Pure talent-Barry, pure football player-Emmitt.

Both were amazing.

To me Walter Payton is simply the most exciting player I’ve ever seen. And I’m NOT a Bear’s fan.

I must say though Im seeing some really crazy comments on here about Sanders being the best RB of all time. Are you guys nuts? Neither of these two guys compares to Walter Payton, let alone the greatest player of all time which was Jim Brown. Go watch some of the old film. The guy was a machine. Cant compare anyone to that man

Like tabs said Emmitt deserves the accolades and is clearly one of the all-time greats. Anyone who says otherwise does not know football. Curvin Richards, Derrick Lassic, Lincoln Coleman, Sherman Williams did not run wild behind the Dallas OL because they were journeymen and not elite talents like Emmitt or Barry. When Emmitt held out in 1993 the Dallas O had no balance without a running game and opposing defenses could concentrate on just stopping the pass.

And people forget who they actually played in those two games. Week 1 was on the road on MNF to the Redskins and as everyone knows the NFL formbook can always be thrown away on national television when on the road to a divisional rival. Washington scored 35 points and rushed for 171yds while Mark Rypien threw 3 TDs. How was Emmitt going to stop that playing on offense? Week 2 was home to the Buffalo Bills, who were on their run of 4 consecutive AFC titles. They lost to an excellent team. Big deal. Dallas lost games with Emmitt too. Even when Emmitt came back in Week 3 of 1993 he had only 8-45 yds while Lassic had 14-60-2TDs in a victory over the Cards. But Emmitt gets the credit?

Don’t forget that in 1988 when Dallas were 3-13 Herschel Walker rushed for 1,514 yds and 5 TDs with a 4.2 ypc. Walker added 53 catches for 505 yds. The OL featured a young Nate Newton and rookie Kevin Gogan, 2 of the 6 Pro Bowlers on the OL during the 90s when Emmitt was the star.

And why were the Cowboys 3-13? Their QBs were Steve Pelleur and Kevin Sweeney, not Troy Aikman. Michael Irvin was a rookie, Jay Novacek played for the Cardinals and Moose Johnston was at Syracuse. The starting TE was someone called Thornton Chandler who had just 18 catches that season and 29 for his entire career.

The defense was ranked 25th in points and 20th in yardage in a 28 team NFL. Compare those defensive numbers to 1992-99 when Emmitt was in Dallas. Its ironic that it was the Walker trade that gave Dallas the Vikings’ #1 pick in 1990 (among a bucketload of other draft picks) which Dallas used to trade up and draft Emmitt.

He was a great player no doubt but there’s also no doubt he was dealt a royal flush and landed in the right place at the right time. Sanders never had that luxury or luck.

You guys make some pretty compelling, educated, and valid points about Barry Sanders. His numbers certainly don’t lie, and his production during his 10 years in the NFL can only be compared to perhaps Jim Brown. He was THE Human Highlight Reel.

My earlier points were mainly directed at those who attribute Emmitt Smith’s production solely to the offensive line and that Barry Sanders would somehow better Emmitt’s had he run behind that line. Yes, the Cowboys line was stellar, but by that rationale, not only would Barry have run wild, but also Curvin Richards, Derrick Lassic, Lincoln Coleman, Sherman Williams, or even Moose Johnston

Am I saying Barry was an equivalent short yardage back to either Payton or Smith? No. But, his detractors use the Lions strategy of pulling him in those situations as some sort of proof that he absolutely couldn’t pick up a tough yard. Which is nowhere near true. Sanders didn’t care about his numbers…he didn’t save every one of his TD footballs…damn, the guy tried to return to the official the football he carried to break 2000 yards!

Emmitt was a great, great back and deserves all the accolades. But some of the arguments against Sanders are weak. Very weak.

