Barry Sanders on ESPN

#26
#26
Barry played 9 years, Emmitt either 14 or 15. Emmitt had 150%(@3000 to 4400) more carries. To compare their numbers and say Emmitt was better is a weak argument at best. I would argue that Erik Dickerson, OJ, Sayers, WP, JB and Sanders were all better RBs in their prime.
 
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#27
#27
jkleno said:
Most elusive RB for sure (maybe Sayers was a close 2nd). I would have to have Emmitt at the top.
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I can only imagine what Sanders would have done in that offense and behind that line.

Emmitt Smith is extremely overrated.
 
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#28
#28
Prior to his knee injury, Sayers was the one running back who could have given Sanders a serious run for his money in terms of jaw-dropping, broken-field running ability. Gale's career was far too short, however. He only had three seasons in which he posted between 800-900 yards and two others in which he eclipsed 1,000 yards.
 
#29
#29
wish i could have seen Barry more often as I got older. Wasn't into football as much back then as I am now.

I've still never seen anyone punch physics in the face like he did.
 
#30
#30
Another argument- why do only QB's get judged on the # of Super Bowls won? How many Super Bowls did Barry Sanders win? Make that how many playoff games did Barry Sanders win? Make that how many playoff games did Barry even play?
Why not judge RB's close to the same?
Take Emmitt and the titles!
HA. Good arguments both ways
 
#31
#31
Emmitt Smith sat out of the first two regular season game of 1993 and the Cowboys went 0-2. Then Emmitt came back and the Cowboys went on to win the Superbowl. I don't care how good the Cowboys O-line was perceived to be, they were not good without him. That should tell you how good Emmitt was. Best ever imo.
 
#32
#32
marcusluvsvols said:
Agreed. Barry is the best to ever carry the rock. His 30 for 30 is awesome too. Every touchdown he ever scored, he carried the ball over to the ref and headed for the bench. Humble as they come. Jim Brown was just bigger and stronger than the players of his era...watch that 30 for 30. Brown would be slow and average today. Barry would dominate in any era... current players agree.
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Spot on analysis.. also, Jim Brown has always come off as a racist, dry character to me. Barry Sanders is a class act individual, and one of, if not the best RB in history.. college or pro.
 
#33
#33
I back Sanders myself but it seems silly to diss Smith. At what level did Emmitt Smith not produce like crazy?

HS? He gained nearly 9K yards.
College? C'mon.
Pro? Riigghhht.

I absolutely think Smith benefited from the offense he was in but there's ZERO reason to believe he wouldn't have been considered a top-notch back on any team.
 
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#34
#34
Barry is my favorite running back of all time.....
If Barry had the O-Line that Emmitt had then he would have been untouchable for total rushing yards and TD's in a career. Just my take on it.....
Sayers would be my second and Earl Campbell third.....Earl was a LOAD....
 
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#35
#35
hndog609 said:
I back Sanders myself but it seems silly to diss Smith. At what level did Emmitt Smith not produce like crazy?

HS? He gained nearly 9K yards.
College? C'mon.
Pro? Riigghhht.

I absolutely think Smith benefited from the offense he was in but there's ZERO reason to believe he wouldn't have been considered a top-notch back on any team.
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I'm with ya. I got Emmitt #1, Payton #2, and Barry #3. Emmitt and Barry had different running styles so they are hard to compare. I really believe that having more holes for Barry to run through would have hindered his reverse field abilities somewhat.
 
#36
#36
I'm still surprised at how small Barry Sanders is. I met him at this year's CES and we were eye-to-eye. I'm 5'6 and I know you shrink with age but man I was shocked. Of course he was still pretty solid/muscular.
 
#37
#37
Sanders simply would not have needed to exercise his broken-field running skills as frequently if he had had the Cowboys' offensive line, not to mention Michael Irvin at wide receiver and Troy Aikman at quarterback. I imagine that, if you asked Barry his preference, he probably would have said, "By all means, give me those massive holes in the defensive line. Reversing field and running forty yards behind the line of scrimmage just to gain five yards isn't a lot of fun."
 
#38
#38
marcusluvsvols said:
Agreed. Barry is the best to ever carry the rock. His 30 for 30 is awesome too. Every touchdown he ever scored, he carried the ball over to the ref and headed for the bench. Humble as they come. Jim Brown was just bigger and stronger than the players of his era...watch that 30 for 30. Brown would be slow and average today. Barry would dominate in any era... current players agree.
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I'll say again, I think Barry's the best. However, this argument just doesn't hold up. It's been 15 years since Barry quit, and the average player is already bigger, faster, and stronger than then. If you can't judge Brown solely in his era, then you can't judge Barry that way either. When a guy who has the exact same opportunities as the guys around him to make himself the best he can be dominates his sport, then it's silly to dismiss him as "just bigger and stronger".
 
