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if Priest Holmes was running behind the offensive line Emmitt had in Dallas's le years, he would be putting up video game numbers.
when he was in his prime?
I say yes
if Priest Holmes was running behind the offensive line Emmitt had in Dallas's le years, he would be putting up video game numbers.
uhm no
Holmes is yet another example of talent not developing at Texas.
actually when Holmes was there...they won the Big XII....B.M. (Before Mack)
Ducks only says that because he is anti-Cowboy.
Last edited by samikeyp; 10-25-2004 at 02:48 PM.
Being on a team that won a championship doesnt mean that his talent was developed while on the team.
Holmes had a lot more to offer Texas and Baltimore, but his abilities weren't brought out until well coached in KC.
Its a shame that Texas has a legacy of under-developing players.
Roy Williams came into the NFL and started tearing things up - as everyone suspected, but if you look at his 4 years in orange, he never really honed his skills.
Chris Simms said that he wasnt any better when he left Texas than when he got there.
uhm priest was so underdeveloped that ricky williams (you know the guy that broke the all time rushing record) had to play his fullback. what happened was he tore his acl in spring of 95 missing the entire season, he bounced back and had a pretty good year but ricky had already emerged as a stud. billick was just a moron with the ravens and he exploded with the chiefs.
I've known Priest for a long time. Personally, I thought he got lost in the shuffle at Texas because Mackovic fell in love with Williams and, for whatever reason, Mitc . When Mitc got hurt against Nebraska in the first Big XII le game, and when the black shirts rendered Ricky ineffective, Priest saved the day for the Horns. I don't think it was a matter of his talent going undeveloped at Texas, I think it was more a matter of concern that his lack of either size or pure speed would make him an ineffective every-down back.
If UT underutilized Priest, so did Brian Billick -- and for much the same reason. After all, Priest goes for 1,000 yards in 1998, gets hurt in 1999, and then gets uprooted when the Ravens drafted Jamal Lewis in 2000. Billick has said that the Ravens never thought Priest could be effective getting 35-40 touches per game -- that he was too brittle. Guess he was wrong about that one.
I personally think it's hard to compare Priest to Emmitt. Emmitt is clearly one of the top 5 backs to ever play football. Priest has had 3 fantastic years (among the greatest in league history) and is in the midst of a 4th. Hopefully it continues -- he's an absolutely wonderful guy and deserves every bit of success he's achieved. I think he's nudging himself into the Hall-of-Fame discussion. If you look at his numbers, he's butting up into Terrell Davis territory; but that also puts him in the range of guys like Chris Warren, Freeman McNeil, and James Brooks -- all of whom were nice players, but none of whom were hall-of-fame worthy.
Last edited by FromWayDowntown; 10-25-2004 at 01:52 PM.
Ricky played full as a fish because the starting job was already won.
How many coaches bench a senior in favor of a freshman?
That's not right. Ricky played fullback as a fish because Mackovic played Shon Mitc . Priest was a 3rd down back who got some carries on the goalline. I'll try to find the statistics, but I'm sure that I can prove that to be true.
That would only go to prove what I am saying - Texas does not utilize and develop talent. Shon Mitc playing over Priest as a senior? Priest as a 3rd dn back.
Ricky could have probably used a little less time in the weight room and a little more in a shrink's office.
Fair enough. There's no doubt that Priest didn't get much burn at UT (or in Baltimore) and that his underutilization in both places has made the coaches in those situations look foolish.That would only go to prove what I am saying - Texas does not utilize and develop talent. Shon Mitc playing over Priest as a senior? Priest as a 3rd dn back.
The question in this thread isn't about how well UT utilizes talent, but whether Priest is comparable to Emmitt Smith. I'll change the question a bit: given what Priest has done, does anyone think he's worthy of hall-of-fame consideration, and why or why not?
Priest was MVP of the Sun Bowl one year and was a big part of the Big XII championship game. Must have been doing something right. You can't blame the whole history of the school. There were different coaching staffs with different philosophies. He was also fighting injuries at UT which, unfairly to him, did not help his cause. Besides, sometimes players do not hit their strides until the NFL. Guys like Terrell Davis and Jamal Anderson. Just like a lot of players are great in college and can't make it in the pros. Wondering why Priest would be a third down back at UT doesn't make sense because you are thinking of the player as he is now instead of then. FWD is right, the question is about Holmes now and not at UT. IMO, if he continues what he is doing for at least five more years, he should merit serious consideration for the HOF.
Last edited by samikeyp; 10-25-2004 at 02:47 PM.
RIght now he doesnt warrant consideration for the HOF. He hasnt been a top back long enough. His career more closely resembles Terrell Davis than Walter Payton.
Agreed. Hopefully, he has a lot more football left in him.
Okay, here's a little fodder for that hall-of-fame discussion:
Priest (as of this moment) is 33rd all-time in rushing and is 52nd all-time in total yards from scrimmage. I agree that neither is hall-worthy at this point. But, he owns several NFL records, including single-season touchdowns. An another point: of the 50 greatest single season yards from scrimmage totals, Priest owns 3 (he has the 6th, 19th, and 29th best seasons) -- only three players in NFL history own more of the top 50 marks, Marshall Faulk, Walter Payton, and Eric erson (each has 4) and all of them are either in the hall-of-fame, or are sure bets to get there. Preist Holmes and Marshall Faulk are the only 2 players in NFL history to exceed 2,100 total yards in at least 3 seasons.
