).

That's how I see it (only one guy, Brown, played before I started watching football).
 
I dont think you can compare college careers and and draw any conclusions benefiting Emmit, Barry had one of the best college season of any player ever (many say the best ever) in the only year he started.
 
He wasn't comparing college careers, he was pointing out that Emmitt succeeded his entire career and didn't need one particular great OL to make him great.
 
If there's 3 seconds on the clock and we need to go 80 yards , I'll take Barry. If there's 3 minutes left and we need to drive 80 yards, I'll take Emmit.
 
Yes because everyone agrees that Mark Tuninei and Nate Newton were better football players than Emmitt
rolleyes.gif


And Emmitt's teams at Florida were not very good at all. He was pretty much all they had, and he still got his yards.
 
emmitt was great. but as previously mentioned.. he played for YEARS behind great O lines.

he'd barely be in my top 10.

i'd rather have any of these guys...

earl
walter
jim brown
bo jackson
eric dickerson
barry
OJ
 
Barry Sanders.

And I am NOT a Cowboy, nor a Lion fan.

Barry Sanders consistently made his first cut in the backfield. Emmit could hit holes and make his first move beyond the line of scrimmage.

Emmit a better back, Barry a better runner? O RLY? If being a better back means you already had the best blocking and didn't have to make a move until you were two yards past LOS, then fine -- I guess Emmitt wins.

Barry just had better running back instincts and talent, then.
 
I would bet the majority of people that state Emmitt was better are Cowboys fans. That is the only reasonable explanation.

There is no comparison between the two. Put Barry behind the Cowboys All-Pro line and Emmitt behind the Lions line and Emmitt may not make it to the Hall of Fame, let alone in this discussion.
 
He has rings and the rushing title for the same reasons that Barry doesn't, reasons which have been discussed here ad nauseum: the supporting casts of the respective players. To dismiss these factors is to be oversimplistic.
 
Think of it this way.
Hsd the Jets picked Emmitt over Blair Thomas, would we even know who Emmit Smith is today?

Im not saying Thomas woul dbe the rushing leader but I am saying Emmitt is overrated. He would have been a "Fred Taylor" type. Good back, 10,000+ yards, borderline HOF.

Barry got drafted by a nothing team
Walter got drafted by a nothing team.
 
Emmitt had a number of qualities that would have led him to have success anywhere in the league, though I don't really believe he would have been the all-time rushing leader if he had ended up on a team that had little else to assist him.

Emmitt was a smart runner, choosing his holes correctly at an extremely high rate. He used his blockers well and had very good vision.

Emmitt was strong and and almost always fell forward. It helped that he had a mammoth line and talent around that kept opposing Ds more honest than usual, but he did alot of work on his own, as well.

Emmitt's body and running style was compact and economical. No wasted motion, hard to get a bead on, hard to hit square. Again, the support of his team magnified these traits, but he had these traits in spades.

He was a great back and would have been great with any team.
 
Most players enter the league saying they want to be the best. That surprises you?

Thanks HP. I did mean that. Sure the cowboys sucked when they drafted Emmitt...but they also had Aikman, Irvin, and the best O-Line in the history of the game.

Neither Chicago nor detroit had a QB or O-line in the entire tenure of Barry or Emmitt.

OK, Ill back off Blair Thomas. How about another guy who told coach he "wanted to be the best"

Emmitt on Jets = Curtis Martin

Very Good back. Cusp of HOF.

Sorry Emmitt, you aren't good enough to sniff Walter's Jock.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

NEW: Pro Sports Forums

Cowboys, Texans, Rangers, Astros, Mavs, Rockets, etc. Pro Longhorns. The Chiefs and that Swift gal. This is the place.

Pro Sports Forums

Recent Threads

Back
Top