A football life: Barry Sanders

[StarBoyz83]

Though there would be a thread on this. It was a great show. I think he's the best RB to ever play hands down!!! He had no o-line at all his whole career! His o-line makes ours look like the 90's Cowboys. lol it sucks he retired early but it actually made his legacy bigger by doing that. He'd still have the record by a lot if he played his career out. He was a beast!

[CowboyChris]

he's a quitter

[Little Jr]

Though there would be a thread on this. It was a great show. I think he's the best RB to ever play hands down!!! He had no o-line at all his whole career! His o-line makes ours look like the 90's Cowboys. lol it sucks he retired early but it actually made his legacy bigger by doing that. He'd still have the record by a lot if he played his career out. He was a beast!

I agree he's the best but his ol wasn't as bad as you made it out to be. It wasn't even close to being as bad as our is now.

[Lonestar94]

he's a quitter

Watch the show when you have time.

[Idgit]

Not the best in my book. Brown. Payton. Smith. After that, we can talk. But I suspect the OP is just baiting us, anyway.

[dexternjack]

he's a quitter

Agree with this. He was good but not the all-time best. Emmitt > Payton >maybe Sanders

[muck4doo]

Agree with this. He was good but not the all-time best. Emmitt > Payton >maybe Sanders

Agreed. The Lions fans make me sick with their trying to downplay Smith. They had a decent o-line. Their RB just wasn't as good as ours, and quit on them.

Smith is the best RB ever.

:enough:

[Lonestar94]

Agreed. The Lions fans make me sick with their trying to downplay Smith. They had a decent o-line. Their RB just wasn't as good as ours, and quit on them.

Smith is the best RB ever.

:enough:

No, Walter was the best RB of all time, then Jim Brown.

[Zaxor]

No, Walter was the best RB of all time, then Jim Brown.

No, the only way to judge without being subjective is yards gained and Emmitt wins

any other barometer is being subjective if you go by yards by carry you have to look at olines and what the backup did behind that same oline and so on...

so the only way to do it fairly is to ask "who ran for the most yardage" that is the winner

[NickZepp]

The myth that his OLine or offense sucked needs to be stopped. He had pro bowl WRs and pro bowl linemen all throughout his career. Detroit was pretty much usually average in his career not terrible like is thought. They didn't have what it takes to beat the powers in the NFC like San Fran or Dallas on defense. But their offenses were formidable and even beat the likes of Dallas and San Fran a time or two in the 90s. When it came to playoff time the defenses Detroit had would fail them. They did go to the NFC Championship Game in 1991, only to be stomped by Washington.

[mldardy]

Agreed. The Lions fans make me sick with their trying to downplay Smith. They had a decent o-line. Their RB just wasn't as good as ours, and quit on them.

Smith is the best RB ever.

:enough:

Yeah I don't like this at all. I watched some of this last night and Herman Moore, Lomas 'mush mouth' Brown and Thurman 'loser and I can't locate my helmet' Thomas were all downplaying Emmitt getting the record and he wouldn't have it if Barry kept playing and Barry would have had 25,000 if he kept playing. Lomas Brown even went on to say 'you wouldn't even hear about Emmitt if Barry didn't retire' *** you cotton ball mouthed idiot. Everyone knew who Emmitt was and did. Emmitt has the record for a reason and Barry doesn't. Barry chose to stop playing not Emmitt's fault.

I did love Emmitt's response when he said people are going to say something positive and negative but he doesn't care because it is what it is. I loved that response. I wish losers like Brown, Moore, Thomas and pretty much all of the Lions fans would shutup about woulda coulda shoulda. It never was for Barry. He didn't break the record and Emmitt did. That's that.

[Joe Realist]

He was the most exciting player I ever saw.

[CashMan]

so the only way to do it fairly is to ask "who ran for the most yardage" that is the winner


Maybe in your world. That is a biased question. If I were a Jim Brown fan, the question would be, Who has the best Y/A? Jim Brown.

I would say, Walter>Brown>Sanders>Smith

[dwmyers]

I wonder how these guys would rank in run success rate? (http://www.advancednflstats.com/2010/10/how-coaches-think-run-success-rate.html) I suspect that for Brown and Payton, the play by play data needed to generate those kinds of stats simply don't exist.

And since the game was so different then, the effect each had on wins isn't entirely comparable to 1990s players.

D-

[CashMan]

I wonder how these guys would rank in run success rate? (http://www.advancednflstats.com/2010/10/how-coaches-think-run-success-rate.html) I suspect that for Brown and Payton, the play by play data needed to generate those kinds of stats simply don't exist.

