Post by TheShadow on Dec 27, 2003 8:49:25 GMT -5
www.sfgate.com
Shelf life brutally short for league's backs
By Ira Miller
Something to consider as NFL teams head into the winter season of hiring and firing coaches and adjusting their rosters: Names don't sell, winning does.
The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles -- with two Pro Bowl players apiece and a combined record of 24-6 -- are only the latest examples of that.
At the other end of the spectrum, you have the Arizona Cardinals, who made a common mistake this year in wasting money on an over-the-hill running back, Emmitt Smith.
More than players at any other position, even quarterback, there is a rich history in the NFL of teams giving running backs one chance too many after all the evidence suggests they are finished.
Perhaps it has something to do with their age, which is deceiving. Running backs are washed-up at a younger age than players at other positions because they take a tougher beating.
The great running backs get hit on every play; if they're not carrying the ball, they're carrying out a fake, or they are blocking a blitzer. You may hear of a 41-year-old quarterback such as Doug Flutie once in a generation, or a 41-year-old receiver such as Jerry Rice once in a lifetime, but you don't hear about a 40-year-old running back. That's because there never has been one in the NFL.
In fact, Smith's season, at age 34, is in keeping with tradition.
After he was released by Dallas and signed by Arizona, Smith said a 1,300- yard year was a reasonable goal. His contract was said to include marketing elements.
No and no.
Smith won't approach 300 yards, let alone 1,300. With one game remaining, he has 236, and all his presence did was take playing time from Marcel Shipp, who will lead the team in rushing for a second straight year and might have had a chance for 1,000 yards but for the carries Smith took from him.
And those marketing bonuses? The Cardinals' announced average home attendance, 33,681, actually is down 2,500 a game from a year ago. About all Arizona might get from this season is the first pick in the 2004 draft; the Cardinals and San Diego are both 3-12 with a game remaining.
This is the fourth year in a row that Smith's production declined, but he is just one of six backs, among the 12 all-time rushing leaders at the start of the season, who overstayed his welcome.
-- O.J. Simpson finished his career on a pair of 2-14 teams with the 49ers. The first man to rush for 2,000 yards in a season barely reached a total of 1,000 in two years in San Francisco and was done at age 32.
-- Franco Harris, after starring a dozen years in Pittsburgh, finished his career as a part-time starter at Seattle in 1984. At 34, he scored no touchdowns and averaged 2.5 yards a rush.
-- Tony Dorsett, after 11 years in Dallas, played his final season for Denver in 1988 at age 34. He was better than most at that age -- 703 yards, a 3.9 average -- but the Broncos were a .500 team that season, the only year in a four-season stretch in which they failed to win the AFC championship.
-- Eric Dickerson, age 33, gained 91 yards and scored no touchdowns as he finished at Atlanta in 1993 while the Falcons went 6-10.
-- Thurman Thomas, after 12 years in Buffalo that included four Super Bowl appearances, lasted only long enough in Miami to carry the ball 28 times before he had to give it up at age 34.
Simpson, Harris, Dorsett and Dickerson are in the Hall of Fame. Smith will be, Thomas might be. These were all great players who could not walk away from the stage. That's quite a difference from Rice, who still will approach 1, 000 yards receiving on a bad team that has used five quarterbacks.
There is a message in all this for the 49ers, too, because Garrison Hearst will be 33 in January, and, valuable as he has been -- for his blocking as well as his running -- they have to figure out a way to make Kevan Barlow improve his blocking as a full-time player.
Barlow already is a better runner than Hearst, with more of a speed burst. Barlow's fumbles trouble the team, but he's going to be a 1,000-yard rusher, and he's averaging 5.3 yards a carry, which is the highest average for a 49ers' rushing leader in 45 years.
Emmitt Smith, of course, is not the only player on the over-the-hill roster. Bruce Smith already has announced his retirement in Washington. Detroit cornerback Otis Smith should retire, too. Defensive end Hugh Douglas got a $6 million signing bonus from Jacksonville, but it looks like Philadelphia knew what it was doing in letting him leave; Douglas has 31/2 sacks. The New York Jets have two washed-up linebackers, Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones.
At one time, there might have been dozens of old players just hanging on in the NFL, but salary-cap attrition has limited the numbers. In today's game, older players either retire or are cut earlier than they otherwise might have been to save money.