One more thing…Sanders played 10 years as an NFL RUNNINGBACK. Arguably, the most brutal position in the sport. He also carried the ball over 3000 times in his career. Emmitt’s heart should never be questioned. Neither should Sanders’. Some of these posters should try running into a brick wall at full-speed 10 0r 11 times every Sunday….do that for 10 years…and then speak of Sanders’ heart.

Sanders lost his most decorated lineman in Lomas Brown (6 Pro Bowls) to free agency in 1996, then led the NFL in rushing for the next two seasons including his historic 1997 season of 2.053 yds and 6.1ypc.

And if you really want to compare how Sanders would do compared to another HOFer behind the same offensive line then Thurman Thomas is a good comparison. I know its college, but the comparison is between two elite players on the same team behind the same OL, just 1 year apart.

Thomas 1987 – Oklahoma State
11 games
1,613 yards
17 touchdowns

Add on the 157 yds and 4TDs in the Sun Bowl to get 1,770 yds and 21TDs.

Sanders 1988 – Oklahoma State
11 games
2,628 yards
39 touchdowns

Add on the 222yds and 5tds in 3 qtrs of the Holiday Bowl to get 2,850 yds and 44TDs in 12 games. Sanders had 1,080 more yds and 23 more TDs in 12 games compared to another future HOF RB.

Thomas played 4 seasons at Oklahoma St, was a starter for 3 seasons and finished with 4,595 yds rushing and scored 44 career touchdowns. Sanders alone scored 44 TDs in ONE SEASON if you include the 1988 Holiday Bowl.

And Thomas ain’t no chump. He was a league MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, has 5 All-Pros (2 1st team) and was a 2nd ballot HOFer.

When you run 14 years in this league, as a running back, you are going to getvworn down! If Barry played 14 years, bet on it that his numbers would have slipped! Bet on it!
________________________________

Brown and Sanders retired in their prime. Payton had 12 elite seasons then retired after his 13th as soon the decline started. Emmitt played 13 seasons in Dallas and was allowed to leave as a free agent. I felt he should have retired as a Cowboy and not played those last 2 seasons in Arizona. He had nothing left to prove and didn’t go there with any Super Bowl aspirations like so many veterans do in their twilight years. He simply went to the Cards to pad his stats because they were the only team that offered him a contract. He didn’t need the money and his legacy was already guaranteed. Brown/Sanders retired 3 years too soon. Smith retired 2 years too late. Payton got it absolutely right when he walked away and the Bears already had a good replacement in Neal Anderson.

Would Barry have worn down after 14 seasons? History suggests he would have but he’d have racked up so many more yds in Yrs 11-13 that Emmitt would never have caught him. Sanders was still in his prime and on pace to break Payton’s record in just his 11th season. It took Emmitt 13 seasons to eventually overtake Sweetness, by which time he was already long in decline and no longer a Top 10 RB. Barry himself said he was still in great shape when he retired and felt he had another 3 elite seasons left in him.

When Steve Sabol asked him about walking away from the career rushing record Barry’s reply was ‘Yeah, but Jim Brown could have the record too’. Brown retired at age 29 after 9 seasons compared to age 30 and 10 seasons for Barry. Even though both had still plenty left in the tank (3 more seasons) I’d rather see a superstar retire in his prime than as a washed up bum (Namath, Unitas).

Someone said above that Emmitt played 5 years longer and has just over 3,000 yards more than Barry. Ok, when Barry was closing down his career, he was approximately 1,200 yards more than Emmitt. Barry started a year BEFORE Emmitt, as well! That difference is equal to one season of yardage!

_________________________________

Barry after 10 seasons (89-98) was more than 1,300 yds ahead of Emmitt after 10 seasons (90-99) despite having 181 less carries over the same timespan. Saying Barry started a year earlier is therefore totally irrelevant. It took Barry 153 games to reach 15,269 yds. When Emmitt overtook Barry into 2nd place on the all-time rushing list it took him 173 games – 20 games more.

