About Football Out of Bounds

Coming into the NFL season, Emmitt Smith needed just 540 yards to pass the all-time rushing record set by Walter Payton, and most predictions had him eclipsing the mark by the fifth or sixth game of the year. But after six contests, Emmitt's run at the record has become little more than a slow grind, and at his current pace, he may not break the record until the middle of November.

Although Smith is not the running back he once was, a lot of the blame can be placed on the offensive line's inability to open holes for the future Hall of Famer. You could also point to the fact that he just isn't getting a lot of carries. But, I have to wonder if the Cowboys' efforts to get Emmitt to the mark are hampering the teams' offense. There are many, including myself that question whether Emmitt is even the best running back on the team.

Personally, I think Troy Hambrick should have been put into the starting lineup last year, and apparently, The Giddings Report, a scouting service used by 12 NFL teams including the Cowboys, agrees. The Cowboys preseason report prepared by this scouting service gave Hambrick a higher ranking than Smith heading into this season.

The unfortunate result of this mishandled situation is that Emmitt Smith and NFL fans have not been able to enjoy the excitement that should have followed each game as he grew ever closer to NFL immortality. Instead, Smith and the Cowboys have become the target of critics that claim they are putting the pending achievement of one player ahead of the success of the team and they are crippling the rebuilding progress of what could become one of the league's better young teams.

This circumstance has also fueled discussion that Emmitt Smith doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as a Walter Payton, Jim Brown, or even the infamous O.J. Simpson. Personally, I have a hard time putting him on a list of the NFL's all-time top five running backs, and many "experts" will argue that he shouldn't even be in the top ten.

One of our About Football Forum members even goes as far as to say that Emmitt Smith doesn't deserve Walter Payton's record, although I believe this claim is a bit extreme and maybe even a little ludicrous. After all, he did pick up every one of those yards, one at a time, with his own powerful legs.

Anyway, when Emmitt does finally surpass the record, which he will do soon barring injury, it will be interesting to see how the Boys handle the running back situation. Given the opportunity, I think Hambrick's fresh legs and speed will bring this offense a little more explosiveness as well as take some pressure off Quincy Carter and the passing game.

With the Cowboys record sitting at 3-3 at this point, and a playoff appearance still well within the realm of possibilities, I believe it's time for the Cowboys to start looking down the road at what, and who, is going to be critical to their success this year as well as the next two or three seasons. I think it' time to turn the bulk of the carries over to Hambrick and allow Emmitt to pursue the rushing record as the backup, even if it pushes the monumental occasion another month down the road.