Can Faulk Catch 22?
by Rams Nation's Don Ackerman

Emmitt Smith is All-Time Rushing Leader but Can Marshall Faulk Catch Him?

With Emmitt Smith passing Walter Payton on the all-time rushing list, talk has been about the greatest running back ever. I've heard Jim Brown, Walter Payton, OJ Simpson, and even Earl Campbell. A person or two will bring up Barry Sanders. To my surprise, no one has brought up Eric Dickerson (who is #4 all-time!) or Superman himself, Marshall Faulk. With all this talk, I had to wonder if #28 Marshall Faulk can catch #22 Emmitt Smith.

Today, Marshall Faulk is #15 on the list with 10,222. This weekend, he'll pass Ottis "O.J". Anderson (the Rams and Giant - 51 yards to go!) and before the year is over, he'll probably pass Ricky Watters (the 49er, Eagle, and Seahawk - only 421 yards to go). If he stays healthy, he'll like be top ten (he will likely bump out Thurman Thomas at 12,074 yards) before he retires. But can he catch Emmitt?

Over 13 years, Emmitt is averaging 1,349 rushing yards per year. Over Faulk's career, he has averaged 1,180 rushing yards per year. If he keeps that average, he'd catch Emmitt (assuming he's done with 109-yard games!) in late 2007 (that's 5 and 1/2 years!). If that happens, it will take Marshall 14 years to eclipse Smith's all-time mark.

The verdict: It's possible but it will be tough. I started this column thinking it would be possible but after looking closer at the number, though it's obviously possible (did you see Faulk gain 178 yards last week?!?), it's not likely.

Don's Note: I know that Marshall has recently averaged 1,300 yards per year and he is currently on pace to have his best rushing year ever but Emmitt is still running himself making him harder to catch. So far this season, Emmitt is averaging 66.1 yards per game. His 109 yards on Super Sunday was the most yards he rushed for in 2002. Now that Emmitt has the record, the speculation is that the Cowboys will play him less and he won't be the featured back. Against Detroit the week after passing Payton, Emmitt had 16 rushes for 39 yards. Meanwhile in Arizona (a place where Emmitt himself had much success), Faulk was rushing for an unbelievable 178 yards.

Okay, how about total yards? Can Faulk catch 22?

Emmitt's total stat's are pretty amazing, too. He has 19,785 totals yards (16,782 rushing and 3,003 receiving). Marshall has 16,059 total yards to his name (10, 222 rushing and 5,837 receiving). I called Emmitt's stat's amazing because as good as Marshall has been, Emmitt's so far ahead of him that Marshall will need almost 4,000 yards to catch him. Wow! Now I don't know who has the total yards record, but in this case, Marshall Faulk can catch 22.

Ram on,
Don