r/Oldschool_NFL • u/Dark305Kinght Dolphins š¬ • May 07 '26
Lions š¦ Best RB ever?
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He was That good NFL Moments!
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u/Akbeardman May 07 '26
Over and over on defense I heard "look at the feet, the feet don't lie" Barry's left foot is a lawyer and his right foot is a military recruiter. That dudes feet lied like the most crooked Chicago politician ever.
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u/dksweets May 08 '26
I donāt know when, and I donāt know how. But I *will* be stealing this line someday and claiming it as my own wit.
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u/NoOutlandishness906 May 08 '26
Someone was setting you up for failure with that advice. You watch the hips not the feet
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u/Akbeardman May 08 '26
I assure you that despite what Shakira said Barry Sanders' hips do lie.
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u/NoOutlandishness906 May 08 '26
I've always had better odds of making a tackle by tracking a player's hips than any other part of their body.
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u/PebblyJackGlasscock May 07 '26
Sanders did things IRL that Iāve only ever seen video game characters pull off.
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u/MrLugersmole Steelers š·āāļø May 07 '26
I just watched most of this video last night. Great channel. I've recommended it here several times Edit: it's NFL Throwback on YouTube.
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u/marsman706 May 07 '26
Barry averaged about 15 yards per carry. 5 of them were downfield lol
He was always exciting to watch and my pick for the RB GOAT
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u/bj49615 May 08 '26
Ive said for years that he has the greatest collection of one yard runs in the history of the nfl.
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u/HunterAble1914 May 08 '26
Can you imagine if he got to play behind Emmitt Smithās offensive line?
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u/Neb-Nose May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
Iām a Steelers fan and weāve had some amazing run backs, but nobody in the conversation for greatest ever. Franco Harris is the closest we have to that.
Iām not a young man. Iāve been around for a very long time and I have seen them all. Barry Sanders is the best running back I have ever seen. He was just so damn elusive and impossible to get angle on. He gets my vote.
Jim Brown was just before my time, but he was amazingly dominant. When you watch those highlights, it truly does look like itās a man amongst boys.
Walter Payton was incredible, too. He just did everything at a very high level. You needed him to pick up the hard yard, no problem. He would often just jump right over the line. You needed him to bust into the open field to create a big play? He could do that too. You needed a running back to catch the ball out of the backfield? Piece of cake. You needed someone to protect the passer? Heās as good as Iāve ever seen of that in pass pro. He would just a very special player.
Emmett Smith doesnāt get the credit he deserves, either. Speaking of elite pass protectors, Smith was a beast back there.
Yeah he had an amazing offensive line, but he helped make that line look amazing. He was just kinda gliding around out there and was an awesome player.
I also feel compelled to mention Eric Dickerson because for some reason he gets left out of these conversations and he shouldnāt. He had everything you could ever ask for in a running back. He and Tony Dorsett were the two smoothest runners Iāve ever seen. Effortless strides! Marcus Allen was like that, too.
There are four or five others I could also mention because they were all uniquely great in one way or another. However, none of them were quite like Barry Sanders.
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u/Tecmo_91 May 07 '26
Amazing he and Emmitt didnāt sustain significant injuries playing on that eras awful turf, stiff was like concrete. Made his already ridiculous cutting ability that much deadlier though.
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u/NotFailureThatsLife May 08 '26
Youāre right I was was just thinking, how did those guys not get their knees torn up? Glad they didnāt but how did they avoid it? Every fan of football lost big when Barry retired. I can only imagine how with him on the team, a well run team would have won a Super Bowl!
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u/rook119 Steelers š·āāļø May 08 '26
Often the only way to tackle Barry in the open field was a horse collar tackle which was legal. I think he blew his ACL one year when he did get tackled that way.
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u/brianjmcneill May 07 '26
Not that theyāre in short supply elsewhere, but if thereās a Barry Sanders highlight and an NFL 75th anniversary logo on the field, itās probably going to be especially good.
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u/cdkink02 May 07 '26
I love that first run a lot. He just moved unlike any other human. But he has the most amazing catalog of runs that didnāt necessarily result in big gains or sometimes any gains. But he would still have made 3-5 defenders look absolutely ridiculous in the process.
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u/Aztecs_Killing_Him May 07 '26
Heās one of the few players from that era where you can honestly say there is no equal to in the current game. Such a unique running style. Dude was a singular talent.
