My top 10 backs of all time

[bootsy]

There are some absolutely horrible lists on here and I'm not really surprised. First Emmitt shouldn't be any worse than number 5 on anybody's. I don't how you feel about his oline(which is a big myth) and whatever else. The man with the most rushing yards and TD's of all time should be no worse than number 5. The person that has them at number 15 needs to quit watching football FOREVER.

I saw Bo Jackson on one list at least. Look I know everyone has this Bo fascination and 'ooh' 'aah' over him but he is not anywhere close to a top back. I don't career about his highlight reel runs. His career and numbers due to his injury cutting his football career short says he isn't close to a top back.

[WOwolfOL]

please dispel the Cowboys OL myth then. And take into consideration that Emmitt didn't break those records in less carries than the former holders. He's actually a little underrated, due to how many people fly the overrated flag. But he's not top 5.

[iam brett favre]

No Ahman Green?

[Gritz]

What about Jamal Lewis?

[FortDetroit]

Since I started watching football (can't speak to anything before that):

1. Barry
2. Faulk
3. LT
4. Emmitt

[bootsy]

please dispel the Cowboys OL myth then. And take into consideration that Emmitt didn't break those records in less carries than the former holders. He's actually a little underrated, due to how many people fly the overrated flag. But he's not top 5.

Sure thing. Emmitt did it at every level: high school, college, and pro

In his career at Escambia High School Emmitt Smith rushed for 8804 yards and 106 TDs. I could not find anything on his HS receiving stats. He ran for over 2000 yards twice. Was the all time leading rusher in Florida high school football until 2011.

In his career at the University of Florida he rushed for 3928 yards, 36 TDs, and had 461 yards receiving and another TD.

In his NFL career he rushed for 18,355 yards, 164 TDs, and had 3224 receiving yards, 11 more TDs and 1 passing TD.

In his post season career he added 1586 yards, 19 TDs, 342 receiving yards, and 2 TDs.


This breaks down to 32,673 rushing yards, 4027 receiving yards that we know of, for a grand total of 36,700 yards from scrimmage.

If you multiply that number time 3 you come up with 110,100 feet. Divide that by 5280 and it comes out to just over 20.85 miles from scrimmage.

On top of this he scored 339 TDs that we know of and threw for another one for 340 in his football career.

The man did it and did it very well at every level of his football career. The man could run the freaking football. People act like he was a nothing a nobody and all of sudden fell into this luck running behind the Cowboy oline. He didn't have that oline in high school and colle

As for the oline itself. I hear all the time how that Cowboy oline is one of the greatest of all time, why are none of them except one Larry Allen going to the Hall of Fame. Because Emmitt made that line look as good as the oline made him look. Before Emmitt played for the Cowboys Nate Newton, Mark Tuinei, Mark Stepnoski(came a year before Emmitt) and Kevin Gogan were a part of the offensive line and those guys weren't making Pro Bowls and known as this all world offensive line. Once Emmitt gets to the Cowboys, the line starts to look better because Emmitt's ability to know where to run to and find holes behind that line. All of sudden those guys start making Pro Bowls and getting all of the notoriety and attention. Larry Allen didn't play for the Cowboys until 1994 after Emmitt had already won two rushing titles.

Tommie Agee, Ricky Blake, Curvin Richards, Derrick Lassic, Lincoln Coleman, Blair Thomas, Sherman Williams. These are all Emmitt's backups when Emmitt needed a break or if he was injured or when he held out the first two games of the 93 season. None of these backs could run with the same offensive line Emmitt ran behind. I wonder why. I mean this "great" offensive line should surely be able to open up those 'big holes' Emmitt ran behind with ease right? No.

He is no worse than top 5. I don't care how many carries he had. If anything that is a credit to him for lasting as long as he did and still being effective at the age of 30 and beyond. People act like longevity is a bad thing or a negative. Playing running back and having the longevity and durability he had is anything but a negative.

Emmitt was a special back when he played at all levels of his career. He could run the football like few others this sport has seen it's just too bad some don't or don't like to give him the credit he deserves.

[Fired-Up]

For the people talking about Emmitt. I think #7 is a good place for him. I have no problem putting him at #6 either. But he is not better than Payton, Brown, Simpson, Sanders or Dickerson, and IMO LDT. How can you be top 5 if there are 5+ guys better than you?

[FortDetroit]

For the people talking about Emmitt. I think #7 is a good place for him. I have no problem putting him at #6 either. But he is not better than Payton, Brown, Simpson, Sanders or Dickerson, and IMO LDT. How can you be top 5 if there are 5+ guys better than you?

