According To Gil Lebreton
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On draft day at Valley Ranch 11 months ago, the son turned to the father -- both giddy from the trade they had just made -- and conjectured an intriguing possibility.

"Do you realize," Stephen Jones said to Jerry Jones, "that this pick could end up being [Darren] McFadden?"

They hee-hawed, or called the Hogs, or whatever it is that millionaire ex-Arkansas Razorbacks do these days, and son Stephen's suggestion, I'm guessing, was then filed away in a drawer somewhere.

But not too far away. You don't have to know how to call the Hogs to like Darren McFadden.

Some have said that McFadden, a two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up, has the size, strength and speed to be the next Adrian Peterson. And they would be wrong.

McFadden is better than Peterson. And he'll be a more valuable NFL running back because he's more durable.

I don't base this on my experience playing Madden 2007 or the college version, like some self-styled draft gurus do. I certainly didn't come to this conclusion after watching McFadden and his poorly prepared Razorbacks teammates get drilled in the Cotton Bowl.

No, I watched him play. My TiVo has a season pass for Southeastern Conference football. I've seen McFadden play in person.

I also saw, once upon a time, Tony Dorsett run with a football. And Emmitt Smith.

And as Dorsett and Smith both did for the Cowboys' franchise, McFadden can, too. He is that good.

Star-Telegram.com: | 03/02/2008 | Whatever it takes, trade for McFadden

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Long Live Sports Outlaw!

Emmitt Smith was most dangerous when you tried to stop him outright. If you jammed the front up too much to stop him you were doomed. You could stop him dead in his tracks 5-6 times in a row. But Dallas would continue to try and the first, smallest sign of a hole Smith was gone with no one between him and the goal.

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Sports Outlaw Fantasy Football League Champion 2007 - Maelstrom

One of the most overlooked qualities of Emmitt Smith, mainly because things like that don't make the ESPN highlights.

I wonder it I could trade my Adrian Peterson for the 1.01?










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You know.....this could be one of the most interesting drafts ever. One of the best talents in this draft, if not THE best...is dropping like a rock. Latest mocks I have seen have McFadden dropping down to the Jets spot. If Dallas does want to trade up....it may be a whole lot easier than they thought.

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Expert on nothing, opinionated on everything...

i still think Barry Sanders was one of the greatest of all time. his playing time was too short and he played on a god aweful team at the time. teams new he was getting the ball and they still couldn't stop him. Emmitt was also a great player. growing up in florida i got to watch him play in H.S. , watched him in a Gators uniform, and cringed when he went to Dallas. He never should have went to arizona. to compare these new guys out of college, one with a year exp and the other with none, is ludacris. lets see what they can do before we compare them to anybody. they can be a bust after a year or two and these teams are looking for a RB again.

imagine that, MOJO starting a thread downgrading Adrian Peterson.....I think I may have just wet myself, I'm in so much shock...........

Adrian Peterson has been the best rookie back in the last, what, 20 years? And he did it in less than a full season? And with defenses geared to stop ONLY him?? And McFadden (who we don't know where he'll end up, or even how he'll do, considering we haven't seen him play a down in the NFL) is already better????

Give me a break.........

Just had to add a vote for "Sweetness", Walter Payton, as the greatest RB ever. Payton was durable, tough, and did the intangibles.

Payton missed one game in his rookie season and then played in 186 consecutive games over the remaining 12 seasons of his career.

He blocked the linebackers, not the fullback. Payton's motto was "Never Die Easy". He refused to deliberately run out-of-bounds, choosing instead to deliver punishment to a tackler before being taken out of a play. I loved the way he delivered more punishment to would-be tacklers than he received himself and the fact that he was always the first player up off the field after a tackle.

Payton retired with 16,726 total yards and 10 seasons with 1,000 or more rushing yards, 275 yards rushing in one game against Minnesota in 1977, 77 games with more than 100 yards rushing, and 110 rushing touchdowns.

He also scored an amazing 750 points on 125 touchdowns – in an era when offenses were more conservative and low scoring.

Payton had a commitment to sportsmanship. He refused to celebrate after a touchdown, deciding instead to gently hand the ball to the nearest official.

I don't mean to take anything away from the great RBs listed above, but when thinking of the greatest, "Sweetness" gets my vote.

To say that a player is better than another is to say the other is pretty good. If McFadden is a better player than Peterson, he is very good. We'll see.

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"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans..." John Lennon

When I got an opinion on a player, I stick with it until it is proven one way or another. Just do a David Carr search for proof