Running backs, even the very good/great ones, are made to look better when they have a great OL. Don’t underestimate what a good OL can do for a team’s offence. Common sense says more holes are created for running backs and QBs have more time to throw. See Larry Johnson’s career before and after Roaf/Shields as a case study. LJ had seasons of 1,750-20tds in 2005 and 1,789-17tds a year later. In 2007 with Roaf and Shields retired he dropped to 559-3tds and never rushed for 1,000 yds again.

Case study 2 is Shaun Alexander, who often went untouched into the endzone behind Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson. Once Hutch left for Minnesota in 2006 and Jones was past his prime Alexander’s numbers dropped off a cliff. Alexander had seasons of 1,435-14tds, 1,696-16tds and 1,880-27tds from 2003-05. Hutch then departs for the Vikings and Alexander sinks to 896-7tds in 2006 and never again runs for 1,000 yds.

Funnily enough when free agency began to tear apart the Dallas dynasty Emmitt’s numbers dropped too despite still having Larry Allen in his prime blocking for him. In 1995 Emmitt had 1,750 yds and 25tds with a 4.7 ypc on the last of Dallas’ great teams. A year later the ypc had crashed to 3.7 and by 1997 it was 4.1 while his rushing TDs had fallen from 25 to 12 to 4 in that 3-season span (95-97). When the Cowboys struggled in the late 90s Emmitt wasn’t able to lift his game any more without his Pro Bowl OL and Troy Aikman getting knocked out with concussions. Emmitt’s last NINE seasons: 0 All-Pros, 2 Pro Bowls, 0 rushing titles and a 3.9 ypc.

Those Dallas teams were loaded from top to bottom. QB, RB, FB, TE, WR, OL, defence, coaching, cheerleaders, everything was good/great. It would be like picking a team of Pro Bowl calibre players today and throwing them together as a regular NFL franchise.

Case study 3: Even Marshall Faulk’s numbers before and after his Colts/Rams trade are a real eye-opener to what can happen when surrounded by talent.

Faulk’s early years as a runner with the Colts was an almighty struggle. Whereas Sanders was elite and All-Pro every season on a mediocre team Faulk didn’t quite find it quite as easy under similar circumstances in Indianapolis. During his 5 seasons at the Colts, Faulk’s yds per carry was a disappointing 3.8. His ypc in those 5 seasons in Indy were 4.1, 3.7, 3.0, 4.0 and 4.1. Peyton Manning was a rookie in Faulk’s 5th and last season in Indy and Faulk’s receiving numbers jumped from averaging 50-500 in his first 4 seasons to 86-908 with a franchise QB. Faulk also had 1,319 yds rushing with Manning compared to 1,054 yds the year before with Jim Harbaugh.

As soon as Faulk goes to the Rams in 1999 that career 3.8 avg jumped to 5.5, 5.4 and 5.3 on the Greatest Show on Turf teams from 1999-2001. Obviously having another elite QB, two elite WRs and running behind an OL with future HOFer Orlando Pace in his prime opened up far more holes than the likes of Kipp Vickers, Tony Mandarich, Jason Mathews and Eric Mahlum ever could.

He faced the Vikings who had the best DL in football at one point with John Randle, (HOF), Chris Doleman (150 sacks and future HOFer) and Keith Millard (2 All-Pros and 18 sacks in 1989 which is insane for a DT) not to mention Pro Bowlers like safety Joey Browner. They had the NFL’s #1 D in 1989 and 1993. Sanders rushed for 220yds and 4 TDs at the Metrodome in 1991.

The Bucs had Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks (future HOFers) and Pro Bowlers like Lynch and Barber. They were ranked #2 in pts conceded and #3 in yds in 1997 when Barry rushed for 215 yds and 3 TDs at Tampa Stadium.

The Packers won the Super Bowl in the 1996 season and were always serious SB contenders with Reggie White, maybe the greatest defensive player ever, on the DL. They were #1 in yds and pts in 1996. They were 9th, 5th, 4th, 1st and 5th in points conceded from 93-97 and 4th best in yds in 1998, 2nd best in yds in 1993 to go with their #1 rankings in 1996.

