Emmitt signs with Cards
03/27/2003
By RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News
PHOENIX ? Emmitt Smith will take his quest for 20,000 rushing yards into a football and geographical desert.
Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher, agreed to a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday, leaving behind huge footprints in the state of Texas.
Smith spent 13 seasons with the Cowboys and won four NFL rushing titles. He passed Walter Payton as the NFL's all-time leading rusher last October and amassed 17,162 yards in his career with the Cowboys.
But Smith, 33, became a salary-cap casualty in February. Repeatedly this off-season he has said he still considers himself a 1,300-yard rusher and has long identified 20,000 rushing yards as his career goal.
Smith just won't get there with the Cowboys.
"In my mind, Emmitt will always have that star on his helmet," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as he was departing the NFL spring meetings here Wednesday. "This is no surprise. I knew Emmitt wanted to keep carrying the ball. I wish him the best."
Smith was unavailable for comment Wednesday but will attend a news conference at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Phoenix to discuss the signing.
The Cardinals would not reveal contract terms, but vice president of football operations Rod Graves said it was a complicated deal that requires a commitment from Smith off the field as well as on.
This franchise needs marketing ? Arizona averaged only 37,534 fans per game last season. The Cardinals have managed just 16 sellouts in their 15 seasons in Phoenix, and 11 of them have come against the Cowboys. So Smith will become the new face of the Cardinals.
"We recognize Emmitt Smith as a total package," Graves said. "The bottom line is we're not only getting a partner on the field ? but there's a partnership off the field as well."
The lack of fans can be traced to a lack of success. The Cardinals have never won a division title since moving to Phoenix from St. Louis in 1988. They have qualified for the playoffs just once in that time. Arizona's only playoff victory, ironically, was a 20-7 triumph over Smith and the Cowboys at Texas Stadium in the 1998 season.
Smith reached the playoffs eight times in his career with the Cowboys, playing in 17 post-season games (15 more than the Cardinals during that same stretch) and winning three Super Bowls. The third Super Bowl victory in 1996 came in Tempe, Ariz., at Sun Devil Stadium, his new home.
"We're in this business to win football games," Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis said. "The first item on his agenda when he and I talked was, 'Coach, how are we going to win?' Believe me, I'm going to use Emmitt Smith to win football games."
McGinnis said Smith will wear his familiar jersey No. 22, which cornerback Duane Starks wore last season, and will be penciled in atop the depth chart at halfback, ahead of incumbent Marcel Shipp.
"I know what players of this stature bring to your football team, your organization and your community," McGinnis said. "Emmitt Smith is the type of football player and the type of individual that embodies the fiber and fabric of the National Football League."
Smith will need every bit of that fiber to turn around the fortune of running backs in Arizona. This is also a franchise that has struggled mightily to run the ball. The Cardinals have had only three 1,000-yard rushers since moving to Phoenix, and none since 1998.
Smith set an NFL record with 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 1991-2001. His streak came to an end last year when he rushed for 975 yards, disappointing by Smith's standards. But that was still 141 more yards than Shipp, who led the Cardinals.
Smith would need 2,838 yards with the Cardinals to reach his goal of 20,000.
"I don't think that's a goal he set after he broke the record," said Darren Woodson, a teammate of Smith for the last 12 years. "I think that's something he set for himself a long time ago. And Emmitt's one of the most stubborn and focused people I've ever met."
Still, Woodson admitted it will be difficult watching Smith pursue his dream from afar.
"Free agency is meant for other players, not Emmitt Smith," Woodson said. "I wish he could have retired a Cowboy."
Smith and the Cardinals will play at Texas Stadium in 2003, but the date has not be announced.
Smith was the latest positive move by the Cardinals after two devastating blows at the start of free agency. Arizona lost its two best offensive players, quarterback Jake Plummer and wide receiver David Boston, in February.
But the Cardinals rallied this month with the signing of quarterback Jeff Blake and safety Dexter Jackson, the Super Bowl MVP. Now Smith becomes the crown jewel of the off-season.
"It's going to be difficult for us as fans to get used to seeing him wearing red and white," said Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, another running back legend with the Cowboys. "But as fans of Emmitt Smith, we have to get behind him. The eyes of Texas will be upon him, even if he is in Phoenix."
Staff writer Chip Brown contributed to this report.
