Barry was the most jaw dropping athlete I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen some people on here saying Emmitt had a stronger lower body than him, not even close. Arguably the best athlete in NFL history. Vertical leap was crazy, I remember Wayne Fontes saying he saw him jump at a workout and all he saw was the bottom of his shoes. Barry used to squat 600+ lbs. Ran a 4.26 40. I believe at his pro day he got off a plane, went to the track, didn’t stretch and ran a 4.38 in non track shoes. But what really set him apart from every player ever was his combination of acceleration, cuts, jukes, quickness and agility. Legs were like tree trunks and his ankles were not of this earth.
Listen, I know you're trying to appear diplomatic and/or objective, but you have failed.
Barry Sanders did not remotely have Emmitt Smith's power, who squatted over 700lbs., is seen repeatedly throughout his career
carrying 300+ pounders down the field, was a tackle-breaking machine, has the most 1st-downs and the most rushing touchdowns in NFL history.
Barry Sanders, on the other hand, was replaced by another, more physical runner in short-yardage/goal-line situations. The Lions literally took him out of the game most of the time whenever they got inside the 4-yard-line & preferred to hand the ball to a fullback or Barry's backup (who was often brought in specifically to be the "thunder" to his lightning) when the team needed a short-yardage conversion of some kind.
Frankly, not taking the majority of those short-yardage handoffs is one of the reasons Barry was able to maintain such a robust yards-per-carry average over his career (5.0), while Emmitt was over in Dallas taking EVERY handoff for his team, between the 20s, goal-line, short-yardage, you name it. Emmitt was the Cowboys' thunder
and lightning. He did literally everything for his team.
Meanwhile, Barry's own coach called him "the greatest flag-football player who ever lived."
You don't call someone that who has more lower-body power than Emmitt Smith.
And literally any fool can watch their highlights side-by-side and rightly conclude that Emmitt was,
by far, the more physical running back --during a time (his prime) when the NFC East was far & away the best, most physical conference in football; the Commanders, Giants, & Cowboys winning 4-of-5 Super Bowls through the first half of the 90s, and Philly being a perennial playoff contender.
This post is not about debating which back is better overall. We can have that discussion if you want. But it is about refuting your assertion that Barry Sanders had a stronger lower-body than Smith. Sorry, but no. As you said: Not even close. Emmitt possessed a power, in the hips, butt, thighs, and calves, that was
never a part of Barry's game.
Barry eluded people better than anyone in history.
Emmitt
could elude you. But he could also flatten you.
I refer to Emmitt as the "Super Mario" of NFL running backs. There were faster. There were stronger. There were more agile. There were those who could catch better. None were better blockers. But no other back
combined all those gifts into one package better than Emmitt Smith, in my opinion. The one "gift" he was missing was spinster's speed. His acceleration, however, is likely top-5 in NFL history --another testament to his ridiculous lower-body power.
Barry was a special, special player; and yes, he did have very strong legs. But this manifested more as unparalleled lateral-movement ability than outright power. Barry's highlights are amazing (don't get me wrong, I watched his whole career as it happened) but they do not show a power-back who drove piles with his legs or ran people over --things which were Emmitt Smith's calling-card, in no small part due to his superior leg-strength.
I consider this objective fact; and that your analysis reveals you as a Barry Sanders homer.
Sorry to put it in such stark terms. I have an allergy to apologists.
