Handing off the torch in Dallas

By: Jamey Codding (jameycodding@bullz-eye.com)

11/20/2002

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Jimmy Johnson's gone. So is Troy Aikman. Michael Irvin and Daryl Johnston retired in 1999; Jay Novacek left the game four years earlier. And over the last three seasons, the Dallas Cowboys are 16 games below .500.

And counting.

Five wins against 11 losses in 2000. Another 5-11 campaign last year, and just 3-7 so far in 2002. Johnson gave way to Barry Switzer, who was followed by Chan Gailey and then Dave Campo. Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, Clint Stoerner, Chad Hutchinson and even Ryan Leaf have all tried to replace Aikman. Neither Joey Galloway nor Raghib Ismail have been able to entirely fill Irvin's shoes while guys like David LaFleur, Eric Bjornson and Mike Lucky have started at tight end for the 'Boys. For the past several years, the Cowboys have been the model of instability in the NFL, replacing great players and winning coaches with mediocre talent and lousy fill-ins.

But since 1990, there have been two constants that Dallas fans have been able to rely on year in and year out despite all the turnover: owner Jerry Jones and, of course, Emmitt Smith, the Lone Star remaining from those great Cowboys teams.

Now the NFL's all-time leading rusher, having passed Walter Payton four weeks ago, Smith has totaled 16,804 yards and 150 touchdowns on the ground and another 3,003 yards and 11 scores through the air during his illustrious 13-year career. He's won three Super Bowl rings, four rushing titles, a league and a Super Bowl MVP (both in 1993), and he's been selected for the Pro Bowl nine times.

Quite simply, Emmitt Smith was one of the NFL's greatest running backs of all time. But please note my word selection -- he was one of the NFL's greatest running backs. At 33 and with nearly 4,000 career rushing attempts to his credit, also a record, Smith's motor just doesn't run quite as well as it once did. His tires are bald, he needs new brakes, the radio doesn't work and his transmission's shot. Once a brand new Cadillac, Emmitt's now that '83 Seville your grandparents have been driving for almost two decades. He's no longer one of the league's elite players; he may not even be one of his team's elite players anymore.

So why would anybody be surprised that Campo wants to see more of 26-year-old running back Troy Hambrick?

Let's face it -- it's time for the Cowboys to make a change, to finally let go of the 1990s and turn their attention toward 2003 and beyond. It's a future full of possibilities in this parity-driven league. It's a future that demands change. It's a future that will be led by guys like Roy Williams and Antonio Bryant and Chad Hutchinson and Troy Hambrick.

In short, it's a future in Dallas that just doesn't have any room for Emmitt Smith.

I'm not trying to bag on #22 -- I would never discredit his remarkable career. But it's nonetheless a remarkable career on a steep downward slope:

Smith hasn't run for more than 1,300 yards since 1999 after doing it seven times in nine years from 1991-99, and his touchdowns have drastically tapered off as well. And let's be honest here -- it's not like Emmitt galloped past Payton on the all-time rushing list; I believe "crawl" would be the more accurate verb choice. He entered the season just 539 yards behind Sweetness, a total he would've surpassed in four or five games a decade ago, but this year it took Smith eight weeks to set the record, culminating in a 109-yard effort against Seattle in that eighth game. And in the two games since overtaking Payton, Emmitt's totaled 61 yards on 24 attempts, a 2.54 yards/carry average.

So why did everybody get so worked up when, in last week's 20-3 loss to the Colts, Hambrick and Smith split the backfield workload? While the future Hall of Famer ran for a paltry 22 yards on eight carries, Hambrick made the most of his seven attempts, piling up 42 yards and adding a three-yard reception to his stat sheet. After the game, Smith seemed shocked by the apparent change in the game plan, saying, "They didn't make that clear at all. I'm very disappointed by that." He then added, "I do deserve to be communicated to in a proper manner. I think I earned that much."

To that point, Emmitt is absolutely right -- after everything he's accomplished, everything he's brought to the Dallas Cowboys organization, Campo and Jones owe it to him to be up-front and honest about their intentions for the remainder of the season. But should they let Hambrick rot on the bench simply because there's a 33-year-old legend on the field who can no longer perform at his peak level? Absolutely not.

In fact, Campo and Jones owe their fans a competitive team, which means they have to find out what exactly they've got in the younger Hambrick. He has just 162 career rushing attempts in three NFL seasons, gaining 795 yards for a 4.9 yards/carry average. In 16 games last year (11 starts), the 233-pound Hambrick rumbled for 579 yards and two scores, with the bulk of that work coming against the Eagles in week three (10 carries, 107 yards), the Giants in week eight (30 carries, 77 yards) and the Falcons in week nine (20 carries, 127 yards). This season, though, Hambrick hasn't started a single game, receiving just 43 carries for 188 yards (4.4 yards/carry) compared to Smith's 155 for 617 (4.0 yards/carry).

After last week's game, though, Hambrick made clear his desire to become a bigger part of the offense: "I have always admired Emmitt and his will and the things he's done over his career. I just feel like it comes a time. It's not my call to say when it's time, but I'm a guy that wants to get my career off the ground and establish myself as a household name." A lot of people have come out and criticized Hambrick for essentially stepping on Emmitt's legendary toes, but let me be the first to applaud him for his actions and his words. I'm all for team loyalty and I'm certainly not suggesting that the Cowboys should cut Smith loose, but all torches must be passed at some point and Hambrick recognizes that his time has come.

Look, this is football. We shouldn't be worrying about hurting someone's feelings or bruising someone's ego. No matter who that someone may be. Besides, it's not like Hambrick insulted Smith or demeaned his career accomplishments. This is just a young guy who's eager to show his team and the rest of the NFL what he's capable of, and to me that seems to be the kind of attitude that this league was built on. If you don't have your eyes set on the guy ahead of you, if you're content to be a backup, then you don't deserve to wear the uniform. From day one, Troy Hambrick's goal should have been to take away Emmitt Smith's job. Period. That doesn't make him selfish and it certainly doesn't represent any level of disrespect toward Emmitt.

It simply means he has the right attitude. You play the game to win and to be the absolute best you can be. That's the heart of competition. But with Smith on the field, Hambrick can't do that, and the Cowboys obviously aren't winning.

Legends retire. Legends get hurt. Legends get old and they sometimes sign with other teams. And somebody, at some point, has to take over for those legends when they're no longer on the field. Steve Young did it in San Francisco, Leroy Kelly did it in Cleveland many years ago and Tom Brady did it last season with the New England Patriots. Now the Dallas Cowboys have to find out if Troy Hambrick is ready to take over.

Kind of ironic that Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher, now has to turn around and hand the ball off to someone else.

In the Bullz-Eye

The Ohio State Buckeyes. Jim Tressell and the Bucks are one win away from advancing to the Fiesta Bowl for a shot at a national championship. Of course, that one win will likely be the toughest of the year for Ohio State, who hosts bitter rival Michigan at the 'Shoe Saturday afternoon (12:15 on ABC). The 12-0 Buckeyes are one of college football's two remaining undefeated teams, but despite their record there are many who feel OSU is overrated. A win against the ninth-ranked Wolverines this Sunday, though, would not only send the Bucks, who should have a healthy Maurice Clarett in the backfield, to the Fiesta Bowl, it could also legitimize their season in the eyes of some non-believers.

Questions/comments? Send all e-mails to jcodding@bullz-eye.com.