Al Tielemans

Yes, [Emmitt] Smith knows who he is, and he knows where he is too. More than speed or power or balance, awareness has been his greatest asset. He's always been able to read the men shifting in front of him, anticipate where and when a hole would open, when to make that famous cutback. So it was: On first-and-10 at Dallas's 27-yard line Smith churned for three yards. On second down he took the ball from rookie quarterback Chad Hutchinson, cut left, found a seam, stumbled over a defender's arm, placed his right hand on the turf, kept his balance and kept on chugging until he had caught [Walter] Payton and passed him by. Then Smith bounced to his feet, face alight, knowing without being told that the record was his. The game stopped, he saw his mother's face and wept, kissed his wife, Pat, and their three kids, hugged former teammate Daryl Johnston and wept again. After a five-minute break, he returned to the game, capping the Cowboys' drive with a one-yard burst that extended his NFL record for rushing TDs to 150. He finished the day with a season-high 109 yards on 24 carries, including six of at least 10 yards.

-from "Emmitt's Domain" by S.L. Price, Sports Illustrated, Nov. 4, 2002