Emmit Smith wasn't half the back that Barry Sanders was. But Emmit Smith played half his career behind one of the biggest and baddest offensive lines ever assembled in professional football.
Emmit Smith was lucky to be surrounded by a great team, and thusly won a few Super Bowls.
Emmit Smith and Troy Aikman are treated like gods, and were handed some Super Bowl MVP's. But as I recall, Troy Aikman was 1-15 in his first stint as QB. Emmit Smith didn't help that much. It was the emergence of an entire team, led by an incredible offensive line, and an underrated receivers corps that made a huge difference. Irvin was great, but look what happened to Aikman's, Emmit's, and Irvin's numbers when they lost guys like Alvin Harper.
When Aikman couldn't spread the ball to 7 different good targets, he wasn't nearly as good anymore, and he found himself getting knocked around the field. Emmit wasn't carrying them to Super Bowls.
I'll raise a salute to Alvin Harper, Moose, Novacek, and the 5 behemoths that no one salutes.
If Barry Sanders had stuck around another year or so, he'd be the all-time leader in rushing in far less caries, and he did it with one of the worst offenses in the NFL around him. He never had an offensive line, or a passing game. Half the time, Sanders was getting hit in the backfield, and pulled a 5 yard run out of his posterior end. Emmit just had to hide behind a line of men twice his size.
There is no doubt that Emmit is a hard worker, and a damned good back. You don't last that long in this league, or put up those numbers just because you're a chump. But I don't think Emmit is one of the top 5 backs of all time, let alone the single best.
I'd take Sanders, Sayers, Sweetness, Brown, Van Buren, Simpson, Dickerson. and Dorsett over Smith any day of the week, and twice on Tuesdays. I'd bet my life that if Barry Sanders played the bulk of his career behind Dallas's line in their prime, he would have obliterated the record books.