Barry Sanders

I didn't want to hijack the other thread where Barry's name was mentioned, but someone's post sparked a thought in my head:

Do other people feel the same way about Barry?

Like 99% of the earth's inhabitants, I loved watching Barry play. When he retired it was a shock for everyone. However, I harbor no ill feelings for the guy. He played his guts out every week for a team that rarely achieved anything. He lost his love and desire to compete and hung up his cleats before someone hung them up for him. I respect a person that can put their morals and values above stats. I would love to have seen Barry play more and take the rushing record. I think that he made the right decision for him and that's truly all that matters for me.

I feel like he quit on the lions. But it's his business and his reasons. Jim Brown did something similar and isn't attacked for it like Sanders is. Different era I guess.

Any assumption of him having a record or what he stats could have been is an insult to people who actually stuck with it and earned them.

Oh, Emmitt earned the rushing record...but I feel like he owns it because Barry passed on the chance to take it. Had Barry kept playing, Emmitt would be in 2nd place.

You're assuming he would have stayed healthy and productive. Should I assume Terrell Davis would of had the record then too? Or that Jim Brown would have if he stuck with it? Smith's durability was something of amazement.

The other thing emmitt has on Barry is his production in big games. Separated shoulder and Smith carried the boys against the Giants. Sanders almost always no showed to big games. No surprise then to see one stick out a career and the other walk away.

Smith and Sanders lead the league in rushing 4 times each. While Sanders lead the league in rushing TDs 1x and Smith 3x.

I didn't have a problem with either Jim Brown or Barry Sanders retiring when they did. (And not just because they weren't Packers.) IMO the Lions organization let down Sanders more than he quit on them. If he had just lost his love for the game I applaud him for not "stealing" money from the Lions or just playing to break the record. He was a classy player and he's remained a classy person IMO.

Jim Brown is the best RB I ever saw play. The only criticism I have of him retiring when he did was later in life he complained about his record being broken. IMO that was counterproductive because many fans still consider Brown the GOAT RB. For example, Emmitt Smith was a great RB but in spite of his holding the record, I don't include him in the GOAT discussion.

A (perhaps) interesting fact about Smith was he was picked #17 in the first round of the 1990 draft. The story later came out that the 'boys jumped ahead of the Packers who had targeted Smith. The Packers had picks #18 and #19 in the first round (LB Tony Bennett and RB Darrell Thompson). Combine that with the Packers "bad luck" in winning one too many games in the 1988 season and ending up with Tony Mandarich instead of Troy Aikman. No one knows what would have happened later (would Ron Wolf have been hired for example) but the packers came this close (hold your thumb and finger about a quarter-inch apart) from acquiring both Aikman and Smith…

I have stated on here a time or two that I worry if we would have drafted Sanders we would have been the lions of the 90s

this is completely untrue

Sanders was the focal point of an offense that never put other players around him so that he wouldn't have to run for his life every single play to gain 4 yards. (please don't say herman moore as an offensive weapon...please). He got sick of the Lions not attempting to build a super bowl contender and hung it up. He didn't care about the rushing title, and there are also reports he had so much respect for walter payton he didn't want to break the record. I think people are just made because he rushed for almost 1500 yards in his last nfl season and rushed for over 2000 the year before. He had years left and being the selfish people we are we wanted to watch his greatness more and were all mad when he left. Even as a packer fan I didn't want him to retire because it was a thing of beauty when he would make grown men look silly. Look at the videos you see of the greatest runs in NFL history and the majority of them are barry sanders. He didn't quit on the Lions, the Lions just couldn't provide him what he wanted.

in my mind if you are talking greatest running back of all time, in my mind it is Barry Sanders. Most say Jim Brown and it's hard to argue that...the reason I have to put Barry ahead of him is that Barry was doing it against bigger, faster, stronger opponents. That is the only reason. Everyone gets bigger, faster and stronger every year so in 10-20 years if there is a running back that dominants for 7-8 years straight then I would have to put him ahead of Barry since he is doing it against better competition. Although I think Barry or Jim could succeed in any era.

one of my favorite barry sanders stories is when OSU was playing OU, this was when Thurman Thomas was the starting RB and Barry was the kick returner and backup RB. Sometime before the game started Barry Switzer told someone "we better hope Thurman doesn't get hurt, because the backup is better"

Brown played in an era where all 11 players on defense knew he was going to get the ball and were determined to stop him. Sanders played in the Mouse Davis run and shoot offense, often times picking up "garbage" yardage on 3rd and long. This on an offense with Scott Mitchell throwing for 4000 yards with three top receivers.

