Detroit Lion running back situation

[DawgPound]

Actually, GridironGod probably is more correct on that comparison than most here will want to admit.  Emmitt was a COMPLETE product of one of the best offensive lines EVER ASSEMBLED.  Remember E at UF?  He was alright, not a world beater by any means.  Then he gets on dallas who put together an OL that dwarfed the DLs of the day combined with HOFs all over that offense meaning that he not only got holes a mack truck could drive through, but he always was one on one when he came through the hole bc irvin was taking 2 guys deep and the TE had already cleared out the middle.

Rewatch all those games when Emmitt was in his prime.  The guy never was touched until he was 2 yards past his OL!

So as much as I'm an ANTI UCF person, I have to agree, 24K is just like Emmit.  If he gets 30 carries a game behind a line that can give him huge holes, he'll be a STUD!

So why were there 6 rb's drafted ahead of him if he is an emmitt clone?

Cause teams with awesome lines didn't need that kind of a running back.

Oakland, Chicago, Detroit...they all have bad lines.  I'm waiting to see if Chicago made a mistake taking Forte.  I'm also out on Felix Jones since he didn't play too much.

Pittsburgh needed a runner more like Jerome Bettis so Smith wouldn't have fit in there.

[Triple B]

Actually, GridironGod probably is more correct on that comparison than most here will want to admit.  Emmitt was a COMPLETE product of one of the best offensive lines EVER ASSEMBLED.  Remember E at UF?  He was alright, not a world beater by any means.  Then he gets on dallas who put together an OL that dwarfed the DLs of the day combined with HOFs all over that offense meaning that he not only got holes a mack truck could drive through, but he always was one on one when he came through the hole bc irvin was taking 2 guys deep and the TE had already cleared out the middle.

Rewatch all those games when Emmitt was in his prime.  The guy never was touched until he was 2 yards past his OL!

So as much as I'm an ANTI UCF person, I have to agree, 24K is just like Emmit.  If he gets 30 carries a game behind a line that can give him huge holes, he'll be a STUD!

So why were there 6 rb's drafted ahead of him if he is an emmitt clone?

Cause teams with awesome lines didn't need that kind of a running back.

According to Ruger, that's exactly the type line Emmitt ran behind .... something does not compute here in your reasoning.

[Carolina_Bull]

Actually, GridironGod probably is more correct on that comparison than most here will want to admit.  Emmitt was a COMPLETE product of one of the best offensive lines EVER ASSEMBLED.  Remember E at UF?  He was alright, not a world beater by any means.  Then he gets on dallas who put together an OL that dwarfed the DLs of the day combined with HOFs all over that offense meaning that he not only got holes a mack truck could drive through, but he always was one on one when he came through the hole bc irvin was taking 2 guys deep and the TE had already cleared out the middle.

Rewatch all those games when Emmitt was in his prime.  The guy never was touched until he was 2 yards past his OL!

So as much as I'm an ANTI UCF person, I have to agree, 24K is just like Emmit.  If he gets 30 carries a game behind a line that can give him huge holes, he'll be a STUD!

Now i'd call him crazy if he compared him to Barry Sanders who consistently ran for 1000 yards with NO LINE and NO WEAPONS on offense for his whole career. 

If you think Emmitt ran for big yards in Dallas, imagine what Sanders would've done during that time period?  Hell, he'd still be playing!

IMO, Emmitt is one of the most underrated football players of all time.  He's the all-time NFL rusher and people hate on him because of the anti-cowboy thing that haters can't get out of their minds.  Plus they love to talk up a mentally weak (ie. quitter) like barry Sanders (check YPG in his playoff games).  I also think people diminish Emmitt because to celebrate his accomplishments would feel like diminishing the great Walter Payton who was not around to congratulate Emmitt like he surely would have.

Fact is, Emmitt delivered.  And when the stakes got higher Emmitt elevated his game.  And he's got the rings and records to prove it.

