Tag: Emmitt Smith

The NFL’s 25 best postseason players from the Super Bowl era

Maybe one day Patrick Mahomes or, who knows who else (Joe Burrows even? Heh. Too soon? Too soon?) might join this list, but for now, let’s go with these 25. Some were clear choices while others you might dispute for someone else, but it’s obviously …

Maybe one day Patrick Mahomes or, who knows who else (Joe Burrows even? Heh. Too soon? Too soon?) might join this list, but for now, let’s go with these 25. Some were clear choices while others you might dispute for someone else, but it’s obviously a list full of Super Bowl MVP QBs, so guessing the top 10 or 12 should be easy. The rest are guys you sometimes forget about. With research, marginal recall and experts’ input, here’s the final call.

(Editor’s note: These are not ranked, although the first few are the ones that quickly became clear.)

Tom Brady

(Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

He’s at the top of the list for reasons: He’s guided the Patriots to nine (!) Super Bowls and six titles and he has four Super Bowl MVP trophies, all NFL records.

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With regard to Tom Brady, 25 second acts that did not pan out

Tom Brady will be a free agent this offseason. Does the G.O.A.T. want to follow others to another team?

Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t, many athletes have learned this idiom is true … too late. That isn’t to say there is anything devilish about Tom Brady’s current relationship with the New England Patriots. More to give the G.O.A.T. something to ponder if he decides to find a new home when free agency strikes.

Joe Namath

Getty Images

Joe Namath is a legend for his play on the field and charisma off it. He led the New York Jets to their lone Super Bowl title (III). Namath finished his career as a Ram, going 2-2 in four games. Namath threw three TD passes and five picks for the Rams.

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Emmitt Smith had the perfect response to his son choosing Stanford over Florida

“At the end of the day, my son has his own journey. And it is his journey, not my journey.”

Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher who is one of the greatest to ever play the position of running back, got his start in college with the Florida Gators where he tore it up in The Swamp for three years before going pro.

His son, E.J., is currently a very good running back, too, and on National Signing Day on Wednesday he picked where he’d be playing his college football.

And it wasn’t a Gators hat he put on his head. Instead, he reached for a Stanford hat, which was more than OK with his dad.

Emmitt was as proud as any father would be to see their son forging their own path: “At the end of the day, my son has his own journey. And it is his journey, not my journey.”

Here’s his full answer, which was great:

What a great father/son moment.

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The biggest catalyst in Texas high school football’s upset Friday? Emmitt Smith Jr.

Jesuit football star E.J. Smith scored 4 touchdowns to lead his team to a stunning upset of Longview in Texas.

Last Friday, the Texas high school football playoff were delivered a shockwave when some of the state’s pre-tournament favorites were all eliminated in a wild second round. Chief among them were Allen, at the time ranked No. 7 in the USA TODAY Super 25, and Longview, a defending state champion and rapidly rising, regionally ranked squad.

While Jaxon Smith-Njigba understandably got the lion’s share of headlines for his six touchdowns and 258 receiving yards in Rockwall’s upset of Allen, an equally decisive performance was turned in by Dallas Jesuit’s Emmitt “EJ” Smith Jr., who helped the Rangers control the game on the ground en route to a seismic upset of Longview.

How good was the scion of the Hall of Fame running back? He racked up 164 yards and all four of Jesuit’s touchdowns in a 27-25 victory. Then, when Jesuit needed to eat clock, Smith was critical, helping the team run out the game’s final 8:28 with a monster drive.

Smith Jr. is considered one of the nation’s top-five running back prospects and named Texas A&M, Ohio State, Georgia, Stanford and Florida as his final five contending schools.

Whichever program eventually lands him, it’s clear they’re getting a winner, just like his father.

Frank Gore runs past Barry Sanders into third on all-time rushing list

Frank Gore moved into third place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list, surpassing the great Barry Sanders.

Frank Gore moved into third place on the all-time NFL rushing list with 15,289 yards after gaining 62 on 13 carries in Buffalo’s 20-3 victory over Denver on Sunday. A look at the top 11 running backs by rushing yardage in NFL history.

11. Jim Brown

Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

The legendary Jim Brown played nine seasons and finished with 12,382 yards. Imagine how many more he would have had if he did not decide to retire at the age of 29.

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Bill Belichick floored Emmitt Smith with the ultimate compliment

Bill Belichick gave Emmitt Smith some “monumental” praise on an NFL Network special.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was part of an NFL 100 panel alongside legends Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith as the league announced its All-Time Team in a special on NFL Network, and the six-time Super Bowl champion was almost rendered speechless when he tried to talk about Smith’s ability on the field.

In an amazing moment, Belichick told Smith that he was “flabbergasted” by the way Smith always seemed to be able to turn small gains into huge plays for his team.

Belichick: “I tell you, I’ve never… I’m just absolutely flabbergasted at the way you consistently can run the ball for positive yards. I’ve never seen anybody take so many two-yard gains and turn them into eight-yard plays. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Smith said he was honored to receive such a review from one of the NFL’s greatest coaches, and Belichick joked that Smith’s performances against him proved he wasn’t the greatest.

Smith: “Bill, coming from you, that is monumental, because I consider you to be one of the best coaches if not the best coach in all of football.”

Belichick: “I don’t know how you can say that because you killed us every time! You ran for 120 yards every time we played you!”

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