I believed that Emmitt was "washed up" after his last season in Dallas because he was taking shots he didn't take earlier in his career. He just didn't seem to make guys miss enough to avoid the big hits. I also think subliminally, the fact that Irvin & Aikman were gone made me feel that Smith's time was up.
Conversely, George has always taken big shots. He looks to take and give hits. And he rarely broke big runs, so when he stopped breaking them all together it wasn't as noticeable. George and McNair's careers have always been linked. Of course Steve is still around and succeeding, why shouldn't Eddie still be useful?
I respect both of these backs for what they've accomplished on the field, but neither are going on my fantasy team in '04. That Arizona & Tennessee still feel the need for Smith & George on their respective rosters is more an indictment on the teams’ lack of talent at RB than proof of what these guys have left.
|