He wasn’t half the receiver or blocker Emmitt was and he didn’t play through pain like Emmitt did or lead his team to postseason success like Emmitt did. Do you know these lucrative Social Security secrets? I could not run that-a-way. Sanders was elected into the Hall in 2004, a proper spotlight for a player who often shunned it. So let’s try to even the field a bit more and look at … Actually, this measure drops Payton to sixth, and Sanders down to second, behind the legendary Jim Brown. jkb0162 says: Follow him on Twitter @theford. In 1986 and 1987 Sanders was actually the second-string running back for Oklahoma state. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. And he could run short yardage, catch, block and even throw. 2015-09-16 09:42:04 2015-09-16 09:42:04. Barry has four sons, the oldest of which is Barry L. Sanders. Wiki User Answered . 11 12 13. Barry Sanders was a great player, who’s career was cut short by an awful franchise that did nothing for him. Only three FBS schools offered him a scholarship, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Tulsa. However, you can kind of understand why. You could say that Sanders took to being a starting running back quite well. Sanders couldnt block, couldnt catch and sucked in short yardage. He still stands third, behind Walter Payton’s 16,726 yards and Emmitt Smith’s 18,355 yards (in 15 seasons). Period. The Lions lost, and Sanders never made it to a Super Bowl, but he carried the franchise further than anybody in the Super Bowl Era. Adrian Peterson, too, is less than 2,000 yards from passing Sanders entering his 13th season. In 2010, he was part of introducing a Lions and Bears game on Monday Night Football. Barry Sanders Retired in His Prime, But Why Did He Do It? Sanders is in a barber’s chair when two barbers are talking about his career.“Look, you’re just jealous because I have a legend in my chair: Barry Sanders. Its super easy to … Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. tylawspick6 says: Let’s dispell the Barry was better nonsense. This man ran for 99 career touchdowns, 99!” says one barber.“And then you just disappeared from the game,” says the second barber. We took a look at the top performers in the major rushing categories over their first 10 seasons to see how Sanders stacks up, because, y’know, gluttons for punishment. All you have to do is check their record when Smith wasn’t in the game. G.O.A.T.!!!!!!!!!!! Thomas moved to the pros, and the starting job was Barry’s. Their is no factual argument that supports it. "They wanted me to hit the hole with my head down and my knees kicking, and I couldn't do that. Barry also had a really good offensive line with Lomas Brown and Kevin Glover for years. Unsurprisingly, when the NFL named its All-Decade team for the ‘90s, Sanders made the squad at running back. You don’t have to explain anything to me. I’m behind you just like everybody else. The 1994 season was big for Sanders. Proof of how bad the Lions were. Both would have been fine choices, as the other option was Deion Sanders. If I hit the hole and the hole closed up, I had to get out of there, and the coaches didn't like that." Emmitt Smith opened up everything on that team. July 21, 2019 at 4:17 pm Walter Payton, then the leading all-time rusher, had 16,726. If you add in his bowl performance Sanders rushed for 2,850 yards in 1988. Why did Barry Sanders retire so early? Contrast that to Walter Payton who never ran out of bounds on purpose once in his carrer and dealt out punishment when he ran, The great Jim Brown said Payton was the RB he admired most. Barry Sanders is the greatest RB in the history of the NFL. His highlight reel is maybe the most beloved in NFL history. If he didnt lose two seasons in Minnesota (injury and suspension) and the terrible decision to sign with New Orleans’ loaded backfield, I think he would be in the conversation. Video by Kirkland Crawford/DFP, Mitch Albom: Making sense of Barry Sanders' retirement, 20 years later. You must be logged in to leave a comment. Who would you rather have? While he wasn’t the lead back his first two years in college, Sanders still used his elusiveness and speed to make a splash for Oklahoma State. I saw Sanders play many games and noticed that he avoided contact and fell down a lot. that rare randy moss and adrian peterson type player where an 80 yrd TD could happen on any play. Sanders retired with 15,269 career rushing yards. Writer for Total Pro Sports Since July 21, 2010 . ucam1 says: Here is a retrospective of Barry, from the first juke to the final spin move. I understand. Twenty years ago, Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders abruptly and shockingly retired from the Lions, with a statement faxed to his hometown newspaper in Wichita. And so that was my reaction.”. Porcher then saw Sanders a few months later, and it became more clear that Sanders was serious. Jim Brown. Barry wouldn’t become the starter again until his senior season, where he averaged 10.2 yards per carry over a seven-game run as the lead back. Emmitt Smith has since passed Payton on the list, but had Sanders played a couple more season the record would likely be his to this day. Detroit was choosing between a couple of Sanderses with the with the third-overall pick in the 1989 Draft. But hey, yards aren’t everything. Despite the fact that Emmitt holds every statistical advantage over Barry Sanders and has 3 more SB rings people love to talk about how much better Sanders was. He was spectacular, perhaps equal to Jim Brown. July 21, 2019 at 12:29 pm Register now! That’s an average of 0.92 rushing TDs a game. Barry Sanders: Looking back at the greatest Detroit Lion ever, We look back at Detroit Lions legendary running back Barry Sanders' marvelous career. Surely he had plenty left in his tank. Barry averaged 7.6 yards per carry, ran for over 300 yards three times, and set the record for the most rushing yards in a season with 2,628 and the most rushing touchdowns with 37. Oh, and he still returned kicks and punts. For most players, rushing for 1,491 yards would be an incredible success. But for an NFL runningback it seems 10 years is the right amount to make a mark on the game and leave healthy enough to enjoy retirement. “He said, ‘Man, you need to go back there and talk to Barry,'” Porcher told Birkett. The truth about Barry is that he would make 5 or 6 spectacular runs a season and would frequently follow that up with subpar games. I'm just going to enjoy life. We may not see the career rushing yard record break in the next 20 years. *********************************************************************** It wasn’t as good as Emmitts but Emmitts was only dominant for about 4 seasons. Incredible Blanket Puts Humans In A Deep Sleep, Melting Stress Away, © Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images, © Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images. Barry finished with 2,053 yards, then the second most in NFL history. The younger Sanders played college football as a running back. Week 7 Power Rankings: PIT, TEN gain ground on SEA, Best fits for Antonio Brown after suspension ends, Enter your zip code to find NBCSN near you. Sanders had 15 over his career.) Sanders was far superior to Smith. On July 27, 1999 — 20 years ago this Saturday — Barry Sanders walked away from football after 10 years in the NFL. March 27, 2019. Cleveland might go Brown, but we’re betting most of Michigan will always be Team Barry. All hell broke loose because, even though folks connected to the team suspected it, no one had said anything about it to a media that was far less prevalent and pervasive than it now is. Frazier28/7 says: I remember back in 2001 they story was Sanders was looking at property in the greater Cleveland area and was going to play for the Browns (See also: Bill Cowher & coaching the Browns). Barry was one player who could make Pro Bowl defenders laugh and cry on the same play. Again, Brown played in many fewer games, though he averaged 0.89 TDs a game. Barry is back where he should be, as a face of the Detroit Lions franchise. It can be hard to live up to having a living legend for a parent. We are working with them to enable your sports experiences again as quickly as possible. Barry also had a really good offensive line with Lomas Brown and Kevin Glover for years. In fact, they demanded Sanders return $5.5 million of his signing bonus, and when he refused the Lions sued. Barry is the greatest RB since Walter Payton and had no talent around him. Not a member? Even us packers fans loved and respected Barry, and enjoyed watching him play. The truth about Barry is that he would make 5 or 6 spectacular runs a season and would frequently follow that up with subpar games. The Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith debate is a complete joke.