And Barry also went to Dallas in 1994 and rushed for 194 yds at Texas Stadium when the Cowboys were back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions. The Dallas D that season were ranked #1 in pts and #3 in yds.

From 1992-99 Dallas’ D was ranked as follows in pts: 5th, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 13th, 3rd, 5th. In yardage they were ranked #1 in 92 and 94, #2 in 97 and #3 in 96. So not only was Emmitt getting help from a legendary offense loaded with Pro Bowlers the defense was consistently Top 5 and had the likes of Haley, Deion (HOF), Norton, Lett and Darren Woodson.

By comparison not only did Barry have a mediocre OL and backup calibre QBs for most of his career the Defense was also very average. The Lions D from 1989-98 was ranked as follows in points conceded: 19th, 26, 11, 20, 15, 19, 14, 22, 10, 24. In yardage they were: 18th, 28 (dead last in 1990), 15, 20, 6, 24, 23, 20, 14 and 15.

Detroit’s D had just 1 Top 10 ranking (#6 in 1993 yardage) out of both categories (pts and yards) in Barry’s entire career. From 1992-99 Dallas’ D had 11 rankings in the TOP 5 from both categories.

Emmitt fans can point to longevity but Barry was DOMINANT for longer (10 seasons, 10 All-Pros vs 15 and 6) Consider what Emmitt did in those last 5 seasons, where he added 4,392 yards on 1,166 attempts (3.77 YPC), finishing 13th, 15th, 20th, 61st, and 21st in the NFL in rushing. Those are hardly numbers which are going to elevate him above Barry, who outperfomed him by 1,306 yds with 181 less carries in those first 10 seasons. Playing longer than everyone else simply does not make you a better player. Sanders and Brown retired at the top and in their prime. Payton played 13 seasons and retired as soon as the decline started. Smith hung around way past his best because he was motivated in breaking individual records in a team sport. Arizona were the only team interested in signing Smith after Dallas released him, and lets face it, he didn’t go there with any Super Bowl aspirations.

If you honestly think Emmitt could have achieved what Barry did in Detroit with 15,269 yds in 10 seasons, 99.8 ypg, 5,0 ypc, 4 rushing titles, 7 Top 2 finishes, 10 All-Pros, 2 OPOTYs, a 2k season and an MVP you are deluding yourself. Now ask yourself that same question only this time with Barry on those juggernaut Dallas teams. What would Emmitt’s postseason record be like under such a scenario? Does he even have a postseason record? Remember Gale Sayers never played a playoff game in his career and still finished ahead of Smith in the NFL Network’s Top 100 series and in the Sporting News publication – ‘Football’s 100 Greatest Players’

Every player poll during that era had Barry clearly ahead. The Sporting News book, which polled a wide variety of experts including HOFers, had Barry ranked #12 best player ever while Emmitt wasn’t even in the Top 50. Barry also finished ahead of Emmitt on the recent Top 100 series on NFL Network.

Ask nearly all of their peers from the 1990′s, the likes of Terrell Davis, Curtis Martin and Robert Smith. Ask the defenders who faced them both. Every player/executive poll I have seen from that era had Sanders a clear winner. Davis, Martin and Smith have said Sanders is not only better than Emmitt but is the greatest ever. Jim Brown, not one for giving out praise lightly to say the least, said Sanders was simply fantastic with ”god-given talent”. An ESPN poll ranking all-time RBs and which included Don Shula and Raymond Berry had Brown/Sanders/Payton as the clear top 3.

Like I said. Why not ask the NFL players themselves.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1113700/index.htm

Based on a survey of 354 NFL players in 2004.

Who Is the Greatest Player You Ever Saw?

