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re: Will Derrick Henry have the best college + pro career of any SEC RB?
Posted on 1/3/21 at 4:37 pm to SpartyGator
Posted on 1/3/21 at 4:37 pm to SpartyGator
I don't think so. Emmitt Smith may not have won the Heisman or a national title, but he was an All-American and his career college numbers are very comparable to Henry's. And then Smith is in a league of his own in terms of NFL accomplishments among RB's as a 3x SB winner, NFL/SB MVP, and all-time leading rusher.
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Posted on 1/3/21 at 4:46 pm to Globetrotter747
I remember watching Barry Sanders in the early game and thinking, "that's the best running back in the nfl". Then Dallas would play later, and I would think "no Smith is the best". 
Posted on 1/3/21 at 5:09 pm to AlbertMeansWell
quote:
Is it safe to say Henry is the most physical freak to ever play RB and be wildly successful at both levels?
No. Henry's 40 is only a 4.5. Herschel and Bo both ran sub 4.3. Henry's 100 meter was 11.11s. Herschel ran a 10.2 in college and Bo ran a 10.39.
Henry is bigger than both those guys though. They were both 225-230. Henry is almost 250.
Posted on 1/3/21 at 5:11 pm to viceman
Emmitt was really good but Barry Sanders was in a league of his own. Put him behind that Dallas offensive line and he might have had a 2,500 yard season and at least 5 2,000+ yard seasons. his elusiveness and balance are something I’m not sure we’ll see again.
Posted on 1/3/21 at 5:14 pm to biclops
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Bo
Sucks that his pro career was cut short so quickly with that injury - you know the dude would have had more than a few records otherwise.
Posted on 1/3/21 at 5:18 pm to skrayper
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you know the dude would have had more than a few records otherwise.
Probably not. Remember, he played baseball too. So he only played half the season for the Raiders. He might have set a single game record or something, but playing only half the season, he probably wouldn't set many season or career records.
Still the only player in history to be an All-Star in both pro baseball and the NFL.
Posted on 1/3/21 at 5:22 pm to AlbertMeansWell
Emmitt Smith is the NFL’s all time leading rusher and won 3 Super Bowls
Posted on 1/3/21 at 5:24 pm to AUstar
quote:
He might have set a single game record
More what I was thinking of, but I concede your point. Dude seemed to love baseball more than football (even though, IMHO, he was more of a beast in football).
You guys have had two of the best dual-sport athletes I know of (Bo Jackson and Frank Thomas).
Posted on 1/3/21 at 5:37 pm to lsufball19
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And yes, Herschel Walker had a better pro career than Henry’s career so far. Walker had almost 14,000 rushing yards, 6,500 receiving yards, and 5,000 return yards in his pro football career
Herschel Walker did not really have a HOF in the NFL for a RB. He was very good in the USFL, but the quality of that league was like comparing minor league baseball to MLB. He had only 2 pro bowls and only two seasons over 1000 yards rushing in 12 seasons in an era where RB was a much bigger part of the offense. Henry is about to pass both of those with his 3rd straight 1000 yd season and 3rd pro bowl, and likely to win his 2nd rushing title.
If Henry never played again, he's already objectively a better RB then Hershel Walker as a professional. Emmitt Smith is a better case h2h. Smith was the HS player of the year, clearly the best running back in the SEC for 2 of his 3 seasons, and the most accomplished NFL RB of the last 30 years. Without at least 1 championship before Henry retires, I think Emmitt Smith gets the nod here.
Posted on 1/3/21 at 5:55 pm to Globetrotter747
TBF to Henry, Emmitt Smith is the most overrated player in NFL history. He spent the entirety of his prime years playing for one of the greatest teams in NFL history, surrounded by HOFers who made his life easy.
Hell... Fournette could've put up similar numbers on those Cowboys teams and he's garbage.
Hell... Fournette could've put up similar numbers on those Cowboys teams and he's garbage.
Posted on 1/3/21 at 5:57 pm to AlbertMeansWell
College and Pro?
How about High School too? All time leader there.
How about High School too? All time leader there.