And since the game was so different then, the effect each had on wins isn't entirely comparable to 1990s players.

D-


I didn't read the article, but are suggesting that the game was harder for the 90s players or harder for Walter and Brown?

[erod]

If I'm buying a ticket to watch a game, I want Barry Sanders.

If I want my team to win that game, I want Emmitt Smith.

[bbailey423]

he MAY have been the best "runner" (although I am a Dickerson fan)....but he was not the best Running Back. Being a RB at this level requires MORE than just being the best "runner". When you consider what Emmit accomplished....with his so-called physical "limitations"...there is no doubt who the best RB is. Emmit. When you consider how durable, determined, passionate, smart, tough, commited on/off the field....fim study, diet, weight training, massages, hot tubs, cold tubs, 15+ years of training camps.....to gain that many yards running the football....at 5'8" 215lbs.....truthfully......no one comes close.

I mean we have guys that cannot even play 5 straight games.....without missing the next 5!!!!! And we were a run first team. And everybody was gunning for Emmit. And the NFC East was good!

[erod]

he MAY have been the best "runner" (although I am a Dickerson fan)....but he was not the best Running Back. Being a RB at this level requires MORE than just being the best "runner". When you consider what Emmit accomplished....with his so-called physical "limitations"...there is no doubt who the best RB is. Emmit. When you consider how durable, determined, passionate, smart, tough, commited on/off the field....fim study, diet, weight training, massages, hot tubs, cold tubs, 15+ years of training camps.....to gain that many yards running the football....at 5'8" 215lbs.....truthfully......no one comes close.

I mean we have guys that cannot even play 5 straight games.....without missing the next 5!!!!! And we were a run first team. And everybody was gunning for Emmit. And the NFC East was good!

Oh, I will argue with you there all day long. Emmitt was better than Barry overall as a back, but not the greatest of all time.

Jim Brown and Walter Payton are the best ever, period. O.J. Simpson would be in the discussion after them, and if today's knee surgery existed, Gayle Sayers might have been better than them all.

[Zaxor]

Maybe in your world. That is a biased question. If I were a Jim Brown fan, the question would be, Who has the best Y/A? Jim Brown.

I would say, Walter>Brown>Sanders>Smith

can you tell me if Brown could have avg that for another 5-6 years...no you can't once again subjective...

so again the only measuring stick is yards gained otherwise you have to add in variables for each and every runner and they are all subjective..would Bo Jackson have shattered Emmitts yardage had he stayed healthy..would Emmitt had as many yards behind Sanders oline...all fantasy land and what if.

in reality Emmitt rushed for the most yardage case closed

[Jaxonsdaddd]

These discussions are never ending..

I am a Cowboys fan and a Emmitt Fan but Barry Sanders is the best running back I have ever seen.

Eric Dickerson is rarely mentioned in the top 3 or 4 all time but there was a 3 year window where he looked as special as any running back ever. Then you get into whether longevity should have anything to do with it and those that knock Barry certainly go to it often.

[muck4doo]

can you tell me if Brown could have avg that for another 5-6 years...no you can't once again subjective...

so again the only measuring stick is yards gained otherwise you have to add in variables for each and every runner and they are all subjective..would Bo Jackson have shattered Emmitts yardage had he stayed healthy..would Emmitt had as many yards behind Sanders oline...all fantasy land and what if.

in reality Emmitt rushed for the most yardage case closed

Amen on that

[bbailey423]

Oh, I will argue with you there all day long. Emmitt was better than Barry overall as a back, but not the greatest of all time.

Jim Brown and Walter Payton are the best ever, period. O.J. Simpson would be in the discussion after them, and if today's knee surgery existed, Gayle Sayers might have been better than them all.
Here is what I will say about Jim Brown....he was bigger than everyone blocking for him...and everyone trying to tackle him. Notice how those "big" backs fare in today's NFL? Ask Brandon Jacobs. Emmit would have been a lot to handle in any era. I truly wonder if Jim Brown would have been able to run through, drag, run over NFL players in today's era. Not saying he was not great. But was he elusive? What about vision. Emmit had ELITE vision. ELITE anticipation. I saw Emmit 2 years ago....does not have any of the things you would expect from guys that carried the football that much. Eyes were bright, speech was clear...moved pain free. Probably looks like he might weigh 190 pounds. This is not a coincidence. The ability to absorb hits correctly...the ability to see things before they happen...so you can turn a certain way to avoid a kill shot. Emmit got VERY little kill shots on him. And it won't because he ran on the edges. He ran between the tackles...for YEARS. We are not talking about which RBs would win at the NFL combine. I am talking about putting on the helmet and pads and getting up and down. Play after play. Quarter after Quarter. Game after Game. Year after Year. And he did more succesfully than ANYBODY else. There is no way to know if these other guys bodies could endure everythign it would take to amass the amount of yards Emmit did. So we cannot assume they would reach these goals had they kept going. Couple of years ago EVERYONE thought Tomlison was on his way...then the wheels fell off. It takes a specal RB to do what Emmit did. Which is WHY he is the only one to have ever done it.