#39
#39
bigslk said:
Barry is my favorite running back of all time.....
If Barry had the O-Line that Emmitt had then he would have been untouchable for total rushing yards and TD's in a career. Just my take on it.....
Sayers would be my second and Earl Campbell third.....Earl was a LOAD....
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And Barry probably would've played another 4 or 5 years too.

Earl's one of my favorites, too; in his prime was truly awe-inspiring.
 
#41
#41
I miss seeing Barry play! One of my favorite running backs of all time along with Walter Payton.
 
#42
#42
Vols_74 said:
Emmitt Smith sat out of the first two regular season game of 1993 and the Cowboys went 0-2. Then Emmitt came back and the Cowboys went on to win the Superbowl. I don't care how good the Cowboys O-line was perceived to be, they were not good without him. That should tell you how good Emmitt was. Best ever imo.
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No doubt Emmitt was great, and the Cowboys weren't a championship team without him.
 
#43
#43
aredfox28 said:
You guys are gonna piss off all the dallas fans who think emmit was the best ever.. I always said, if you put Sanders behind smith's o-line, sanders would own every rushing record there ever was.. you would of never know who smith was...
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I grew up as a Dallas fan, back before we had the Titans. I don't necessarily think Emmitt was the greatest, but I also don't thing the gap is as wide as some folk like to think. It's not like just any old scrub would have been as successful as he was.
 
#44
#44
orangesox said:
I grew up as a Dallas fan, back before we had the Titans. I don't necessarily think Emmitt was the greatest, but I also don't thing the gap is as wide as some folk like to think. It's not like just any old scrub would have been as successful as he was.
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ie. Derrick Lassic, Troy Hambrick, Blair Thomas, Coleman guy, ect ect
 
#45
#45
jkleno said:
Most elusive RB for sure (maybe Sayers was a close 2nd). I would have to have Emmitt at the top.
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Elusiveness as opposed to raw power:

1. Gale Sayers
2. Barry Sanders

Why? Barry was never truly tested as an all weather RB. Whereas Gale Sayers treated fields so muddy they were hog pens as if they were indoor race tracks. Nuff said.
 
#46
#46
marcusluvsvols said:
Agreed. Barry is the best to ever carry the rock. His 30 for 30 is awesome too. Every touchdown he ever scored, he carried the ball over to the ref and headed for the bench. Humble as they come. Jim Brown was just bigger and stronger than the players of his era...watch that 30 for 30. Brown would be slow and average today. Barry would dominate in any era... current players agree.
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Based on his agility and speed, I'd agree that Sanders is the best, but don't disrespect Jim Brown. He'd still be a great back today imo. I never saw him live, only old film, but this was a man who never ran out of bounds. He made sure defenders had to hit him, because most of the time he hit them just as hard if not harder. He is definately a top 5 back of all time. I'd list Sanders as one, but Brown would be a very close second imo. Dude was a punisher.
 
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#47
#47
Brown also played in an era when he had absolutely epic duels with a host of great middle linebackers: Dick Butkus, Chuck Bednarik, Sam Huff and Ray Nitschke among others.
 
#48
#48
Two memories of Barry Sanders:
1. While watching an Okla. State game in 1987, my wife & I worried that the team wouldn't be as good next year because we were losing our All-American RB, Thurman Thomas, to graduation. We need not have worried. The guy who took his place was Barry Sanders.
2. His speed was also remarkable. Once at an OSU game, we sat near the goal line, just a few rows up from the field. Barry ran the ball in from like 40-50 yards out. Until you saw him live & up close, you never realized how he could evade tacklers, or just blow past them as if he had another gear no one else had.
 
#49
#49
WinginFlorida said:
I'm one of the old f**ts here and I can assure you Jim Brown would be a hall of famer in his era, this era or any era.

I'm don't intend this to be argumentative or something similar, but I'm one of those guys who believe it's a waste of time and energy to try and say who is the best ever...why anyone finds it necessary to say Jim Brown or Barry Sanders is the greatest football player of all time, Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time, Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus is the greatest golfer of all time.

Isn't it enough to simply say, for example, Peyton Manning or Michael Phelps is one of the all-time greats to ever play his respective sport? Do we have to label someone as coming up just a bit short when he/she is still an All-Star amongst All-Stars???
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Well said. It's not like they give out a best of the best all-time trophy.
 
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