Brown usually always had positive yards, where often times Barry was tackled behind the line of scrimmage.

3 top receivers??? please....seriously...stop

Mitchell was able to throw because his receivers were always in 1 on 1 coverage because everyone was trying to stop barry. Barry had negative yards because as soon as the ball was snapped defenders were in the backfield because of his o-line. Not saying you are wrong for saying Jim Brown is better, but for me Barry was the greatest of all time and nobody will be able to make me think otherwise.

to say barry was picking up garbage yards and that scott mitchell was a good QB throwing to top receivers is laughable though, seriously.

The question I would ask would be, what would've happened at QB after Aikman? Obviously he was done before Favre, so where would we be now? Would we still be searching for the right QB to follow Aikman?
I'm glad things happened the way they did, we have been consistently good in the last 20 years (which the exception of 4-12 season), unlike the cowboys who have been up and down. And 2 super bowls isn't too shabby either, not to mention the chance to grab a couple more in the very near future.

You can only take so much losing...

Walter Payton was the best of all time. Shouldn't this thread be moved btw?

Check the stats. Herman Moore was an All-Pro. Johnnie Morton had multiple 1,000 yard seasons, and even Brett Perriman had two consecutive seasons of over 90 receptions and over 1,000 yards. Name another three receivers on another team that had that kind of production. Perhaps "top" was a bad term to describe the three, as individually they were not all top receivers, however collectively, you'd be hard pressed to find another three on the same team that were as good.

Barry holds the record for most negative yardage carries. Over 330 carries for almost a negative 1,000 yards. It was hardly due to his offensive line. Kevin Glover was a Pro Bowl center, and Lomas Brown went to 6 or 7 straight Pro Bowls. Jeff Hartings and others were very solid offenive linemen with the Lions during Barry's career.

I feel like its a huge misconception that Barry never had any talent around him. He did, its just that they werent as famous.

I've heard Payton, Brown, Walker, Smith, and Sanders all dropped when talking about the best RB of all time. General consensus is Payton or Sanders with Sweetness at a slight advantage because of when he played.

Barry Sanders was the best I ever saw play. I'd say Gale Sayers, Jim Brown, and Walter Payton were the top three after Sanders.

Having said that, I think that Sanders had moves that were unique and incredible. I hadn't seen anyone make those kind of maneuvers to get away from would be tacklers... I believe they said something similar to that when they were talking about a Packer legend by the name of Hutson as well.

I'm not going to mince words on this - Emmitt Smith is NOT Barry Sanders. If Barry had Dallas' Oline he would have gone absolutely nuts. The thing I loved about Sanders was his humble nature. Watching his elusiveness was incredible. If you talk Payton, you talk sheer determination, strength, and grace.

Let's give credit where it is due. Walter Payton brought it every game. Sanders was great but I can't say he is at the same level.

Copied from another post: If you talk Payton, you talk sheer determination, strength, and grace.

Better season Barry in 97 or T Davis in 98?

I judge players on how dominate they were. No running back was more dominate than Jim Brown, 8 rushing titles in 9 years (shouts out to Jim Taylor for stealing one).

Hard to argue whith these stats, the Hall of Fame, and his longevity.

http://www.walterpayton.info/stats/

My thoughts on sweetness...

I would trust him more than Barry on a 3rd n 2. And he was more versatile. He won a ring and retired with the rushing record.

Arguments against Sweetness was that he only lead the league in rushing 1 time. He didn't dominate like Brown but was consistent.

I know Dr. Z always argued Marion Montley was the best, but IMO he is a victim of his time and situation.

Barry Sanders is probably my favorite non-Packer to ever play the game. He owed nothing to the team, fans, or organization, and he had a right to retire whenever he wanted.

I can see why some fans feel hurt but that team and organization did not do enough to warrant having such a legend on their team.

Imagen what he could have done in a Cowboy uniform?

GOAT.

Why is Barry the only one that gets this argument? I never hear this for anyone else. I wish Steve Smith had played his career with a QB so we could argue if he was a top 5 WR of all time. I wish Tony Gonzalez played with a legit QB his whole career so we watch him break Jerry Rice's records. This isnt an attack on you in anyway, its just a pet peeve that a player gets the benefit of the doubt on what his career could have been, when Emmitts was as good of a career as a RB could have had.