Barry Sanders 30%
Running Back, Lions

Walter Payton 20%
Running Back, Bears

Joe Montana 8%
Quarterback, 49ers-Chiefs

John Elway 7%
Quarterback, Broncos

FAST FACTS: Only one active player, Ravens CB Deion Sanders (fifth, 7%), was among top eight vote-getters. He got 11% of the overall vote from defensive players…. Barry Sanders, who retired in 1998 at age 30, got 42% of the vote among players with eight or more years experience.

And that is greatest PLAYER, not just RB. And Sanders got 42% of the vote from those vets who would have played against both. Emmitt didn’t even register. How can you argue against their peers with such an overwhelming result.

I’ll leave the final word to Gale Sayers: Its worth noting that Sayers’ comments came just weeks before the start of the 1997 season when Barry had his greatest season ever.

“I wish Barry had a better line to run behind. I’d like to see what would happen then. Many times when you see him, he’s making moves behind the line of scrimmage, trying to get away. A lot of times Emmitt isn’t touched until he’s five yards past the line. When Barry’s five yards into the secondary, he’s gone. People talk about whether Barry can gain 2,000 yards in a season. Well, if he had Dallas’ line, we’d be asking how many years he’d be gaining 2,000 yards. Look at his stats now: He’s gaining 1,500 or 1,600 yards anyway. I think Emmitt is a good second-effort runner, a strong runner, but I go with Barry.”

Basically there are two camps in the Barry v Emmitt debate.

Emmitt – Dallas fans
Barry – Everyone else.

Barry has about 85% of the vote here. I’m surprised its as close as that.

Case closed.

Sanders had the most TD runs of more than 10 yards (51), 20+ yards (30) and every 10-yard increment up to 80+ yards. He scored a record 15 TDs of 50 yds or more from his 99 rushing TDs. Jim Brown had 12 and Emmitt 6 from 50+. Barry also had an NFL record 25 games of 150+ yds rushing, Jim Brown is 2nd with 22 despite playing 5 and 6 seasons less than Emmitt.

Jim Brown and Sanders are 1st and 2nd for yds/game and yds/carry for the 73 RBs with over 6,000 career yds rushing. Smith is not in the Top 10 for either. Even if you took Smith’s 10 best seasons they still do not compare with Brown/Sanders. Payton and Sanders both proved they could totally dominate for longer with far less talent around them. (In 1977 Payton rushed for 1,852 yds in 14 games despite the Bears having a QB rating of just 61.8.) They would dominate on any team in any era no matter how bad their teammates were imo. I’m not quite so certain the same can be said for Emmitt.

How many rings, MVPs, rushing titles, Pro Bowls and All-Pros would Smith have had he played his career in Detroit in the 1990s? Would Emmitt have achieved what Barry did under those circumstances? Does he average 1,500 yds per season at 5ypc for 10 years with an MVP, a 2k season, two OPOTYS and 10 All-Pros like Barry did? IMO he doesn’t come close.

Now ask yourself that same question only this time with Barry in Dallas during the 90s. Barry with those Cowboys would have been utterly ridiculous. Emmitt got dealt a royal flush landing in Dallas and fair play he took full advantage of it. But he didn’t even come close to Barry’s numbers even with that huge advantage.

Or what if the Jets had taken Emmitt instead of Blair Thomas in the 1990 draft at #2 overall and Smith ended up playing the 90s under Bruce Coslet and Rich Kotite and 7 different starting QBs instead of 1 HOFer in Troy Aikman. That’s a similar situation to what Barry found himself in as his starting QBs in Detroit were a revolving door of Eric Hipple, Bob Gagliano, Rodney Peete, Erik Kramer, Andre Ware, Scott Mitchell, an old Dave Krieg and Frank Reich. With the exception of Krieg, who was at the end of his career and played in 1994 when Barry rushed for 1,883yds, all the rest of those QBs were backup calibre and not exactly Troy Aikman.

* Another myth is that Sanders was not a good receiver. While he was definitely not going to remind anyone of Marshall Faulk, he was not a bad one either and certainly no worse than Smith.