Well, first of all it's ultimately an opinion. If someone has him top 5 they obviously don't believe there are 5+ guys better.

[basch152]

Sure thing. Emmitt did it at every level: high school, college, and pro

In his career at Escambia High School Emmitt Smith rushed for 8804 yards and 106 TDs. I could not find anything on his HS receiving stats. He ran for over 2000 yards twice. Was the all time leading rusher in Florida high school football until 2011.

In his career at the University of Florida he rushed for 3928 yards, 36 TDs, and had 461 yards receiving and another TD.

In his NFL career he rushed for 18,355 yards, 164 TDs, and had 3224 receiving yards, 11 more TDs and 1 passing TD.

In his post season career he added 1586 yards, 19 TDs, 342 receiving yards, and 2 TDs.


This breaks down to 32,673 rushing yards, 4027 receiving yards that we know of, for a grand total of 36,700 yards from scrimmage.

If you multiply that number time 3 you come up with 110,100 feet. Divide that by 5280 and it comes out to just over 20.85 miles from scrimmage.

On top of this he scored 339 TDs that we know of and threw for another one for 340 in his football career.

The man did it and did it very well at every level of his football career. The man could run the freaking football. People act like he was a nothing a nobody and all of sudden fell into this luck running behind the Cowboy oline. He didn't have that oline in high school and colle

As for the oline itself. I hear all the time how that Cowboy oline is one of the greatest of all time, why are none of them except one Larry Allen going to the Hall of Fame. Because Emmitt made that line look as good as the oline made him look. Before Emmitt played for the Cowboys Nate Newton, Mark Tuinei, Mark Stepnoski(came a year before Emmitt) and Kevin Gogan were a part of the offensive line and those guys weren't making Pro Bowls and known as this all world offensive line. Once Emmitt gets to the Cowboys, the line starts to look better because Emmitt's ability to know where to run to and find holes behind that line. All of sudden those guys start making Pro Bowls and getting all of the notoriety and attention. Larry Allen didn't play for the Cowboys until 1994 after Emmitt had already won two rushing titles.

Tommie Agee, Ricky Blake, Curvin Richards, Derrick Lassic, Lincoln Coleman, Blair Thomas, Sherman Williams. These are all Emmitt's backups when Emmitt needed a break or if he was injured or when he held out the first two games of the 93 season. None of these backs could run with the same offensive line Emmitt ran behind. I wonder why. I mean this "great" offensive line should surely be able to open up those 'big holes' Emmitt ran behind with ease right? No.

He is no worse than top 5. I don't care how many carries he had. If anything that is a credit to him for lasting as long as he did and still being effective at the age of 30 and beyond. People act like longevity is a bad thing or a negative. Playing running back and having the longevity and durability he had is anything but a negative.

Emmitt was a special back when he played at all levels of his career. He could run the football like few others this sport has seen it's just too bad some don't or don't like to give him the credit he deserves.

****ing homers.

Sorry, but if you know this much about a player, your opinion just MIGHT be a little skewed.

Big Lions fan here, and I personally think Sweetness is the unquestioned #1 back of all time. He just did it all.

After that, it depends on what you like, 2-7 should be some sort of combination of Faulk, Sanders, Simpson, Brown(personally I find Brown overrated, played in a time where he was bigger than the Linebackers he played against = not very impressive, still top 5 all time however), Dickerson, and LDT, after that you can have players like Smith.

[alexander_37]

Gale Sayers
Marcus Allen
Thurman Thomas

over AP EASILY

[trueblue83]

gale sayers
marcus allen
thurman thomas

over ap easily

huh?

[WOwolfOL]

Sure thing. Emmitt did it at every level: high school, college, and pro

In his career at Escambia High School Emmitt Smith rushed for 8804 yards and 106 TDs. I could not find anything on his HS receiving stats. He ran for over 2000 yards twice. Was the all time leading rusher in Florida high school football until 2011.

In his career at the University of Florida he rushed for 3928 yards, 36 TDs, and had 461 yards receiving and another TD.

In his NFL career he rushed for 18,355 yards, 164 TDs, and had 3224 receiving yards, 11 more TDs and 1 passing TD.

In his post season career he added 1586 yards, 19 TDs, 342 receiving yards, and 2 TDs.


This breaks down to 32,673 rushing yards, 4027 receiving yards that we know of, for a grand total of 36,700 yards from scrimmage.

If you multiply that number time 3 you come up with 110,100 feet. Divide that by 5280 and it comes out to just over 20.85 miles from scrimmage.