Shelf life brutally short for league's backs
By Ira Miller
Something to consider as NFL teams head into the winter season of hiring and firing coaches and adjusting their rosters: Names don't sell, winning does.
The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles -- with two Pro Bowl players apiece and a combined record of 24-6 -- are only the latest examples of that.
At the other end of the spectrum, you have the Arizona Cardinals, who made a common mistake this year in wasting money on an over-the-hill running back, Emmitt Smith.
More than players at any other position, even quarterback, there is a rich history in the NFL of teams giving running backs one chance too many after all the evidence suggests they are finished.
Perhaps it has something to do with their age, which is deceiving. Running backs are washed-up at a younger age than players at other positions because they take a tougher beating.
The great running backs get hit on every play; if they're not carrying the ball, they're carrying out a fake, or they are blocking a blitzer. You may hear of a 41-year-old quarterback such as Doug Flutie once in a generation, or a 41-year-old receiver such as Jerry Rice once in a lifetime, but you don't hear about a 40-year-old running back. That's because there never has been one in the NFL.
In fact, Smith's season, at age 34, is in keeping with tradition.
After he was released by Dallas and signed by Arizona, Smith said a 1,300- yard year was a reasonable goal. His contract was said to include marketing elements.
No and no.
Smith won't approach 300 yards, let alone 1,300. With one game remaining, he has 236, and all his presence did was take playing time from Marcel Shipp, who will lead the team in rushing for a second straight year and might have had a chance for 1,000 yards but for the carries Smith took from him.
And those marketing bonuses? The Cardinals' announced average home attendance, 33,681, actually is down 2,500 a game from a year ago. About all Arizona might get from this season is the first pick in the 2004 draft; the Cardinals and San Diego are both 3-12 with a game remaining.
This is the fourth year in a row that Smith's production declined, but he is just one of six backs, among the 12 all-time rushing leaders at the start of the season, who overstayed his welcome.
-- O.J. Simpson finished his career on a pair of 2-14 teams with the 49ers. The first man to rush for 2,000 yards in a season barely reached a total of 1,000 in two years in San Francisco and was done at age 32.
-- Franco Harris, after starring a dozen years in Pittsburgh, finished his career as a part-time starter at Seattle in 1984. At 34, he scored no touchdowns and averaged 2.5 yards a rush.
-- Tony Dorsett, after 11 years in Dallas, played his final season for Denver in 1988 at age 34. He was better than most at that age -- 703 yards, a 3.9 average -- but the Broncos were a .500 team that season, the only year in a four-season stretch in which they failed to win the AFC championship.
-- Eric Dickerson, age 33, gained 91 yards and scored no touchdowns as he finished at Atlanta in 1993 while the Falcons went 6-10.
-- Thurman Thomas, after 12 years in Buffalo that included four Super Bowl appearances, lasted only long enough in Miami to carry the ball 28 times before he had to give it up at age 34.
Simpson, Harris, Dorsett and Dickerson are in the Hall of Fame. Smith will be, Thomas might be. These were all great players who could not walk away from the stage. That's quite a difference from Rice, who still will approach 1, 000 yards receiving on a bad team that has used five quarterbacks.
There is a message in all this for the 49ers, too, because Garrison Hearst will be 33 in January, and, valuable as he has been -- for his blocking as well as his running -- they have to figure out a way to make Kevan Barlow improve his blocking as a full-time player.
Barlow already is a better runner than Hearst, with more of a speed burst. Barlow's fumbles trouble the team, but he's going to be a 1,000-yard rusher, and he's averaging 5.3 yards a carry, which is the highest average for a 49ers' rushing leader in 45 years.
Emmitt Smith, of course, is not the only player on the over-the-hill roster. Bruce Smith already has announced his retirement in Washington. Detroit cornerback Otis Smith should retire, too. Defensive end Hugh Douglas got a $6 million signing bonus from Jacksonville, but it looks like Philadelphia knew what it was doing in letting him leave; Douglas has 31/2 sacks. The New York Jets have two washed-up linebackers, Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones.
At one time, there might have been dozens of old players just hanging on in the NFL, but salary-cap attrition has limited the numbers. In today's game, older players either retire or are cut earlier than they otherwise might have been to save money.