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Greatness of Dallas Cowboys' Emmitt Smith was durability jjt

During the NFL's wild-card weekend, I experienced a moment of clarity: We're really just starting to understand Emmitt Smith's greatness.

I realize how silly that sounds, but watching LaDainian Tomlinson struggle drove home the notion that no one is going to break Smith's rushing record any time soon.

Tomlinson, ranked 14th with 11,760 yards, was the only runner we could label a legitimate threat to break Smith's all-time rushing record at the start of the season. It's pretty clear he already has started to decline.

A knee last year. A groin this year. Tomlinson's body can no longer withstand the physical rigors of a 16-game season.

So Smith's record – 18,355 yards – is safe for another 20 years.

Maybe 30. Or longer.

The reasons vary.

We're in the midst of an era when teams pass the ball more than ever. Last season, 19 teams threw the ball at least 55 percent of the time, including six that passed at least 60 percent of the time. Only five teams ran more than they passed.

Then there's this current infatuation with the dual running back system – and it doesn't matter whether teams have a stud like Adrian Peterson or Michael Turner.

Smith never even considered sharing the ball.

Seven seasons, Smith carried the ball at least 319 times. In the last two seasons, only six players have hit that figure.

Ultimately, though, it's Smith's durability that ultimately set him apart from all others.

God blessed him with a thick lower body as a foundation and a low center of gravity that helped prevent him from taking the types of big hits Peterson regularly absorbs because he runs so high.

Smith missed 11 games in 13 seasons, and six of those came in 2004 as a member of the Arizona Cardinals, when Roy Williams fractured Smith's shoulder in his return to Texas Stadium.

Smith was never as flashy as Barry Sanders, the prettiest runner not named Gale Sayers to ever carry a football. Smith was a grinder, whose artistry occurred in the subtle moves and quick cuts he used to turn 2-yard runs into 6-yard gains and 6-yard gains into 10-yard bursts.

Don't get me wrong. We all knew Smith was great when he played. I just think we took it for granted because he was so consistent.

Jim Brown, the best running back in NFL history, held the record for 21 years. Walter Payton kept it for 18 years.

File 2002
Emmitt Smith set the NFL rushing record against the Seahawks in Texas Stadium in 2002.
View largerMore photos Photo store Smith broke the record in 2002 on an 11-yard, fourth-quarter run against Seattle. He gained more than 2,000 yards in three forgettable seasons in Arizona, but that doesn't diminish his stature any more than Brett Favre's legacy will ruined by his season with the Jets.

Most running backs start declining at 28 because the punishment their body has absorbed begins taking a toll. They can still see the holes open, but they can't accelerate through them.

Have you forgotten about Curtis Martin's demise? Some folks thought he would break Smith's record after he rushed for 1,697 yards and 12 touchdowns as a 31-year-old. A year later, Martin retired after gaining 735 yards in an injury-plagued season.

Shaun Alexander gained 1,880 yards and scored 27 touchdowns in 2005, when he was 28. He gained 24 yards on 11 carries this season as a forgotten member of the Redskins, who signed him off the street midway through the season.

The testament to Smith's greatness is what he did after he turned 30, gaining 5,789 yards.

Tomlinson, who gained 364 fewer yards this season than last, while averaging nearly a yard less per carry, doesn't turn 30 until June. For the first time in his eight-year career, Tomlinson didn't carry the ball 300 times.

And with the way Darren Sproles has performed in the final month of the season, Tomlinson's days as the featured back in San Diego are over.

All that does is illuminate Smith's greatness.

Smith didn't put the ball on the ground, he put blitzing linebackers on their butts, and he was the greatest ever at consistently turning three yard runs into five yard runs and five yard runs into 8 yard runs. He always found a little extra while going to the ground. He was a much better football player than Barry Sanders, among others.