Two weeks ago I highlighted five veteran wide receivers who all had big outings on the same Sunday, and made a point about how they still have it in them to post a huge game, so you can’t count them out. The oldest of those players was Rod Smith, a ten-year NFL player who is igniting a Denver offense that needs his flame. It was an impressive showing, and especially good for guys like Mushin Muhammad and Plaxico Burress, who hadn’t done much in a couple of seasons. Still, it paled in comparison to something I stumbled upon this week that really made me sit up and take notice: Three greybeard running backs are among the top ten in the league in scoring this season.
That’s right, Curtis Martin (C-Mart), Jerome (Bus) Bettis and ancient Emmitt Smith all have more touchdowns this season than Ahman Green, Jamal Lewis, Edgerrin James or Corey Dillon. Talk about veteran value. Martin could be had in the third round of most drafts, and both Bettis and Smith at least three or four rounds later than that. Clearly the thing that is most impressive about this trio is their longevity.
Ten years is a good, long career for any NFL player, but especially so for a running back. Though backs are now more able to return from serious injury (Willis McGahee, Edgerrin James) there are still a large number of large names whose careers were essentially ended by this kind of catastrophe (Terrell Davis, Jamal Anderson). Not surprisingly, none of these three old hands have ever dealt with a serious knee injury.
Emmitt Smith has been playing in the NFL for 15 seasons. He is 35 years old. Bettis left Notre Dame over 12 years ago. Martin, who had good yardage last year but only two touchdowns, has been playing for 10 seasons, and is 31 himself.
But what else do they have in common. For one, they are all running behind strong offensive lines. The Jets have all-world Center Kevin Mawae to run things in New York, Alan Faneca is a load for Pittsburgh and Leonard Davis is no slouch out in Arizona. The teams have filled in the slots around these premier players and have them pulling and trapping as a team.
Second, they all have head coaches who are motivational mavens. Bill Cowher is a fire-and-brimstone soul, who happens to currently be the longest tenured head coach in the NFL. He may have down years, but he expects everything from his players every week, and they deliver very often, sometimes with a cumulative effort greater than their talent. Herm Edwards knows how to get his troops ready for a game day. He has remained a steady force for the Jets after the Tuna left town. Denny Green simply knows what it takes to win, and the attitude adjustment he is accomplishing in Arizona this season, which is as big a problem for pretenders as a lack of talent, is going to take Arizona places in the coming years.
So here’s how these guys stack up this season....
| Rank |
Player |
Team |
TDs |
Run |
Rec |
Rets |
Def |
| 1 |
Priest Holmes |
KC |
15 |
14 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| 2 |
Shaun Alexander |
SEA |
12 |
9 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| 3 |
Curtis Martin |
NYJ |
10 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| 4 |
Jerome Bettis |
PIT |
10 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 5 |
Tiki Barber |
NYG |
10 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| 6 |
Terrell Owens |
PHI |
9 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
| 7 |
Antonio Gates |
SD |
8 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
| 8 |
LaDainian Tomlinson |
SD |
8 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 9 |
Emmitt Smith |
ARI |
8 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 10 |
Javon Walker |
GB |
8 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
| 11 |
Randy Moss |
MIN |
8 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
...and what it means to their overall careers:
Emmitt Smith
| Year |
Team |
G |
GS |
Att |
Yards |
Avg |
Lg |
TD |
| 1990 |
Dallas Cowboys |
16 |
15 |
241 |
937 |
3.9 |
48 |
11 |
| 1991 |
Dallas Cowboys |
16 |
16 |
365 |
1563 |
4.3 |
75 |
12 |
| 1992 |
Dallas Cowboys |
16 |
16 |
373 |
1713 |
4.6 |
68 |
18 |
| 1993 |
Dallas Cowboys |
14 |
13 |
283 |
1486 |
5.3 |
62 |
9 |
| 1994 |
Dallas Cowboys |
15 |
15 |
368 |
1484 |
4.0 |
46 |
21 |
| 1995 |
Dallas Cowboys |
16 |
16 |
377 |
1773 |
4.7 |
60 |
25 |
| 1996 |
Dallas Cowboys |
15 |
15 |
327 |
1204 |
3.7 |
42 |
12 |
| 1997 |
Dallas Cowboys |
16 |
16 |
261 |
1074 |
4.1 |
44 |
4 |
| 1998 |
Dallas Cowboys |
16 |
16 |
319 |
1332 |
4.2 |
32 |
13 |
| 1999 |
Dallas Cowboys |
15 |
15 |
329 |
1397 |
4.2 |
63 |
11 |
| 2000 |
Dallas Cowboys |
16 |
16 |
294 |
1203 |
4.1 |
52 |
9 |
| 2001 |
Dallas Cowboys |
14 |
14 |
261 |
1021 |
3.9 |
44 |
3 |
| 2002 |
Dallas Cowboys |
16 |
16 |
254 |
975 |
3.8 |
30 |
5 |
| 2003 |
Arizona Cardinals |
10 |
5 |
90 |
256 |
2.8 |
22 |
2 |
| 2004 |
Arizona Cardinals |
9 |
9 |
170 |
632 |
3.7 |
29 |
8 |
| TOTAL |
|
220 |
213 |
4312 |
18050 |
4.2 |
75 |
163 |
Emmitt is adding at a very fine pace this year to his records of most career touchdowns by a running back and most rushing yards ever. He is now over 18,000 yards rushing, and will probably end the year close to 2,000 yards beyond the once unthinkable total of 16,726 that Walter Payton put up.