[erod]

Here is what I will say about Jim Brown....he was bigger than everyone blocking for him...and everyone trying to tackle him. Notice how those "big" backs fare in today's NFL? Ask Brandon Jacobs. Emmit would have been a lot to handle in any era. I truly wonder if Jim Brown would have been able to run through, drag, run over NFL players in today's era. Not saying he was not great. But was he elusive? What about vision. Emmit had ELITE vision. ELITE anticipation. I saw Emmit 2 years ago....does not have any of the things you would expect from guys that carried the football that much. Eyes were bright, speech was clear...moved pain free. Probably looks like he might weigh 190 pounds. This is not a coincidence. The ability to absorb hits correctly...the ability to see things before they happen...so you can turn a certain way to avoid a kill shot. Emmit got VERY little kill shots on him. And it won't because he ran on the edges. He ran between the tackles...for YEARS. We are not talking about which RBs would win at the NFL combine. I am talking about putting on the helmet and pads and getting up and down. Play after play. Quarter after Quarter. Game after Game. Year after Year. And he did more succesfully than ANYBODY else. There is no way to know if these other guys bodies could endure everythign it would take to amass the amount of yards Emmit did. So we cannot assume they would reach these goals had they kept going. Couple of years ago EVERYONE thought Tomlison was on his way...then the wheels fell off. It takes a specal RB to do what Emmit did. Which is WHY he is the only one to have ever done it.

Look, Emmitt is my all-time favorite Cowboy. Wear his jersey to every game. Greatest Cowboy of all time in my opinion.

But if he was drafted by the Seahawks, he'd barely be mentioned. He had the perfect quarterback, coordinator, and offensive line, and he took advantage of it. Incredibly durable and consistent.

Sanders had ZERO help. Terrible coaches, awful quarterbacks, no defense, and no notable offensive line. He was the most unique running back of all time.

Brown, Payton, and Simpson still set the example that others follow. And if he hadn't gotten hurt, Bo Jackson might have trumped them all.

[muck4doo]

Look, Emmitt is my all-time favorite Cowboy. Wear his jersey to every game. Greatest Cowboy of all time in my opinion.

But if he was drafted by the Seahawks, he'd barely be mentioned. He had the perfect quarterback, coordinator, and offensive line, and he took advantage of it. Incredibly durable and consistent.

Sanders had ZERO help. Terrible coaches, awful quarterbacks, no defense, and no notable offensive line. He was the most unique running back of all time.



That is a ton of crap. Brown and Glover were pro-bowlers. You sound just like a Lions fan.

[erod]

That is a ton of crap. Brown and Glover were pro-bowlers. You sound just like a Lions fan.
OK, a couple of guys. Whoop-te-do.

The guy had to win games by himself, which is darn hard to do as a running back.

[Hostile]

Can't stand him. For my money the most over rated player who has ever stepped on a football field.

Glad he was never a Cowboy. Would not even make my top list of RBs because I don't respect that he would not run between the Tackles. Exciting as hell, but contributed too much to his team being losers because he handicapped them.

[muck4doo]

OK, a couple of guys. Whoop-te-do.

The guy had to win games by himself, which is darn hard to do as a running back.

So he had pro-bowl offensive linemen, but was still winning it by himself? Well, he didn't win much. He also didn't set the record. Emmit has 3 rings, and the all time rushing leader record. Enough said. He is the best. He also would play through injuries, and didn't give up. Barry is a known quitter. I don't ever want to see the two compared. It's a joke. Barry is very good, but i would take Emmit, or Bo Jackson over him any day.

/Back then anyways

[NickZepp]

The guy that gets lost on the best ever discussions is Earl Campbell. The guy from about 78-81 put out sick numbers. Today we may have on that will be an all time great in Adrian Peterson. Now he really does have a line that's not any good and right now has no QB or receivers and just came off a brutal knee injury and has put up sick numbers the last 6 weeks.