On top of this he scored 339 TDs that we know of and threw for another one for 340 in his football career.

The man did it and did it very well at every level of his football career. The man could run the freaking football. People act like he was a nothing a nobody and all of sudden fell into this luck running behind the Cowboy oline. He didn't have that oline in high school and colle

As for the oline itself. I hear all the time how that Cowboy oline is one of the greatest of all time, why are none of them except one Larry Allen going to the Hall of Fame. Because Emmitt made that line look as good as the oline made him look. Before Emmitt played for the Cowboys Nate Newton, Mark Tuinei, Mark Stepnoski(came a year before Emmitt) and Kevin Gogan were a part of the offensive line and those guys weren't making Pro Bowls and known as this all world offensive line. Once Emmitt gets to the Cowboys, the line starts to look better because Emmitt's ability to know where to run to and find holes behind that line. All of sudden those guys start making Pro Bowls and getting all of the notoriety and attention. Larry Allen didn't play for the Cowboys until 1994 after Emmitt had already won two rushing titles.

Tommie Agee, Ricky Blake, Curvin Richards, Derrick Lassic, Lincoln Coleman, Blair Thomas, Sherman Williams. These are all Emmitt's backups when Emmitt needed a break or if he was injured or when he held out the first two games of the 93 season. None of these backs could run with the same offensive line Emmitt ran behind. I wonder why. I mean this "great" offensive line should surely be able to open up those 'big holes' Emmitt ran behind with ease right? No.

He is no worse than top 5. I don't care how many carries he had. If anything that is a credit to him for lasting as long as he did and still being effective at the age of 30 and beyond. People act like longevity is a bad thing or a negative. Playing running back and having the longevity and durability he had is anything but a negative.

Emmitt was a special back when he played at all levels of his career. He could run the football like few others this sport has seen it's just too bad some don't or don't like to give him the credit he deserves.

Good post man, you make a very good argument. Here's how I view it:

Nobody's calling Emmitt a nobody (ranking him 15th is ludicrous, that dude doesnt count haha), he was great, no doubt. But you won't find anybody outside of Cowboys fans who would say that the 4 above him couldn't do better with his line. All of those back-ups you listed seriously sucked and never in their journeymen careers did they ever show ****. So you can look at it that they couldn't find success behind that line, or you can admit that they couldn't find success behind any line. The line was very, very good - can we attribute their previous anonymity to not having Jimmy Johnson and his staff and being a cellar-dweller? We know those players get no recognition. And of course Erik Williams was a huge addition, but he didn't become the starter until 92, after Smith had already had a very nice 2nd season.

Emmitt was blessed with a better line than Payton (line was atrocious for first 6 seasons, started to become really good when Ditka came), Sanders (underrated, but not as good as the Cowboys), and OJ (never saw personally but known for being crap), it's almost indisputable. I don't know much about the Browns' OL during Brown's tenure but I've already said that his physical superiority was possibly the biggest advantage any RB has ever had, and he would succeed in a game if his line was WR's and TE's (in jest). So then at that point, I say "would Eric Dickerson have been better behind that line? He had Jackie Slater and their OL was known for being really solid so it's not a given - can't just group him in the bad OL troupe. I kind of feel like they are 2 of the best at getting to the second level but Dickerson was better at getting beyond it. I think he would have.

But you're right about longevity and producing at a high level beyond 30. That's actually what separates Payton and Emmitt - that and Barry retiring haha. Emmitt did it; dickerson didn't. So damn, that makes it tough. Dickerson did have 4 2K scrm yrs to Emmitt's 2... but I think I'ma have to call them equal, all things considered. What Dickerson did in his first 4 years is simply amazing. But Emmitt was a rare breed, able to produce into his 30's, where practically every great RB besides Payton failed. I'll put him in my top 5.

[CCRider]

Let's go with the best five per team. Not going way back in "The Galloping Ghost" days. Not so much about top yardage as it is overall impact. Those who played for more than one team, I went with where they were the most successful. Just off the top of my head so don't beat me up because I might not have been spot on. Pretty accurate, ball park.

