Yes or No? Will anyone break Emmitt Smith’s rushing record?

[CGI_Ram]

I sort of chuckled when I saw this article title... said to myself;

“Of course someone will break this record. They just added more games. Guys have access to better health and fitness ‘stuff’ to extend careers.”

But... maybe not.

Is the game the same? A guy to get that many carries touch after touch?

I am not so sure.

LaDainian Tomlinson: No one will ever break Emmitt Smith's record

Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson are two of the Top 5 rushing leaders in NFL history.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

LaDainian Tomlinson: No one will ever break Emmitt Smith’s record

Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson are two of the Top 5 rushing leaders in NFL history. But LaDainian Tomlinson says neither of them has a prayer of catching No. 1.

Tomlinson said on NFL Network that Emmitt Smith’s all-time record of 18,355 yards will never be broken. It wasn’t broken by Tomlinson, who retired with 13,684 yards, and he says it won’t be broken by Gore, who has 15,347 yards, or by Peterson, who has 14,216 yards.

“No one will ever break this record,” Tomlinson said. “There’s not enough opportunities that running backs will get. We know the shelf life is a lot shorter for running backs. I just don’t see guys getting a lot of opportunities. That’s a lot of yards for a guy to amass and I just don’t think it’s going to happen.”

Given the way the game has changed, Tomlinson is probably right. Last year, Derrick Henry led the NFL with 303 rushing attempts. Smith had more than 303 rushing attempts in seven different seasons of his career. NFL running backs just don’t pile up carries like Smith did, and until that changes, Smith’s record appears safe.

 

[Petrowsky]

I guess it’s always possible the sport could change, but the way things are right now, I just don’t see it happening. This same thing is true of other sports like baseball. I think the 300 game winner is a thing of the past. Maybe a SPer here and there could do it, but it won’t be often.

 

[Loyal]

I don't think so, unless society makes the NFL as soft as flag football...

 

[dieterbrock]

I guess it’s always possible the sport could change, but the way things are right now, I just don’t see it happening. This same thing is true of other sports like baseball. I think the 300 game winner is a thing of the past. Maybe a SPer here and there could do it, but it won’t be often.

Great comparison. Heck in baseball, after Verlander its likely we wont see a 250 winner ever again, much less 300.
So with 17 game seasons, 1,000 rushing yards in a season becomes even less impressive, and the RB gets churned and burned done by 30.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

i really liked larry johnson to give it a crack when vermeil was his coach. that guy was a yardage chewing machine.

then herm edwards came to town. he can sink careers faster than jeff fisher.

he ran johnson into a brick wall 416 times in his first season there. that's 26 hard carries per game. and there were no easy runs as edwards ran an offense more conservative than fisher. all the runs were into the teeth of the dline.

johnson's legs and body died then and there.

.

 

[SeminoleRam]

Not in my Lifetime! I had high hopes for Todd Gurley until he started having health issues AND became a NON-RAM!!!

 

[Neil039]

I go by the old adage Records are made to be broken. Aaron, Payton, Marino, Howe...all had records at the time that looked beyond reach. I'd make a Vegas bet Smith's record gets passed before DiMaggio's hit streak gets broken.

 

[Memento]

Unless zombie!Gore plays until he's forty-five and somehow keeps getting signed by desperate teams? I doubt it.

 

[Angry Ram]

So many teams use RBs in the passing game now, as opposed to yesteryear when its just running up the gut every down.

Emmitt's highest receiving yards was 414. Current Dallas RB exceeded that in his 3rd year. And he's not really the pass catching type of RB.

Saquon, CMC, Melvin Gordon, Leveon Bell during his Steeler heyday, Todd Gurley at full health, etc. So by default all these guys won't have all the rushing yards, even though if they did could easily break the record.

 

[Memphis Ram]

Doubt it. Emmit played in 226 games, most of which, running behind one of the best OLines in the NFL.

Few, if any backs, will get that chance.

I wish Barry Sanders (who played 73 fewer games) didn't retire early, though. He might have even made it to 20,000 rush yards.