To me, Priest is becoming the Terrell Davis argument. There are those who say that Terrell Davis is in the Gale Sayers category, and warrants hall-of-fame consideration despite the limited number of years he played. Priest is butting into that territory, if only because he got a late start. But he's putting up sublime seasons -- if he can stay healthy, this should be his 4th straight 2,100+ yard season, and he should finish with somewhere around 20 TD's. I guess the question is whether those types of all-time seasons -- even in the absence of huge career numbers -- warrant consideration for the hall-of-fame.
I think that Holmes needs to put up some more big years before he can even be put up there with the Paytons' and Smiths'. Granted breaking the rushing TD record in a season is impressive, lets see something else.
Where's the heroic performance? I.E. Payton playing with flu and running for 277 yds? Emmitt playing with a badly separated shoulder to lead the Cowboys to a division clinching win over the Giants in '93?
He's good...but not great. Least not yet that is.
I don't think anyone (well, anyone other than ducks) is trying to cast Priest among the elite of the elite, but as time goes by, I do think that Priest is beginning to separate himself from many of his contemporaries and a lot of players who've been treated well historically. I agree that he probably needs another year or two to firmly get himself into the hall-of-fame mix -- that, or 10,000 rushing yards, which is much like 500 home runs (it's gold for everyone but Ottis Anderson so far). With that said, he's closing in rapidly on some pretty good company -- assuming no injuries and continued successes, he'll likely pass Larry Csonka on the all-time rushing list at some point this season. Again, assuming all goes well, he'll be in range to pass guys like Roger Craig, Jim Taylor, Joe Perry and Herschel Walker next season. That doesn't count those he's passing on the total yardage and touchdown lists.
I don't think a heroic performance is a necessary prerequisite for entry into the hall-of-fame. There aren't any heroic performances for guys like Franco Harris, Earl Campbell, or John Riggins. But his guttiness in coming back from that hip injury/surgery last year was pretty remarkable. And the guy just doesn't miss games. It's unfortunate for Priest that in an era of self-promoters, he's one of the most self-effacing guys in the NFL and, therefore, one of the more underrated players in the league.
Priest doesnt have to promote himself for people to reconize. People know the records. People know he, Tony G and Dante Hall carry the Chiefs.
No way in is Priest underrated.
I guess we'll disagree about that. I hear him mentioned behind guys like Tomlinson, Green, and Portis in discussions about the best back in the game today. I rarely hear the wonks who talk football on Sundays mention Priest before any of those guys. Maybe I'm sensitive about it because I know the guy, but I just don't think he's universally recognized for being the best back in the game today, and I don't see how anyone can really dispute his place as the best back going for the last 4 years.No way in is Priest underrated.
I dont think he has been the best in each of the last few years. I think Tomlinson is the best RB in the NFL.
On a sorry team with no passing last year, Tomlinson stood out. At least Green can throw the ball. Last year's Chargers were so inept at passing that teams could stack against LT.
Tomlinson
1645 Yards
5.3 YPC
725 receiving yards
2 Fumbles (both kept by the Chargers)
Holmes
1420 Yards
4.4 YPC
690 receiving
1 fumble (lost)
Green
1883 yards
5.3 YPC
367 receiving
like i said priest was injured ricky's freshman year in 95. Ricky was the fullback for mitc the replacement. even then ricky still managed to break earl campbell's freshamn rushing record. when priest came back the next year ricky still was the fb in mackovics crazy system, but he got like 1000+ yards and priest got like 13 tds. Priest getting sun bowl mvp was in 94, priest scoring against nebraska was in 96 off a ricky block btw.
Man that must be some good crack..
Priest Holmes greater than Emmitt? Um no.
Oh you mean right now? Sure...a little bit better...but Emmitt's 35 years old.
Priest is a great running back though...just not in Emmitt's league.
Incidentally, Emmitt had his 78th career 100 yard game yesterday and is on pace for 1200 yards and 13 TD's.
If the man rushes for 1200 yards at the age of 35 for the Arizona Cardinals...it's pretty much going to put to rest that his was all his O line. As Jimmy Johnson said...Emmitt's best talent was seeing the holes before they were there...he made his O line better and his best skill was utilizing his O line.
Also Emmitt has been hit more than any other player in history...he's one of the toughest players ever, if not the toughest.
Like I said, I'll have to agree to disagree on the Priest being underrated thing. I happen to think the guy is the best back going because his week-to-week numbers show only small variation (for the most part). Tomlinson will get you 200 one week and get you 50 the next. To take them back a generation, to me Tomlinson is a bit like Barry Sanders, and Priest is like Emmitt Smith (but not better than Emmitt). I will always take a guy who will consistently get me 4.5 over a guy who can occasionally break it 80, but will lose yardage 10 times per game.
To settle the UT thing once and for all, here are the relevant UT numbers:
1995
Ricky Williams - 166 carries, 990 yards, 8 TD
Shon Mitc - 176 carries, 1,099 yards, 10 TD
Priest Holmes - DNP
1996
Ricky Williams - 205 carries, 1272 yards, 12 TD
Shon Mitc - 117 carries, 625 yards, 4 TD
Priest Holmes - 59 carries, 324 yards, 13 TD
Priest sure was a bad ass for Marshall High School, I can tell you that much... but no, not better than Emmitt.
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