Emmitt Smith on the importance of running, even in today's air-it-out NFL

Emmitt Smith is one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. He spent 15 years in the NFL, 13 of them with the Dallas Cowboys. He won the Super Bowl three times. In 2004, he retired with eight Pro Bowl appearances, four All-Pro nominations, a Super Bowl MVP, a regular season MVP, and multiple Offensive Player of the Year awards on his résumé.

It's difficult to imagine a running back finding similar success in today's NFL. The perception of Smith's position has changed drastically over the last two decades. In the 90s, offenses were built around the ability to 'pound the rock.' Now, if your offense is too reliant on the ground game, it's a death sentence.

Smith leads the NFL in all-time rushing yards (18,355). There isn't a single active player in the top 25. He has roughly 10,000 more career yards than Derrick Henry, for example. There's a decent chance nobody ever catches Smith atop the leaderboard. He dominated the NFL at the perfect time for a RB. We may never see another RB with Smith's combination of natural talent and opportunity.

In an exclusive interview with FanSided and 'Stacking the Box,' Smith spoke about the success of his Cowboys teams and how it might have translated to the NFL today, with rules meant to protect the QB and more strictly officiate defensive contact. The difference between winning a Super Bowl in 1996 and winning a Super Bowl in 2023 is vast.

Naturally, Smith has complete faith that his Cowboys would have thrived in the modern era.

Emmitt Smith compares NFL eras and talks about why the '90s Dallas Cowboys would look just as good today

"Well, I think Michael [Irvin] would have got more catches," says Smith with a chuckle when asked how the Cowboys of the 1990s would fair in today's game. "But, the running game probably would have suffered."

That is the break from the old and new schools of football. The historically great wide receivers were probably underserved by the run-happy nature of NFL offenses back in the day. On the other hand, running backs in 2023 don't get the same opportunity to operate as a true workhorses. It's a delicate balancing act between eras, which can only be achieved through give and take.

The difference now is stark, but running the football is not a completely lost art. Smith considers the run game a source of offensive stability, and he points to the perfect example of why the run game can still be absolutely essential — the Zach Wilson-era New York Jets.

"What I experienced back in my day was, when things got a little out of hand, they turned to the running game to bring stability back to the offense. And you see that happening with the Jets. Zach Wilson is an inexperienced quarterback... so they have to scale the offense back a little bit. Most importantly, they have to lean on what they can do best, and that is run the football."

He is dead right. The Jets have a ton of weapons at WR and a rather poor offensive line. On paper, that's a team built to throw the football — a lot. And it the Jets would throw it a lot with Aaron Rodgers under center. With a less refined decision-maker at the controls in Wilson, however, the Jets were forced to pivot to a run game that serves as the foundation of a consistent (if not very explosive) offense.

But, Smith cautions against using the run game solely to service the QB.

"People forget," says Smith. "They use the run game to buy time for the quarterback to mature in the offense. Don't use me up for someone else's benefit, use me for the benefit of the [overall] team."

There is also a difference in how offenses approach short-yardage situations now, compared to Smith's heyday in the 90s. Rather than classic smash-mouth halfback dives on third or fourth-and-1, NFL teams are, to quote 'Stacking the Box' host Sterling Holmes, "getting cute." Smith tries to explain the phenomenon.

"Trick plays create opportunities to do other things. They take advantage of a guy like Derrick Henry in the backfield [as an example]. He can run the ball... or they can fake it to him and run the jet sweep. Everybody's still eyeing Derrick Henry. The jet sweeps are there to distract people from what's about to happen and to make you have eye discipline as a defensive player."

In the end, Smith is a fan of the trick plays and the new offensive wrinkles so prominent in the new-age NFL.

"If I can get you to pause for a second or two, that pause gives my line a chance to get on you. If they get on you, it creates lanes for my running back to get the first down."

Smith was a product of his time — odds are, we won't see another player with 11 straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons for a long time — but he's not above praising the current dynamics of NFL offense. If anything, Smith understands how to value RBs within a certain team context. Maybe the Patrick Mahomes of the world don't need an elite RB, but a young QB with an inexperienced offense will always benefit from a stable run game.

Emmitt Smith is promoting his partnership with the Ready to Rescue campaign to break down the stigma around accidental overdose and help everyone be better prepared for an opioid emergency, because they’re happening every day to families all across the U.S. You can read more about Emergent here.