In Barry’s 10 seasons he had:
352 catches, 2,921 yds, 10 TD’s with an 8.3 ypc.

Emmitt’s first 10 seasons:
442 catches, 2,728 yards, 11 TD’s with a 6.2 ypc.

Emmitt had 90 more receptions, but Barry still had nearly 200 MORE yards and just 1 less TD. The ypc gives Sanders a clear 2.1 yard advantage. Heck, Emmitt finished his career with 3,224 yds receiving…that’s barely 300 more yards than Barry and it took him FIVE seasons longer. So why is Emmitt labelled a much better receiver than Barry?

* Sanders was often labelled as a guy who could not run anywhere near as well on grass as he could on turf. Lets look at the numbers though.

TURF
109 games
11,105 yards
5.0 avg
101.1 yards per game

GRASS
44 games
4,254 yards
5.0 avg
96.7 yards per game

__________________

HOME
77 games
7,933 yards
5.0 avg
103 yds per game

AWAY
76 games
7,336 yards
5.0 avg
96.5 yds per game

__________________

INDOORS
95 games
9,461 yards
5.0 avg
99.6 yards per game

OUTDOORS
58 games
5,808 yards
5.0 avg
100.1 yards per game

Barry’s numbers for home/away, and indoors/outdoors are again almost identical. On all 6 categories he averages at least 96.5 yards per game and exactly 5.0 yds per carry. I guess if a lie is told often enough people will begin to believe it.

* Most 100 yard rushing games in an NFL career

1- Emmitt Smith 78 in 226 games
2- Walter Payton 77 in 190 games
3- Barry Sanders 76 in 153 games

Barry rushed for more than 100 yards in almost half (49.7%) of the games he played in the NFL. He had one less 100yd game than Payton in 37 fewer games and 2 less 100yd games than Smith in 73 fewer games.

Sanders had FIVE seasons where he averaged at least 5 yards per carry, including a 5.7 in 1994 and an incredible 6.1 in 1997. His worst season was 4.3 in his last year (1998) and 1992 when his OL collapsed because of injuries and tragedy (Utley paralysed and Andolsek killed in an offseason accident.) And despite being on a mediocre team with a mediocre OL, and a carousel of poor QBs, Sanders was an All-Pro in every one of his 10 seasons (6 1st team, 4 2nd team), was twice OPOTY, MVP, had 4 rushing titles, was a Top 2 rusher 7-times and was never out of the Top 5 in rushing (even when he missed 5 games in 1993).

By comparison Emmitt had just ONE season where he averaged at least 5 ypc. Sanders averaged 5 ypc for HIS ENTIRE CAREER. Emmitt only had FOUR seasons where he averaged at least 4.3 yards per carry, which matched Barry’s worst season. That means Emmitt had 11 seasons out of 15 where he averaged 4.2 yards or less, including SIX seasons with an average of LESS than 4 yards. And for a good number of those years he did it behind one of the most dominant O-lines in NFL history with a HOF QB, HOF WR, Pro Bowl TE and Pro Bowl FB clearing his path. Despite playing 5 more seasons than Barry, Smith was selected to 2 less Pro Bowls and 2 less 1st team All-Pros and 5 All-Pros in total.

Barry:
10 seasons
10 Pro Bowls
10 All-Pros (AP)

Emmitt
15 seasons
8 Pro Bowls
6 All-Pros (AP)

Look at the above and tell me who was more consistent? And which RB was the only unanimous choice for the official 1990s All-Decade team? Barry Sanders, who was one of 5 players given that distinction. Jerry Rice and Reggie White were two of the other 4.

In his last 9 seasons, from 1996, when the Cowboys began to be hit hard by free agency, to his final season in 2004, Emmitt had 0 rushing titles, 2 Pro Bowls, 0 All-Pros and a 3.9 ypc.

From 1996, when he was aged 28, to 2004 Smith was never more than a 1996 2nd team UPI All-Conference pick. Sanders was an All-Pro every year of his career and was rushing for 2,053 and 6.1ypc aged 29 while the great Walter Payton was in his 30′s when he had seasons of 1,684 and 1,551.