Jerome Bettis
| Year |
Team |
G |
GS |
Att |
Yards |
Avg |
Lg |
TD |
| 1993 |
L.A. Rams |
16 |
12 |
294 |
1429 |
4.9 |
71 |
7 |
| 1994 |
L.A. Rams |
16 |
16 |
319 |
1025 |
3.2 |
19 |
3 |
| 1995 |
St. Louis Rams |
15 |
13 |
183 |
637 |
3.5 |
41 |
3 |
| 1996 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
16 |
12 |
320 |
1431 |
4.5 |
50 |
11 |
| 1997 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
15 |
15 |
375 |
1665 |
4.4 |
34 |
7 |
| 1998 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
15 |
15 |
316 |
1185 |
3.8 |
42 |
3 |
| 1999 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
16 |
16 |
299 |
1091 |
3.6 |
35 |
7 |
| 2000 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
16 |
16 |
355 |
1341 |
3.8 |
30 |
8 |
| 2001 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
11 |
11 |
225 |
1072 |
4.8 |
48 |
4 |
| 2002 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
13 |
11 |
187 |
666 |
3.6 |
41 |
9 |
| 2003 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
16 |
10 |
246 |
811 |
3.3 |
21 |
7 |
| 2004 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
9 |
2 |
114 |
381 |
3.3 |
29 |
10 |
| TOTAL |
|
174 |
149 |
3233 |
12734 |
3.9 |
71 |
79 |
Bettis is enjoying one of his best seasons ever rushing in touchdowns. His yardage is not terrific, but it appears that he can gain some ground as long as Staley is out.
Curtis Martin
| Year |
Team |
G |
GS |
Att |
Yards |
Avg |
Lg |
TD |
| 1995 |
Patriots |
16 |
15 |
368 |
1487 |
4.0 |
49 |
14 |
| 1996 |
Patriots |
16 |
15 |
316 |
1152 |
3.6 |
57 |
14 |
| 1997 |
Patriots |
13 |
13 |
274 |
1160 |
4.2 |
70 |
4 |
| 1998 |
New York Jets |
15 |
15 |
369 |
1287 |
3.5 |
60 |
8 |
| 1999 |
New York Jets |
16 |
16 |
367 |
1464 |
4.0 |
50 |
5 |
| 2000 |
New York Jets |
16 |
16 |
316 |
1204 |
3.8 |
55 |
9 |
| 2001 |
New York Jets |
16 |
16 |
333 |
1513 |
4.5 |
47 |
10 |
| 2002 |
New York Jets |
16 |
16 |
261 |
1094 |
4.2 |
35 |
7 |
| 2003 |
New York Jets |
16 |
16 |
323 |
1308 |
4.0 |
56 |
2 |
| 2004 |
New York Jets |
9 |
9 |
218 |
984 |
4.5 |
25 |
9 |
| TOTAL |
|
149 |
147 |
3145 |
12653 |
4.0 |
70 |
82 |
Amazingly, Martin is on pace to destroy his career best outputs in both single-season rushing touchdowns and rushing yards. He gained 14 rushing touchdowns in his first two seasons, and already has nine this year. He topped out at 1,513 yards in 2001, but already has 984 in 2004, only 529 yards shy.
Simply put, you are witnessing three backs doing incredible things in the twilights of their careers, and Hall of Fame careers at that. Currently, Smith, Bettis and Martin rank 1rst, 6 th and 7 th all time in rushing yards. Both Bettis and Martin will likely finish the season ahead of Dorsett, and one or both could end up ahead of Dickerson as well, good for fourth and fifth place as they work on Barry Sanders.
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