Sports: Smith: He's still just Emmitt

Smith: He's still just Emmitt

In the twilight of his career, Cowboys running back still productive.

By RICK STROUD

TAMPA -- It was over a plate of nachos that Ray Perkins explained why he thought running back Emmitt Smith would last only a few seasons in the NFL before sticking a fork in his career.

"He'll be a good player," said Perkins, who had lunched with Smith a few days earlier in preparation for the 1990 draft. "But he won't have a very long career. When he loses a step, that will be it for him."

Ten years later, the only question about Smith's speed is how fast he can catch Barry Sanders and Walter Payton on the NFL's all-time rushing list.

Smith needs 93 yards today against the Bucs to push him past 1,000 yards for the 10th consecutive year, tying Sanders for consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, the most in NFL history.

With 130 yards, he would join Sanders and Payton as the third player in league history to rush for more than 15,000 yards.

How sweet would it be for Smith to reach those milestones today against Tampa Bay? It was against the Bucs he enjoyed his first 100-yard rushing performance as a rookie, when the Cowboys beat Tampa Bay and Perkins twice in a span of three weeks in 1990.

The former University of Florida star is making his third visit as a pro to the state in which he grew up. But the homecoming king says he tries not to dwell on when he might wear Payton's NFL rushing crown.

"One way I avoid all the hype is taking it one day, one game at a time," Smith said. "I don't know what's going to happen during the course of a season. I don't even know what's going to happen during the next four weeks. Right now, I'm more concerned with what I have to do today. I know one thing, the record isn't going to fall today. It's not going to fall next week. And it's not going to fall the week after that. So I have to take it one game at a time and not focus on it." Smith has 907 yards rushing with four games remaining. He is 399 yards behind Sanders, meaning he'd need to average 100 yards to move into second place all-time this season.

That won't be easy. With the injury-riddled 4-8 Cowboys, Smith has had five 100-yard games this season -- once in the past three games. That came on Thanksgiving when he left the game in the third quarter with a concussion.

Had Smith duplicated his career rushing average this season and next, he was on pace to catch Payton in 2001. Currently, he's on pace to finish with just more than 1,200 yards this season. That would leave him about 100 yards behind Sanders and more than 1,500 yards behind Payton. And Smith hasn't rushed for that many yards since '95, when he had a career-high 1,773.

But who would bet against him?

Certainly not Perkins, whose Bucs were desperate for a back but among 15 teams that bypassed Smith in the draft. Perkins was fired with three games left in the '90 season.

Meanwhile, all Smith did was go on to win three Super Bowl titles in four seasons with the Cowboys, set an NFL record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 25, make eight trips to the Pro Bowl, earn the NFL's MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards and win a league rushing title.

First-year Cowboys coach Dave Campo, who was an assistant with Dallas when Smith left Florida after three seasons, has one of the best takes on the footprint that will be left by the future Hall of Famer.

"I don't know if I should be saying this, but I'll say it," Campo said. "In the era of the '90s ... the thing that made us successful, the one single thing probably more than any other, probably was Emmitt Smith, the selection of Emmitt. I think Emmitt was the one, solid tangible, all the way through the whole deal, of anybody we had on the ballclub."

Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks, who like Smith grew up in Pensacola, was an eighth-grader when he first saw Smith play in high school and always has wanted a chance to play against the Cowboys star.

"When we're around each other, we never really talk about the fact that we've never played against each other, so it's going to be fun," said Brooks, the NFC defensive player of the month who had 22 tackles last week against the Bills. "It's going to be a little bit weird at first. But again, I'm relishing the opportunity to do it." Smith still remembers his last visit to Tampa 10 years ago, a game in which he was held to 48 yards on 16 carries. But the Cowboys won 17-13 on Troy Aikman's pass to Michael Irvin with seconds remaining.

"I have some memories," Smith said. "I remember being down there and it was awful hot. And No. 2, it was a very tough game then, and I don't expect it to be any different this weekend. Yeah, it was a big win for us.

"It's special coming back and playing in Florida -- very special."

The Cowboys face enormous decisions after this season. Aikman, who has been plagued by concussions, might ponder retirement. They have grave salary-cap concerns.

But at 31, Smith shows no signs of slowing.

"I think the thing with Emmitt is he's such a consistent runner year in and year out," Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "I think that offensive line has something to do with that, too. When you've got those people in front of you that do what they do.

"But there's been a lot of teams that have had a lot of talent and running backs didn't take advantage of it. Emmitt Smith is just one of those guys who just loves to run the ball. He gets stronger every time he touches the ball. You just look at him and say Emmitt is Emmitt."