was Barry Sanders one of the greatest?

Question

I never seen him play, but so many people that I know that did say he was great. How would you say he would compare to the top running backs of today (like the ones who were in the last playoffs). Im trying to get a sense of how good Barry was. Would you even maybe say Barry Sanders is one of the greatest of all time.

Answer 1

Barry Sanders was one of the greatest of all time and would probably hold the record for rushing yardage had he not retired early.
Then guy never had a good offensive line in front of him and put up numbers as good as anyone ever has.

Answer 2

No.

He was exiting to watch and would put on some great runs. But he lead the league many seasons in yards lost for a running back. He could or would not block. Maybe he would "average" five yards a carry, but when you ran 10 times for 8 yards and then broke one for 47 yards there is your average. The other 10 runs did nothing to help the team.

Look I know I am nit picking. But the best of all-time?? I still say no. Top 5? Yes, without a doubt. It was those 45 yard runs that would make fans scream in amazement and leave defenders grabbing at air or tripping over there own feet.

I say Walter Payton was the best all-time. He did it all, juke and jive, run inside, run outside, run over, catch, throw, and would set a defender on there butts when he bloked. Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith are my #2 and #3. Barry would be #4 with Eric Dickerson taking the #5 spot.

Answer 3

ONE of the greatest? There is no question about that. People like to claim Emmitt Smith is the best because he has the record. Well Barry didn't have the O-Line to protect him that Smith had. Barry based on his season average should have had the then record in about 2 seasons maybe 3. He was in his prime but retired because he couldn't take the losing anymore. His heart was no longer in the game and that was what mattered to him. The money didn't matter, the record didn't matter. The fact that he wouldn't be playing to his ability because he wouldn't want to play DID matter and it made him leave the game.
Oh and it's like when there was a commerical for Coors beer and their Be an Original thing. An opposing coach once said of Barry Sanders he has two speeds-Here he comes and There he goes.

Answer 4

I think you have to say yes, at the very least he was one of the greatest backs in NFL history to date. During his 10 year career never had the offensive line that Emmitt Smith had yet when he retired he was a mere 1500 yards away from then record holder Walter Peyton's 16,726 yards...a record he could have broken in his 11th season, a feat that took Emmitt Smith 13 seasons to do. His career average of 5.0 ypc is awsome when you consider just how porous Barry's offensive line was. I'm not taking away anything Emmitt did, but had Barry played the same length of time that Emmitt did, Barry would have probably pushed the rushing record to unimaginable heights. He was 1st or 2nd team all NFL in each of his 10 seasons, gained 1000+ yards every year he played, and was just the 3rd person to eclipse the 2000 yard mark in a season, his name belongs with the greats.

Answer 5

you know who holds the record for most carrer yards lost from scrimmage?barry sanders.you know why the lions lost so many games?barry sanders because they had sooo many 2nd and 15s and 3rd and 17s.why? because if the hole wasnt there barry wouldnt settle for 2nd and 8 and move on to the next play he'd stop and dance around and try to add lib running around in the back field and lose 5 or 6 yds which is why he was pulled when the lions got close to the end zone.dont get me wrong he'd have some awsome moves and escape once in a while but most of the time he wound up just losing yards.if when the hole was there he'd go the distance but if it wasnt he'd cost you the game.he made his quarterbacks look dreadful....how many qb's could overcome 2 and 15 and 3rd an 16 several times a game?

he also walked out on his team mates after getting a huge signing bonus fortunately he was forced to pay it back.
was he one of the greatest?at times he was but all in all id takes several backs on the all time list ahead of him because i couldnt depend on him in all situations like an all time back should be able to be.

Answer 6

I wouldnt say Barry Sanders is one of the greatest of all time, Id say he IS the greatest of all time. He got his numbers in a sorry offense and did it without a fullback. Sanders never had fewer than 1115 yards rushing in a season, and the only back to rush for over 1000 yards in every season he played in. He retired in 1998 at age 30, and still had 3 or 4 years left in him. Had he stayed in the league for a few more years, Emmitt Smith would be a very distant 2nd in career rushing yards.

Answer 7

Barry was 3 or 4th best of all time, (Brown, Payton, maybe Sayers) there isn't anybody near him playing now. The only RB that played the way he did was Gayle Sayers( or I should say he is the only who played the Sayers did) the closes would be Vick and Young who are both QB's and some how find a way out of the crowd. Barry had one of the worst lines, and finished 1st or 2nd to Emmitt who had the best line for line like 4 or 5 years.

My fav RB is Earl Campbell, who is top 10 back but not top 5.

Answer 8

You're probably in the same ship as a large proportion of activities gamblers up and down the country who are dropping a lot more than they ever win. You may have the sporadic win that keeps you returning for more, but a lot of the time your selections lose. And that fees you ever more income! If you intend to set the conclusion at this problem then you must search here https://tr.im/yCz7j .
With Zcodes you will get the device tips so you may get the bets and more.
Zcodes System also carries a very active community that also weighs in and offers there two dollars about each game. Probably there's an integral injury Zcodes does not know about. No concerns, the forum customers will let you know before you place your expense down.

Answer 9

Sanders was excellent. He made grown men cry.
He had speed like you wouldn't believe and the funny thing is that many defenses underestimated him b/c of his size. He moved around the field like butter and made the game look SO easy.
As someone else mentioned, he was never a hot dog, never had off-field drama involving drugs and bodies in trunks. He is just a soft-spoken, all around nice man. You will never see another person come close to him.
...find some old games of his - it's worth the time and you won't be disappointed! :-)

Answer 10

Barry Sanders was certainly one of the greatest, and certainly knew when to retire with dignity. Just look at his stats and his yards-per-carry. He also was never a dancing twit in the end zone. He just ran, scored and did what he could for his team without ever whining or drama-queening. Awesome player, good guy.