They didn’t exactly have a level playing field yet Sanders still consistently outperformed Emmitt with far less talent around him. Smith was driving a Ferrari while Sanders in comparison was driving a Ford. If Barry had the same good fortune to land on a winning program like Jerry Rice or Emmitt he would have put records so far out of sight they would be untouchable.

Stop Sanders and most of the time you stopped Detroit. Dallas even tried that in the ’91 playoffs and got crushed when Erik Kramer had the game of his life. Smith was just one of the main cogs on a great team, a well-oiled machine. Roger Craig and Franco Harris were also main cogs in great teams too and have won 3 and 4 rings respectively yet aren’t anywhere near as good a player as Emmitt. So using the ring argument is weak. Great teams win championships and Smith, Craig and Harris were part of dynastys surrounded by HOF QBs, HOF WRs, great OLs (Dallas were a Top 3 unit all-time) and great defenses (maybe the greatest ever in Harris’ case). Emmitt also had Pro Bowlers in Jay Novacek and Moose Johnston blocking for him while Barry was the lone back for most of his career. Barry also never had a franchise QB to balance the offense while Emmitt had a HOFer in Troy Aikman. That was crucial because defenses could afford to key on Barry more than they could vs Emmitt and force the likes of Gagliano, Peete, Ware and Mitchell to beat them through the air.

Lets compare their offensive teammates.

Barry’s 10 seasons: (15,269yds and 5.0 ypc)
13 career Pro Bowls among 3 players – Moore and 2 OL (Brown and Glover).
6 Pro Bowls from Lomas Brown (who never went to the Pro Bowl in the 4 seasons before Barry was drafted. What people forget also is that Brown moved to Arizona in 1996 as a free agent, a year BEFORE Barry’s 2,053, 6.1 season). So Barry loses his best lineman and someone who went to 6 of the 13 Pro Bowls of Barry’s teammates and he still rushes for over 2,000. Wow!
0 Pro Bowls from the QBs
4 1st team All-Pros among 2 players – Moore (3) and Brown (1)

Emmitt’s first 10 seasons: (13,963yds and 4.3 ypc)
40 career Pro Bowls among 10 players (6 of them on the OL)
22 career Pro Bowls alone from those 6 Offensive Linemen.
6 Pro Bowls from the QBs
10 1st team All-Pros among 5 players
8 of those All-Pros between 3 OL – Larry Allen, Erik Williams and Nate Newton).

By 1995, the year Emmitt led the league in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, yards from scrimmage and total touchdowns, he was playing behind four Pro Bowl linemen and the fifth was a four-time Pro Bowler in the prime of his career. His tight end, a strong blocker, would make the Pro Bowl for the fifth straight season, too. His fullback had made the Pro Bowl the prior two seasons, and only missed it in ’95 because Larry Centers had 101 receptions that season. So Smith was playing with an insane seven Pro Bowl caliber blockers that season, in addition to having a HOF QB and HOF WR on his team, too. Only one player in the starting eleven — WR2 Kevin Williams — would not make a Pro Bowl in his career. In fact, the ’95 Cowboys had 10 offensive players who would make 55 Pro Bowls in their career, the most in NFL history.

Ben Roethlisberger led a comeback win against the Ravens–good defense–with a broken drop-foot and a broken nose. By your logic, would he be the greatest of all time? The broken arm was impressive, no doubt. But that doesn’t make his case. Sanders never had the defense, o-line, fullback, or QB that Smith did. And he often out performed Smith.

Let’s not forget that Smith also had a hall of fame QB and a defense that got him the ball back regularly. There’s just no comparison. Smith had all of the tools to be great, and he was. Sanders was given nothing and he was better.

Let’s also remember: one day, there will be a running back who runs just like Emmit Smith did. There will not be another Sanders. He was a freak.

