Gunzlingr
10-10-2003, 08:17 AM
Lions defensive end Robert Porcher thinks Emmitt Smith should have quit when he went ahead -- after last season.
"I think he's overstayed his welcome," Porcher said. "It doesn't make me feel sad. That's the problem most players have.
"Most players, especially great players, have a hard time saying, 'Good-bye.' Most of us have been doing this since we were little kids."
Smith has 192 yards and one touchdown in five games with the Arizona Cardinals after breaking Walter Payton's career rushing record last season as a Dallas Cowboy. He now has 17,354 yards.
Smith is out at least four weeks after breaking his left shoulder blade in a loss at Dallas last week.
Porcher, 34, was a longtime teammate of Barry Sanders, who ran for 15,269 yards but retired suddenly before the '99 season with Payton's record in reach.
"What Barry did just speaks volumes about his character as a man," Porcher said. "To walk away when he was that close to the record and still at the prime of his career, says a lot about him.
"There have not been many players that have done what he did."
more (http://www.freep.com/sports/lions/line10_20031010.htm)
"I think he's overstayed his welcome," Porcher said. "It doesn't make me feel sad. That's the problem most players have.
"Most players, especially great players, have a hard time saying, 'Good-bye.' Most of us have been doing this since we were little kids."
Smith has 192 yards and one touchdown in five games with the Arizona Cardinals after breaking Walter Payton's career rushing record last season as a Dallas Cowboy. He now has 17,354 yards.
Smith is out at least four weeks after breaking his left shoulder blade in a loss at Dallas last week.
Porcher, 34, was a longtime teammate of Barry Sanders, who ran for 15,269 yards but retired suddenly before the '99 season with Payton's record in reach.
"What Barry did just speaks volumes about his character as a man," Porcher said. "To walk away when he was that close to the record and still at the prime of his career, says a lot about him.
"There have not been many players that have done what he did."
more (http://www.freep.com/sports/lions/line10_20031010.htm)