Exactly what I was thinking. You could have Jerry Rice, but if it is Scott Mitchell as the QB, they are going to play the run.
Exactly. When it is your opinion, it is your opinion, and that is it. You can use your spin on things to provide base to your opinion.
I always considered Sanders much better than Smith. I mean Smith had monster holes in the line to run through. Compare the teams Smith and Sanders played on... Smith had Aikman, Novacek, Irvin, Harper, Johnston...and a great oline. Of course Sanders had similar talent in Scott Mitchell, Herman Moore and uuhhh....some other players.
Oh and let's not forget Erik Kramer. Much like Aikman, when Kramer took the field, you had to play the pass opening up the inside running for Sanders.
Those two PB linemen were there the year before Sanders arrived. The Lions ranked 27th(28 team league at the time) in rushing yards, last in rushing TDs and last in YPC in 1988. Add Sanders in 1989 and the Lions jump to 8th in rushing yards, 1st in rushing TDs and 1st in YPC. The rest of his list sucks donkey balls. Is your friend a Cowboy fan by chance?
Football is the ultimate team sport. He definitely had good teammates. He did not have too many great ones, but he did have good ones. I believe that is pretty much correct. He was not good in helping to protect his QBs on 3rd downs. I don't remember him being asked to protect very much. That is wrong. Rushing yards per game at home: 103.0 Rushing yards per game on the road: 96.5 Average per carry at home: 4.98 Average per carry on the road: 4.99 He played very well vs Dallas in the 1991 playoffs. The following week he gave a dull performance as did the entire team. Two years later, the Lions were back in the playoffs. Sanders ran for 169 yards vs Green Bay in a 28-24 loss. The next year he ran for -1 yard on 13 carries in a 16-12 loss. It was his worst game as a pro. In 1995 Detroit lost to the Eagles 58-37. Sanders gained 40 yards on 10 carries. That was a bizarre game. It was 7-7 after one quarter. Then the Eagles led 38-7 at halftime and extended their lead to 51-7 in the 3rd quarter. Detroit abandoned their running attack by the 3rd quarter. In 1997, he had a subpar game (18 carries, 65 yards and 5 catches for 43 yards) and the Lions lost 20-10 to Tampa Bay. By my count, he had two quality playoff performances, three mediocre efforts, and one terrible game. Again, football is the ultimate team sport. It's hard to blame Sanders for Detroit's failure to reach the Super Bowl. I don't know what your friend meant by Sanders' refusal to hit holes. The guy was a great inside and outside runner. As for your friend's assertion that Sanders could not catch? He could catch. He did have many negative runs. The leader in that dubious category is always going to be a good running back. After all, if a back was terrible at gaining positive yardage the guy would be yanked from the field. It's sort of like how Nolan Ryan was a very effective pitcher even though he led the majors in walks a bunch of times.
The negative yardage argument is always front an center with Sanders. Amazingly, though, you never hear of it used with any other RB. Who is #2 all-time? A top 5? I prefer to look at his other 2700+ carries in which he averaged 6.2 yards a pop.
The part I bolded is 1000% true. He WAS that team. I'm not saying the Lions were a bunch of JV players (though many of them were) and only Sanders kept them in it, but he was the focal point of that offense. Opposing coordinators had stopping him as priorities #1-10 on their defensive gameplans and he STILL came away with 100+ yard performances. Whomever thinks he's overrated obviously is just looking at numbers and never actually saw him play. Anyone that ever watched him play can tell you that he could do things (and I don't believe this is an exaggeration) that no other player in NFL history was capable of.
Tommy from Quinzee, is that you? http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2010/10/randy-mawss-was-navah-a-true-greatriot.html
Thing is, if someone only looked at Sanders' numbers and never saw him play, I am not sure how that person could think Sanders was overrated. His numbers are spectacular. I rate Jim Brown and Walter Payton as better players. Brown was the greatest runner and Payton was the most complete back. I don't have to think about 1 and 2- it's Brown and Payton. Sanders would certainly make my top 10 and would be in the mix for #3.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUVFZYYzHPU[/YOUTUBE] mute the audio because of the overused highlight music pulled from LoTR Sanders gets so himself so low right as he anticipates contact and as a result he a lot of the time he avoids contact.
Nah, those Lions' teams had talent on both sides of the ball. With a better HC and some semblance of stability at the QB position, there is no doubt in my mind they'd have at least made a SB. This place is a black hole for QBs and HCs, though.
Great points in my opinion. The guy got stopped for a loss so many times, yet always seemed to have a big play in him every game. Running without a TE or FB must have been brutal. I think he was an amazing athlete and RB. Top 5 of all-time.
LMAO how is Barry Sanders over rated? You can call him the best RB ever and what there maybe 2-3 guys that can dispute that. Hahahah op your friends aren't too swift.
It's ok to admit you cannot do it rather than bring up lame excuses. I have been wrong plenty of times before it just hasn't happen when the gang of misinformation attacks me. It sounds like it should be easy to prove me wrong so instead of whining why don't you do it?
Lets not forget that Blair Thomas actually looked like an all pro running behind the Dallas offensive line.
Wait a minute. Please don’t compare Emmitt Smith with Blair Thomas. I feel that Sanders was better than Smith however I don’t always agree with the assessment or insinuation that Emmitt was only successful because of the line he played behind or because he played with Aikman and Irvin. Smith was an elite runner in his own right. He had terrific vision, great balance, could catch the ball, block and had toughness as well as good speed and elusiveness and was great near the goaline. Sure he had a great OL to run behind and great teammates to take some of the focus, but Smith was the centerpiece of that Cowboys offense and would not work w/o him. Just look at the 1993 season as an example. Emmitt held out the first two games of the 1993 season. Dallas lost both of them, averaged 13 pts/gm 97 rushing yds/gm and had a turnover ratio of -6. When he came back they won 12 of 14 games averaged 25 pts/gm 140.5 rushing yds/gm and had a turnover ratio of +12. On the way to win the Super Bowl.
Barry Sanders is without question the best back I've ever seen. No blocking scheme like Terrell Davis, no overwhelming offensive line talent like Emmitt Smith, more explosive than Curtis Martin, and no great QB play like Marshall Faulk. His 1997 season is one of the best I can remember. I always wonder what Bo Jackson would have done had he played football full-time and avoided major injury. -X-
