Where was Emmitt Smith?
(“The ‘greatest?’ Not yet,” December 15, 2006): Many of you chided me about not including Smith in my discussion of LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers and the greatest running backs of all-time. Smith is the leading rusher in NFL history and set the league touchdown record for a season at one point. Smith was great, but I don’t put him in the class of Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders. To me, Smith is akin to Nolan Ryan in baseball. Ryan had fabulous talent, was the greatest strikeout artist of all-time, won 300 games, threw more no-hitters than anyone and was an amazing workhorse. But he wasn’t the best pitcher of all-time and probably doesn’t rank in the top five if you talk to baseball experts. Smith piled up a lot of stats that are wonderful and his longevity should be saluted. He also won three championships, which is a testimony to his greatness. He’ll be a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer. But I also think that a fair number of players could have done