Niners...Frank Gore, Roger Craig, Joe "The Jet" Perry, Hugh "The King" McElhenny, Delvin Williams

Rams...Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Steven Jackson, Lawrence McCutheon, Dick Bass

Cards...Otis Anderson, Ollie Matson, John David Crow, Stump Mitchell, Terry Metcalf

Seahawks...Shaun Alexander, Marshawn Lynch, Chris Warren, Curt Warner, Ricky Watters

Packers...Jim Taylor, Ahman Green, John Brockington, Paul Hornung, Ryan Grant

Vikings...Adrian Peterson, Robert Smith, Chuck Foreman, Ted Brown, Darin Nelson,

Bears....Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, Neal Anderson, Wilie Galimore, Rick Casares

Lions...Barry Sanders, Billy Sims, Steve Owens, Nick Pietrasonte, Dexter Bussey

Redskins..John Riggins, Clinton Portis, Alfred Morris, Larry Brown, Stephen Davis

Cowboys...Emmitt Smith, Tony Dorsett, Calvin Hill, Don Perkins, Robert Newhouse

Giants...Tiki Barber, Rodney Hampton, Joe Morris, Frank Gifford, Ahmad Bradshaw

Eagles...Wilbert Montgomery, Brian Westbrook, Duce Staley, Timmy Brown, Steve Van Buren

Falcons...Gerald Riggs, William Andrews, Warrick Dunn, Jamal Anderson, Michael Turner

Saints...Duece McAlister, George Rogers, Dalton Hilliard, Ruben Mayes, Pierre Thomas

Buc's...James Wilder, Mike Alstott, Cadillac Williams, Michael Pittman, James Owens

Panthers...Deangelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart,Tim Biakabutuka, Fred Lane ?

Chargers...LaDainian Tomlinson, Paul Lowe, Marion Butts, Natrone Means, Chuck Muncie

Chiefs...Christian "The Nigerian Nightmare" Okoye, Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson, Abner Haynes, Mike Garrett

Raiders...Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Clem Daneils, Mark Van Eeghan, Napolean Kaufman

Broncos...Terrell Davis, Floyd Little, Otis Armstrong, Sammy Winder, Mike Anderson

Pats...Sam Cunnigham, Jim Nance, Tony Collins, Kevin Faulk, Steven Ridley

Jets...Curtis Martin, Freeman McNeil, Matt Snell, Thomas Jones, Emerson Boozer

Dolphins....Larry Csonka. Ricky Williams, Mercury Morris, Ronnie Brown, Reggie Bush

Bills...Thurmon Thomas, O.J.Simpson, Cookie Gilchrist, Joe Cribbs, Travis Henry

Steelers...Jerome Bettis, Franco Harris, John Henry Johnson, Barry Foster, Rocky Bleier

Bengals...Corey Dillon, James Brooks, Pete Johnson, Paul Robinson, Cedric Benson

Ravens...Jamal Lewis, Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, Chester Taylor, ?

Browns...Jimmy Brown, Marion Mottley, Leroy Kelly, Mike Pruitt, Greg Pruitt

Texans...Arian Foster, Domenick Williams, Steve Slaton, Ron Dayne, ?

Colts...Edgerrin James, Lenny Moore, Lydell Mitchell, Alan Ameche, Curtis Dickey...fastest RB ever-10.10 100m

Oilers/Titans...Earl Campbell, Eddie George, Chris Johnson, Lorenzo White, Hoyle Granger

Jags...Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones Drew, James Stewart ? ?

I can't ignore...

Keith Lincoln...Chargers
Herschel Walker...pick one
Terry Allen ...Redskins
Mack "The Truck" Lee Hill...Chiefs. What might have been.
"Jaguar" Jon Arnett...Rams
Joe Delaney...Chiefs. What might have been.
Ernest Jackson..Chargers

Little trivia question here.

This guy was a college QB, once he arrived at training camp he was made into a RB, had over a 1000 yards as a rookie. Who?

[CCRider]

There are some absolutely horrible lists on here and I'm not really surprised. First Emmitt shouldn't be any worse than number 5 on anybody's. I don't how you feel about his oline(which is a big myth) and whatever else. The man with the most rushing yards and TD's of all time should be no worse than number 5. The person that has them at number 15 needs to quit watching football FOREVER.

I saw Bo Jackson on one list at least. Look I know everyone has this Bo fascination and 'ooh' 'aah' over him but he is not anywhere close to a top back. I don't career about his highlight reel runs. His career and numbers due to his injury cutting his football career short says he isn't close to a top back.

Smith had nine seasons where he averaged 4.1 or below, his career average...4.2. That is very average.

Barry Sanders never had a season where he averaged less that 4.3, his career average a gaudy 5.0.

Put Barry behind that Dallas line his rushing record would be way out there. Put Emmitt behind that Detroit line he's now averaging less than 4.0.

[KingPosey]

So because he was also a good run ing back in HS and college that proves his OL wasn't amazing? What NFL player wasn't exceptional in HS and college lol? You said a whole lot of nothing after that as well.