Emmitt Buckles Under Workload

Emmitt Smith isn’t much for history.

More concerned with ending a dismal slump that seems to have the entire NFL wondering if he is washed up at age 28, the Dallas Cowboys running back says he has no time or use for the greats who have played the position before him.

“I don’t even look at the guys who were before me in terms of productivity on the football field, how many years they lasted or how many carries they had,” Smith said.

That’s too bad, because they’re certainly looking at him. And at least three of the top running backs in NFL history - all of them members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame - are concerned by what they see.

Walter Payton, the league’s all-time leading rusher, sees an Emmitt Smith whose natural decline has been accelerated by an aging, ineffective offensive line.

Tony Dorsett sees an Emmitt Smith who is showing the inevitable wear and tear of an eye-popping 3,164 combined “touches” - carries and receptions - in less than eight NFL seasons.

And Earl Campbell sees an Emmitt Smith who long since has ceased to fool any defense he faces on a given Sunday.

“You see some hesitancy,” said Dorsett, the former Cowboy who stands third on the NFL’s career rushing list with 12,739 yards. “He’s not attacking the line of scrimmage. Maybe he’s a little unsure of some of the people who are blocking for him or of the blocking scheme. All I know is that there is some uncertainty there.”

Less than two seasons after setting an NFL record with 25 rushing touchdowns, Smith has not reached the end zone in seven consecutive regular-season games, dating to a victory over Washington last Thanksgiving. It is the longest scoring drought of his eight-year career.

Are Smith’s best days behind him? Or is he being held back by an offensive line with a overmatched center in Clay Shiver, a 37-year-old tackle in Mark Tuinei and a 35-year-old guard in Nate Newton?

It’s a combination of both, if you ask Payton, Dorsett and Campbell. But his line is doing him no favors.