E-mail [email protected]
03/27/2003
By RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News
PHOENIX ? Emmitt Smith will take his quest for 20,000 rushing yards into a football and geographical desert.
Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher, agreed to a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday, leaving behind huge footprints in the state of Texas.
Smith spent 13 seasons with the Cowboys and won four NFL rushing titles. He passed Walter Payton as the NFL's all-time leading rusher last October and amassed 17,162 yards in his career with the Cowboys.
But Smith, 33, became a salary-cap casualty in February. Repeatedly this off-season he has said he still considers himself a 1,300-yard rusher and has long identified 20,000 rushing yards as his career goal.
Smith just won't get there with the Cowboys.
"In my mind, Emmitt will always have that star on his helmet," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as he was departing the NFL spring meetings here Wednesday. "This is no surprise. I knew Emmitt wanted to keep carrying the ball. I wish him the best."
Smith was unavailable for comment Wednesday but will attend a news conference at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Phoenix to discuss the signing.
The Cardinals would not reveal contract terms, but vice president of football operations Rod Graves said it was a complicated deal that requires a commitment from Smith off the field as well as on.
This franchise needs marketing ? Arizona averaged only 37,534 fans per game last season. The Cardinals have managed just 16 sellouts in their 15 seasons in Phoenix, and 11 of them have come against the Cowboys. So Smith will become the new face of the Cardinals.
"We recognize Emmitt Smith as a total package," Graves said. "The bottom line is we're not only getting a partner on the field ? but there's a partnership off the field as well."
The lack of fans can be traced to a lack of success. The Cardinals have never won a division title since moving to Phoenix from St. Louis in 1988. They have qualified for the playoffs just once in that time. Arizona's only playoff victory, ironically, was a 20-7 triumph over Smith and the Cowboys at Texas Stadium in the 1998 season.
Smith reached the playoffs eight times in his career with the Cowboys, playing in 17 post-season games (15 more than the Cardinals during that same stretch) and winning three Super Bowls. The third Super Bowl victory in 1996 came in Tempe, Ariz., at Sun Devil Stadium, his new home.
"We're in this business to win football games," Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis said. "The first item on his agenda when he and I talked was, 'Coach, how are we going to win?' Believe me, I'm going to use Emmitt Smith to win football games."
McGinnis said Smith will wear his familiar jersey No. 22, which cornerback Duane Starks wore last season, and will be penciled in atop the depth chart at halfback, ahead of incumbent Marcel Shipp.
"I know what players of this stature bring to your football team, your organization and your community," McGinnis said. "Emmitt Smith is the type of football player and the type of individual that embodies the fiber and fabric of the National Football League."
Smith will need every bit of that fiber to turn around the fortune of running backs in Arizona. This is also a franchise that has struggled mightily to run the ball. The Cardinals have had only three 1,000-yard rushers since moving to Phoenix, and none since 1998.
Smith set an NFL record with 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 1991-2001. His streak came to an end last year when he rushed for 975 yards, disappointing by Smith's standards. But that was still 141 more yards than Shipp, who led the Cardinals.
Smith would need 2,838 yards with the Cardinals to reach his goal of 20,000.
"I don't think that's a goal he set after he broke the record," said Darren Woodson, a teammate of Smith for the last 12 years. "I think that's something he set for himself a long time ago. And Emmitt's one of the most stubborn and focused people I've ever met."
Still, Woodson admitted it will be difficult watching Smith pursue his dream from afar.
"Free agency is meant for other players, not Emmitt Smith," Woodson said. "I wish he could have retired a Cowboy."
Smith and the Cardinals will play at Texas Stadium in 2003, but the date has not be announced.
Smith was the latest positive move by the Cardinals after two devastating blows at the start of free agency. Arizona lost its two best offensive players, quarterback Jake Plummer and wide receiver David Boston, in February.
But the Cardinals rallied this month with the signing of quarterback Jeff Blake and safety Dexter Jackson, the Super Bowl MVP. Now Smith becomes the crown jewel of the off-season.
"It's going to be difficult for us as fans to get used to seeing him wearing red and white," said Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, another running back legend with the Cowboys. "But as fans of Emmitt Smith, we have to get behind him. The eyes of Texas will be upon him, even if he is in Phoenix."
Staff writer Chip Brown contributed to this report.
E-mail [email protected]