Posted on 1/3/21 at 6:19 pm to AlbertMeansWell
quote:
Walker is the only one with a Heisman and he didn’t have the pro career Henry has had.
Walker is still #12 in the NFL in total yards. He's very underrated.
Posted on 1/3/21 at 7:02 pm to AlbertMeansWell
We’ll see if he can top the NFL alltime leading rusher, Emmitt Smith
That guy was pretty good
That guy was pretty good
Posted on 1/3/21 at 7:26 pm to MizzouTrue
quote:
We’ll see if he can top the NFL alltime leading rusher, Emmitt Smith
That guy was pretty good
Yeah, at running behind the best OL for a decade
Posted on 1/3/21 at 8:30 pm to Porter Osborne Jr
Smith had longevity behind a great OL, but he's not considered in Barry Sanders' class. How Sanders did what he did while playing in freakin'Detroit is amazing.
Henry is well on his way to the Hall of Fame. Should be MVP this season, but it's pretty much a QB award.
Henry is well on his way to the Hall of Fame. Should be MVP this season, but it's pretty much a QB award.
Posted on 1/4/21 at 4:18 am to Belue2Scott
quote:
TBF to Henry, Emmitt Smith is the most overrated player in NFL history. He spent the entirety of his prime years playing for one of the greatest teams in NFL history, surrounded by HOFers who made his life easy.
You can say that about a lot of players. Jerry Rice is considered by many to be the greatest NFL player of all time at any position, and he had..
1. A team that was good enough to go 15-1 and dominate the Super Bowl the season before he was drafted.
2. An innovative Hall of Fame coach (Bill Walsh) for the first four years of his career who implemented the offense he thrived in throughout his 49ers tenure with offensive coordinators like Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan.
3. Two Hall of Fame QB's (Joe Montana and Steve Young) throwing him the ball for about 15 years.
4. A bunch of good offensive players (John Taylor, Brent Jones, Roger Craig, Ricky Watters) to take some of the pressure off of him.
5. Great defenses (Ronnie Lott, Deion Sanders, Bill Romanowski, Charles Haley, Ken Norton) that made winning Super Bowls possible.
Posted on 1/4/21 at 5:32 am to Porter Osborne Jr
quote:
Yeah, at running behind the best OL for a decade
Blatantly FALSE. Erik Williams was injured in a car crash and was never the same. He was eventually cut. Stepnoski left via free agency. Kevin Gogan started one superbowl and left via free agency.
People who say he played behind a great o line for a decade don't have a clue about the roster turnover on the o line.
Posted on 1/4/21 at 5:42 am to Globetrotter747
quote:
5. Great defenses (Ronnie Lott, Deion Sanders, Bill Romanowski, Charles Haley, Ken Norton) that made winning Super Bowls possible.
Interesting fun facts..
Norton won his first 2 rings in Dallas, signed with the 9ers and won a superbowl that season. I think he is still the only player to have won three consecutive rings. Deion played with the 9ers the year they beat Dallas in the NFC championship and they won the superbowl. Deion then signs with Dallas and Dallas wins their third in 4 years.
Haley won two superbowls with the 9ers and was then traded to Dallas where he won three more.
The 9ers and Cowboys were dominant back then. It's a fascinating dichotomy of players changing teams between the two of them.
Posted on 1/4/21 at 6:31 am to kajunman
quote:
Blatantly FALSE. Erik Williams was injured in a car crash and was never the same. He was eventually cut. Stepnoski left via free agency. Kevin Gogan started one superbowl and left via free agency.
People who say he played behind a great o line for a decade don't have a clue about the roster turnover on the o line.
Very true about Erik Williams and there was indeed a lot of turnover on the OL through the years, though it was usually filled with good players at least until the mid '90s. Larry Allen is the only one who turned out to be a Hall of Famer, though, and he wasn't drafted until '94. He was one of Jerry's very few good draft picks in the years following Johnson's departure.
Posted on 1/4/21 at 7:05 am to AlbertMeansWell
How are the Alabama QBs doing? One got benched and the other sucks and would have gotten benched if the backup didn’t have COVID.
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