Anyway, here is a blurb about Emmitt's time at UF (maybe not a world beater, but much better than "alright"):

After Emmitt’ high school career ended, he was faced with a decision of where to continue his career. He passed up Auburn and Nebraska and decided to stay at home and attend the University of Florida. He quickly jumped into the national scene, rushing for more than 100 yards in his second game as a Gator. The following week against Alabama, Emmitt moved into the starting lineup and set a Gator record with 224 rushing yards in a 23-14 victory. At the end of his first season, Emmitt had rushed for 1,341 yards, a Florida record, and led the SEC. The next year Emmitt was plagued by a knee injury and had to sit out two games, but still led the Gators with 998 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. After fully recovering from his injury he was 100 percent his junior year and set new Florida records with 1,599 rushing yards and tied a school record with 14 rushing touchdowns. At the end of his three years at Florida he had scored 37 touchdowns, had 23 100-yard rushing games, was a NCAA All-American and still holds 58 school records. Emmitt did not stay his senior year, instead made himself eligible for the NFL draft.

In case you still don't think Emmitt was a natural runner (and a natural winner), here is a blurb about his high school career:

Prior to Emmitt’s arrival at Escambia, the Gators had just one winning season in its previous 18. When Emmitt stepped on the field his freshman year, the losing would stop. Emmitt rushed for 1,525 yards and 19 touchdowns in his first year.  Although Emmitt opened a few eyes his freshman year, no one could have predicted the numbers Emmitt would post over the course of his high school career. His sophomore year he rushed for 2,424 yards and scored 26 touchdowns and led his team to their first state football championship with a 47-14 victory over St. Peterburg in the Class 3-A final. Escambia was moved to Class 4-A, Emmitt’s junior year, but this would have no affect on Emmitt’s ability to run over the competition. He rushed for 2,918 yards and 33 touchdowns that year and the Gators regained the state championship title. Although Escambia was not able to recapture the title Emmitt’s senior year, he was able to polish off his career with 8,804 yards and 106 touchdowns. Emmitt is still considered one of the top All-Time Offensive Players in high school football.

WHAT LUCK!!!!!!  EMMITT, THE SLOW, FAT-KNEED KID FROM ESCAMBIA WAS ABLE TO RUN BEHIND DOMINANT OL'S HIS ENTIRE LIFE AND CONCEAL THE FACT HE IS A NO-TALENT HACK!!!!!  LOL

Sorry to come on so strong, but Emmitt is my Joe Dimaggio. . . . best (and most consistent) I ever saw.

[Goldenbuc]

I don't think anyone can compare K.Smith to Emmitt Smith.  There were comparisons last year by the media...but only in yardage.  Emmitt was a great back and any running back will have to achieve exactly what he did in the NFL to honestly be compared.

[Triple B]

I don't think anyone can compare K.Smith to Emmitt Smith. 

Careful, you don't want to piss God off ....

[Ruger7mmmag]

Carolina, don't use HS stats to justify an argument or we'll be putting guys like Noel Divine and Mike Ford into the HALL OF FAME before they become upperclassmen in college.

Emmitt was durable and smart.  He knew where the hole would be and he hit it.  But if there was nothing there, Emmitt was dead.  Contrast that with someone like Sanders or LT who could take a sure 5 yard loss and turn it into a gain with regularity.  Those guys would've exceeded Smith's output EASILY had they been in the same spot and Emmitt would've never done what those two have done if he switched places with them where the QBs were journeyman and you never could name their WR corps.  Not too mention, it's a harder life when all 11 guys on defense have noone to worry about but you!  Contrast that with Emmitt who never had anyone game planning to stop him.  LT/Barry never saw less than 8-9 guys in the box, Emmitt never saw more than 7 unless it was goal line and even then Irvin still took two guys out and Novacheck took out one wide.

Emmitt was a good RB, but not as good as his numbers. 

[KingBull]

Emmitt the best you ever saw?  Well Barry Sanders is the best I've ever seen and I've seen them both obviously.  Thinking about it now, I really wish that Barry hadn't retired before smashing the NFL career rushing record.  If he hadn't, I promise you, Emmitt would've never touched it.

[DawgPound]

Jim Brown > Barry Sanders

That is all.

[Ruger7mmmag]

LT is better than both of them...

[DawgPound]

LT is better than both of them...

Than Brown or Sanders?  Major league BS right there.