Imagine Emmitt in the Run and Shoot? I don’t have to…we all have evidence of him running behind one of the best O-lines ever. And, also, a great blocking fullback, as you mentioned. With lots of real estate. Emmitt did a legendary job at it, too. Anyone who would try to diss Emmitt is a fool, but anyone who would try to argue that Sanders and Smith had comparable team situations is being a bigger one.

YAC? I’m sure Emmitt picked up big time yardage after contact, but here’s the thing:

So did Sanders. Barry detractors point to the yards lost and completely IGNORE the innumerable times Sanders created something out of nothing. It was a normal occurrence to watch at least one Lion O-liner get waxed on a play, a defender break into the backfield, and Sanders somehow shedding that tackler a split second after taking the freaking handoff. Talk of the -1, -2, and no gainers all you want…I remember the plays Sanders should have lost three and ran for 20. It has been stated multiple times that the Lions scheme often allowed for at least one unblocked defender (ie: “don’t worry, that’s Barry’s man”). That Emmitt vs Atlanta/Tuggle play was so commonplace for Sanders, it’s funny (Lions vs Bears ’92, Lions vs 49ers ’96, Lions vs Bucs ’93, Lions vs Cowboys ’92, etc…, etc…,etc…)

Emmitt vs Giants? No doubt, a great example of the type of player Smith was. Smith was a gamer, a legend, one of the best of all time.

So was Sanders. Again, some point to Sanders and say he never did it in the playoffs. They point to the debacle in GB (13 for -1) and conveniently ignore that Sanders ran for 169 yards on 27 carries the year before. In a playoff game. Which happens to be more yards than Emmitt ran for in any one single playoff game.

Once again, if you don’t respect Emmitt Smith, you don’t respect football. Same goes for Barry Sanders. I feel glad to have grown up in the 90′s and had the privilege of watching some of the best backs ever:

Barry, Emmitt, Thurman, Faulk, Davis, etc…

But, Barry Sanders did more with less than any of those guys, including Emmitt Smith.

1). Daryl Moose Johnston – He, not the O-line, was perhaps the single greatest factor in Emmitt’s success other than Emmitt himself. If you’re gonna give credit to someone else, haters, give credit where credit is due. The Moose sold out on every play where he blocked for Emmitt, and that’s why Emmitt gave him such a heartfelt thank you on the sideline after breaking Walter Payton’s rushing record.

2). The Run-and-Shoot – I know that the Lions didn’t use that offense for long, but when they did, Barry reaped the benefits. After all, it was a pass first, run second offense, where after spreading the defense with the passing game, large chunks of real estate were open for Barry to run free. Imagine Emmitt running in that offense!

3). YAC – Although I’ve yet to see this stat as it pertains to rushing yardage, I would dare say that more than half of Emmitt’s rushing yardage came after contact. All you have to do is watch his 29 yd TD run against the Atlanta Falcons from MNF back in 1992, where LB Jesse Tuggle had him wrapped up, and Emmitt broke the tackle, dashed right, and beat Deion to the pylon. O-line you say?

4). Cowboys vs. Giants, Meadowlands, Jan. 2, 1994 – All Emmitt did was rush 32 times for 168 yards with 10 catches for another 61 yards and a TD, gaining 41 of 52 yards on the game winning drive in OT. Cowboys won 13-7, won the division, locked up home field advantage, and won the 2nd of back-to-back Super Bowls. Oh yeah, he played the whole 2nd half and OT with ONE FREAKING ARM thanks to a separated shoulder. Can you say Warrior?

This has to be in the Top-3 of player-to-player arguments and comparisons (who’s better?) when you look at NFL history and there has been a lot of valid arguments on BOTH SIDES.

The only argument I can think of that can generate this kind of response is about Brett Favre’s (Fav-ruhhh?) place in history.

Aside from the passion and vitriol, the Barry-Emmitt argument has been fun to watch and read.

P.S. – Emmitt was better!!!!!!