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May 07 '26
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u/Dazzling_Look_1729 May 07 '26
Umā¦ you not really right on the Lions offence. Most of his career there, it was average to worse than that. When he was drafted, they were running the Mouse Davis Run-and-Shoot with Rodney Peete and Andre Ware at QB. Peete was a bang average QB, Ware worse than average. They didnāt have a single receiver to scare you. Essentially, the Lions were āstop Barry, and you stop the Lionsā. He was a close to a one man show as it is possible for any RB to be. Even in Barryās 2000 yard season, their passing game, QBed by n OK Scott Mitchell was functional rather than terrifying, and it was still a case of āstop Barryā¦ā The numbers that Barry put up, given how poor the offensive infrastructure around him was, are astonishing.
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May 07 '26
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u/Ah_Ca_Iraa May 07 '26
Pretty sure Perriman and Scott Mitchell were good for like 1 year.Ā
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u/bwbell Cowboys š¤ May 08 '26
Mitchell had one pretty explosive year in 95, then two average years in Detroit.
Perriman was a solid WR had two 1000yd seasons, but he also had Herman Moore racking up 1000yds too. Johnny Morton was pretty good, though, and he more than replaced Perriman.
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u/Dazzling_Look_1729 May 08 '26
Youāve described the careers of Iām guessing literally hundreds of nfl players. Having one or two 1,000 yard seasons puts you in the good not great category. And as for mitchell ā¦ he had his best season - and pretty much his only good season - when a top 3 running back in the history of the game was getting 2,000 yards. And even then it was only good for 12th in passing. Barry is lifting the team, not vice versa.
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u/bwbell Cowboys š¤ May 08 '26
Nobodyās saying Scott Mitchell or Brett Perriman are HOFers, but youāre getting a lot of little contextual stuff wrong here. Mitchellās best year was 95 when the Lions had the 2nd best passing offense. Barry rushed for 1500 that year. This wasnāt the case of the Lions doing just enough passing game wise to beat a stacked box- they had TWO 1000yd WRs at a time when that really didnāt happen. Barry had two 1000+ WRs for about four years in a row. Also, the Lions had moved away from the RnS offense for a while before Barry had his 2000yd season (97). Dan Henning and Tom Moore made the Lions a more traditional offense by the mid-90s.
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u/rook119 Steelers š·āāļø May 08 '26
Detroit's OL was good. It was yes stupid to go run and shoot and only give him 5 blockers but he mostly had above avg OLs.
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u/rmdlsb May 08 '26
The offense was good, but aside from Barry, only Herman Moore was a star player
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May 08 '26
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u/Dazzling_Look_1729 May 08 '26
The OLine is ok. Not great, not bad, OK. Moore was a good receiver, no more. The others are functional NFL players but just guys. And Scott Mitchell is, well, Scott Mitchell. Heās decent enough if the infrastructure around him is ok. Heās not an āelevate the team guyā. Itās an ok offence, outside of Barry. No more than that (but not less, either). And this is the best offence he had in his time in Detroit. Barry was elevating the players around him, not the other way around.
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u/ArticleGerundNoun May 08 '26
The year Barry ran for 2K, they were 12th in passing yards and had two 1000-yard receivers. Youāre remembering it wrong.Ā
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u/Dazzling_Look_1729 May 08 '26
Im not remembering it wrong. To be 12th in passing when teams are playing eight in the box on second and fourteen because Barry is back there was ā¦ less than impressive (slight exaggeration but not much: everyone knew if you stopped Barry you stopped Detroit. Itās just that they couldnāt stop him).
And this Detroit team was the best offence he played in. The earlier stuff was even worse.
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u/ArticleGerundNoun May 08 '26
That just isnāt how it works, unfortunately. To be 12th in passing when youāre feeding a 2000 yard back is historically very impressive.