Sanders, Brown, Payton, Dickerson, Smith, Campbell, Motley, Simpson, Dorsett, and Faulk would be my top 10 in no real order right now.

[muck4doo]

The guy that gets lost on the best ever discussions is Earl Campbell. The guy from about 78-81 put out sick numbers. Today we may have on that will be an all time great in Adrian Peterson. Now he really does have a line that's not any good and right now has no QB or receivers and just came off a brutal knee injury and has put up sick numbers the last 6 weeks.

Sanders, Brown, Payton, Dickerson, Smith, Campbell, Motley, Simpson, Dorsett, and Faulk would be my top 10 in no real order right now.

Billy Sims was also electric, but had a short career.

[Bizwah]

OK, a couple of guys. Whoop-te-do.

The guy had to win games by himself, which is darn hard to do as a running back.

Uhhh...Herman Moore and Brett Perriman would probably disagree that Barry didn't have any help.

[muck4doo]

The guy that gets lost on the best ever discussions is Earl Campbell. The guy from about 78-81 put out sick numbers. Today we may have on that will be an all time great in Adrian Peterson. Now he really does have a line that's not any good and right now has no QB or receivers and just came off a brutal knee injury and has put up sick numbers the last 6 weeks.

Sanders, Brown, Payton, Dickerson, Smith, Campbell, Motley, Simpson, Dorsett, and Faulk would be my top 10 in no real order right now.

That Marcus Allen guy was pretty good too.

[NickZepp]

Sayers, Sims, and Jackson are talented freaks probably would have been easily top 10 guys but just had too short of careers. Especially with Jackson. He never even had a 1000 yard rushing season. Sims should be in the HOF but for whatever reasons isn't.

[muck4doo]

Sayers, Sims, and Jackson are talented freaks probably would have been easily top 10 guys but just had too short of careers. Especially with Jackson. He never even had a 1000 yard rushing season. Sims should be in the HOF but for whatever reasons isn't.

Billy Sims=Karate Kid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0O7973Ew8A

[StarBoyz83]

Well emmitt is my favorite but he was behind the best o-line to ever play. So that for sure takes away from it imo.

[dexternjack]

I think its funny that some people who don't consider Romo elite is because he lacks hardware. Well, so does Sanders. How can it be that Barry is better then Emmitt, the guy that does hold some SB trophies.

Also, Emmitt was money in the playoffs, Barry was not even close. Here is a snippet I found:

Barry Sanders -- Overrated


Barry Sanders, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004 (his first year of eligibility), scored one touchdown for every 35 touches in his 153 regular-season games, but just one touchdown in 112 postseason touches in six playoff games.
Indeed, Sanders' only career playoff touchdown was a 47-yard run against the Dallas Cowboys in a 1991 divisional-round playoff game in the Pontiac Silverdome. The Lions won that game 38-6. Sanders' touchdown came in the final minutes of the fourth quarter with Detroit already leading 31-6. The following week, the Lions went on the road to play the Washington Redskins at RFK Stadium. Sanders was not a factor. Detroit took a 41-10 beating.


US Presswire
Barry Sanders wasn't the same player away from home.
Sanders' postseason performance supports the notion that he was a product of the cozy, climate-controlled Silverdome. Nice carpet for easy, stop-on-a-dime maneuvering. Seventy-two degrees. Detroit faithful keeping the defensive line off balance with high decibel support.
In four career outdoor postseason games, Sanders averaged a paltry 2.8 yards per carry. He never scored a touchdown. And he never ran for more than 65 yards in a single game. With Sanders, the Lions went 0-4 in outdoor playoff games, losing by an average of 17 points.



So, what is the final analysis if Romo can't be better than Eli because of rings but Barry can be better than Smith?

Emmitt may or may not be better(he is IMO) than Payton or Brown, but he sure is heck superior to the quitter Sanders. Just my two cents.

[rynochop]

Well emmitt is my favorite but he was behind the best o-line to ever play. So that for sure takes away from it imo.

And how many of all those o lineman are in the hof?

I think people still forget that Emmitt played almost another entire season in playoff games and superbowls. I think its 14 games, well over 1000 yds, not sure of tds, double digit I'm sure.
If im starting a franchise, I pick Emmitt every time as my rb.

[bbailey423]

Look, Emmitt is my all-time favorite Cowboy. Wear his jersey to every game. Greatest Cowboy of all time in my opinion.

But if he was drafted by the Seahawks, he'd barely be mentioned. He had the perfect quarterback, coordinator, and offensive line, and he took advantage of it. Incredibly durable and consistent.