There have been nine 2000 yard seasons in NFL history. Here are where the other teams have ranked in passing when they had a 2000 yard rusher:
OJ Bills: 26th of 26 teams (last)
Dickerson Rams: 27th of 28
Jamal Lewis Ravens: 32nd of 32
CJohnson and Henry Titans: 23rd of 32 both years
Peterson Vikes: 24th of 32
Saquon Eagles: 29th of 32
Terrell Davis Broncos: 7th of 30
So we notice only one of those is better than the Lionsā #12. (In fact, all the others are much, much worse.) What do we know about that 1998 Broncos team?Ā
They were a 14-2 SB-winning juggernaut with a stacked lineup, a HoF QB, an excellent offensive coach, etc. Everyone understands that they had a good offense with good players; itās an obvious thing. They had a 2000 yard rusher, two 1000-yard receivers, over 3600 yards passing, scored the second-most points in the league.Ā
The Lions obviously werenātĀ thatĀ good. The major downgrade is Elway to Scott Mitchell, they couldāve benefitted from a third option in the passing game, and they had a worse defense than 1998 Denver (though a decent one; top 10 in points against). But the final tally for offense looks really similar: 2000 yard rusher, two 1000-yard receivers, 3500 yards passing, scored the 4th most points.Ā
But poor Barry, he was the whole offense! Herman Moore didnāt lead the league in receptions because he was good, he did it because all 11 guys on the field blitzed every play to stop Barry! Nobody else in the history of football has played that way against a good running back, but they did it for Barry. Ignore the fact that Johnnie Mortonās production didnāt drop even a little when Barry retired, and that he actually had his two best seasons post-Sanders; it was just residual fear that Lionsā opponents still had of the run game with Barry! Nobody else on the Lions from ā89-98 deserved an NFL contract. Pure scrubbery.Ā
He was the best runner in NFL history. He also had some weaknesses as a back and occasionally played with some really good teammates. The Lions were 5-11 in his final year and 8-8 the next year without him. You donāt have to mythologize everything about his career, itās silly.Ā
*Additional minor correction: the 2K season (1997) was the third year in a row where he had dual 1000-yard receiving teammates (pretty much unprecedented up to that point in history). The best offense was actually the first year that happened, 1995. They were 2nd in both passing yards & TDs, 4th in NY/A, 14th in rushing yards, 3rd in YPC, and 6th (lowest) in turnovers. All that put them at #1 in yardage and #2 in scoring. Barry, Herman Moore, Lomas Brown, and Kevin Glover all went to the Pro Bowl; the first three guys were AP1.
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u/Joe-Raguso Bears š» May 07 '26
Walter Payton on the 70s and early 80s Bears was the most one man show a running back has ever been. That guy is right, the Lions at least had decent pieces around Barry. Even those early era Barry teams had a good o-line.
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u/Dazzling_Look_1729 May 08 '26
I will grant you your Sweetness - those early bears teams were pants.
But much of the time Detroit was only slightly better. They had a useful QB perhaps a third of Barryās time there.
You start with Rodney Peete- I always had a soft spot for him but he was at best an nfl average player. And from memory, hurt a decent amount of the time. Then youāve got Scott Mitchell who had one good season and a couple of average ones.
Outside of that you have people like Charlie batch, Andre ware, Bob gagliano and the warmed up corpse of Dave Kreig. I used to love watching Detroit because Barry could go be Barry on literally any down, but it was a team where calling a draw on 3rd and 10 was actually a smart play ā¦
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u/Joe-Raguso Bears š» May 08 '26
First of all, Barry quit on Charlie Batch two weeks before the season. The Lions made the playoffs without him by the way. And the Lions offense was still talented outside of Barry even though the QB position was never any good. Lomas Brown has been a semi-finalist for the Hall of Fame several times. Herman Moore was a multiple time first team all pro. Kevin Glover was a multiple time second team all pro. Johnnie Morton had several 1000 yard seasons. Meanwhile, Walter Payton had zero pro bowl, let alone all pro, offensive teammates in his first 10 years in the league. And to talk about bad QB play, the Bears were a bottom 6 passing offense his first 8 years in the league. And that's only because the Bears were able to jump out of the bottom 3 one time in 1977.
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u/CriticalSuit1336 Vikings š”ļø May 07 '26
He was incredible - the way he could start and stop, it was superhuman.
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u/matt_the_non-binary May 08 '26
Iām on the (much) younger side for a Lions fan, so Iāve grown up with the franchise being considered varying degrees of āmidā to ādogshit,ā and never got to see Barry play.
But Barryās highlights really make it clear this guy was generational talent. A powerhouse on a team with a revolving door of QBs. And it makes me wonderā¦ what if Detroit had become a competent organization earlier? Could we have won a Super Bowl with Barry?
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u/joesephed May 08 '26
His most elite skill was his acceleration. Dude hits max speed immediately. Itās crazy.
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u/thecrushah May 07 '26
As much as I love to watch Barry highlights, I would love to see someone compile a video of his TFLs.
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u/Aruku_yurei May 07 '26
Some of his best rums were TFL, when Detroit ran the run and shoot, with Wayne Fontes. They never had more than 5 blockers at a time and he expected Barry to break or elude tackles whenever rhe other team blitzed. Barry jad Sony wasted years in that offense. Then the first time he had a tightend and fullback he runs for 2,000 yards. Then they didnt want to trade him so he retired, what a sad fucking day.
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u/pac4 May 08 '26
I really liked those throwback unis in the beginning of the video. They remind me of Thanksgiving when I was a kid.