Sanders had ZERO help. Terrible coaches, awful quarterbacks, no defense, and no notable offensive line. He was the most unique running back of all time.

Brown, Payton, and Simpson still set the example that others follow. And if he hadn't gotten hurt, Bo Jackson might have trumped them all.
Didnt we get Newton and Tuenei off the scrap heap? I believe Erik Williams was a 2nd round pick. Larry Allen was a 2nd round pick. Stepnoski was not here for every Super Bowl. Neither was Allen. There is ONE hall of famer in the bunch.....Allen. No doubt they were a great OL.....but part of what made them great....and Irvin great....and Aikman great......was Emmit. On TRULY great teams...they all feed off each other. And the great ones elevate the performance of their teamates. Which is the problem we have in Dallas right now with our so called great players. Barry quit. Do you think that gene developed over night? Do you think he had a little of that in him all along? Do you think his teammates sensed that trait?

He had some tremendous highlight plays. So did it Emmit. But again, we are talking about running, catching, picking up the blitz, converting 1st downs, scoring TDs, playing hurt....I mean, this is about winning, right? And to win, you have to make game winning plays....to make game winning plays, you have to carry your team on your back. Emmit did that in big games!

[BraveHeartFan]

I agree on Bo Jackson. If he'd never been hurt and if he'd focused entirely on football the guy would have been the best ever.

He was that damn great.

[bbailey423]

I agree on Bo Jackson. If he'd never been hurt and if he'd focused entirely on football the guy would have been the best ever.

He was that damn great.
I agree he was great. But again, his greatness was predicated more on his physical gifts....than all the other things that made Emmit great. Every guy being named above Emmit...was more physically gifted....whether it was more size, speed, wiggle...you name it. But NONE of them accomplished what Emmit did. And that is because being more physically gifted is NOT enough. All you have to do is look at Montanna and Brady to understand that being the most physically gifted is not enough. Neither can run fast. Neither of them have a rocket arm. But they had so many things that CANNOT be measured...which is why they have achieved more than most other QBs. Heck Jerry Rice was not the most physically gifted WR. And you know what he did.

[TheFinisher]

Can't stand him. For my money the most over rated player who has ever stepped on a football field.

Glad he was never a Cowboy. Would not even make my top list of RBs because I don't respect that he would not run between the Tackles. Exciting as hell, but contributed too much to his team being losers because he handicapped them.

Barry Sanders is one of the greatest RBs to ever play the game, to say he handicapped the Lions is ridiculous.

[vta]

I'm not sure why anybody watches football, if not to be entertained.
Their personal accomplishements are 'nice'. For them. I don't benefit from them one bit, so I can't guage them by that.

I completely enjoyed watching Emmitt Smith. The guy was an all-around juggernaut who could run, catch and block. Reliable, tough and indispensible.

I completely enjoyed watching Barry Sanders. Even until today, there doesn't exist a player who makes me want to watch a team I do not even like. (Earl Campbell came close earlier). The guy was lightning, made moves no other human would attempt and blew away the poor guy who was sure he had him wrapped up.

I couldn't down one for the other and would be happy with either one.

[Yakuza Rich]

He was the most overrated football player I ever saw. Forget the 'quitter' stuff (which he was), he was flat out overrated.

There's some YouTube videos where they show games and only show his carries. One game against the Packers their O-Line was fine. Their backup TE stunk. But, they did quite well against Reggie White and the gang. But every time the opposing defense got any penetration, everybody remarks how 'bad' the Detroit O-Line was.

Barry was simply afraid of getting hit. Unless he saw a wide open crease immediately set for him, he was going to stutter step and try to reverse his field. It made for some incredible highlights, but it also made for him getting -3 yards when there was 3-5 yards to be had. And because he was a tailback who touches the ball frequently on 1st downs, the Lions would get a lot 2nd and 13's when they should have had at least 2nd and 8.

I'm not trying to be a contrarian when it comes to Sanders because he could do things I didn't think were possible. But, that's exactly what he was...a highlight film. I wouldn't even put him in my top-10 tailbacks of all-time. How could you when he kills drives like he did?






YR

[Nirvana]

I would take a healthy Bo Jackson over any other RB in history.

[big dog cowboy]

A lot of interesting comments on Barry. I'll throw one out there that might surprise some folks. I can't prove this, but I got to see him play high school football. Sanders grew up in my hometown and I currently live about 5 or 6 minutes away from "Barry Sanders Football Field."