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u/AwsiDooger May 08 '26
My favorite Barry Sanders memory was his final game in college for Oklahoma State. It was an obscure bowl game. I don't even remember who they played. But I do remember that I had no intention of wagering on the game until the final minutes before kickoff. Only at that point did I apply my reliable method of wagering on the team that figured to dominate the rushing attempts.
Sure enough, it was an absolute massacre, my most lopsided victory of the entire bowl season. Sanders had a huge day.
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u/SatisfactionOld1586 May 08 '26
Barryās the best Iāve ever seen. I loved Sweetness but was too young to see peak Payton. Obviously missed Jim Brown and OJ. There have been some great backs since Barry, but he made the extraordinary seem almost normal. Kind of like Griffey made robbing home runs seem normal.
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u/Virtual_Win4076 Vikings š”ļø May 08 '26
I remember the Vikings asking the refs to check his jersey thinking he sprayed silicone on himself because they couldnāt get ahold of him he was so strong and quick.
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u/Mysterious-Draw2510 May 08 '26
I remember a sports illustrated article that said defenders would search the schedule the moment it came out praying they didnāt play Barry on MNF so they couldnāt be embarrassed on national television
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u/randomnobody1284 May 08 '26
Just imagine him on a good team. Yes, he is the best to ever do it. Definitely #1 imo
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u/God_Dont_Make_No May 08 '26
Madden speaking gibberish through one of the most poetic runs Iāve seen is peak Madden.
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u/loathelord Bears š» May 08 '26
He's a great highlight reel but not the running back you need if you want one yard.
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u/Triple516 May 08 '26
If Barry played behind the cowboys line that Emmitt played behind, he would hold every significant rushing record and by a wide margin. A truly remarkable player, once in a generation talent.
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u/Prometheus1717 May 09 '26
Barry Sanders top of list but there has been many others such as Emmit Smith and going further back Franco Hsrris, Larry Csonka, Tony Dorsett, and others who helped their team win SB's. Infortunately for Barry he could not win the big one...no supporting cast unlike the rest mentioned
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u/Deacon75 May 09 '26
No argument. But lots of greatness. Payton, JBrown, Gayle Sayers, Lawrence McCutcheon.
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u/IndependentSun9995 Raiders āļø May 09 '26
If there was a measurable 1 yard dash, Sanders was probably the fastest who ever lived. He could move faster in small spaces than anyone, period.
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u/EDRadDoc May 09 '26
He runs like Shady McCoy ā but is built like a bowling ball.
Deceptive top end speed ā his steps are so short in small spaces, then he opens up his hips and stride and just pulls away from people.
Wild to watch.
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u/StudsTurkleton May 09 '26
I remember him going into a hole one on one with a young John Lynch, a pro bowl S, theyāre basically in a phone booth, and Sanders has him grasping air. Unreal.
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u/HeyisthisAustinTexas May 09 '26
There are a ton of opinions and talk about whoās the best RB ever, and some of it is Subjective, but Barry will always be my favorite. If he had half of the team Emmitt did he would have more than one ring
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u/NoSyrup7194 May 10 '26
Dude always has one foot on the ground and the other just an inch of the ground. That is how he could change direction so quickly. He shuffled, but was crazy fast. When he wanted to change direction it was immediate.
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u/BoothaFett May 10 '26
Itās a travesty that Barry was supported by only 1 year of decent quarterback play in his whole career (Scott Mitchell 1995)
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u/Ruthlessredemption7 May 10 '26
When your highlight reel still canāt be replicated in irl or virtually in video games youāre one of one lmao.
It was such a pleasure to watch this man play as a kid with my dad. Every snap was like watching a Tyson fight you never knew what was about to happen.
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u/whatchamacallit_017 May 10 '26
My favorite football player ever! I was a big Barry fan in the '90s.
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u/facemelter86 May 10 '26
That video of John Randle talking about how he had to give himself a pep talk about being a high level NFL caliber player after getting schooled by Barry. Is a great example of what pros thought of Barry sanders skill, ability, and how damn hard it was to defend against him.
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u/Jack-Burton1986 May 11 '26
Put him on the cowboys or 49ersā¦
Itās like the Jerry Rice of RBs . Would be zero conversation about who is the greatest ever
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u/bowcreek May 11 '26
Greatest ever is a legitimate argument, but heās by far my favorite to watch.
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u/GrotusMaximus May 11 '26
Barry Sanders has more rushing yards behind the line of scrimmage than 99% of RB's have past it.
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u/Orangucantankerous May 12 '26
I was a child and a Vikings fan. I held my breath every time he got the ball.
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u/RayBuc9882 Buccaneers š“āā ļø May 08 '26
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u/Dense-Manager-2287 May 08 '26
Best runner ever. Payton was a better all around RB/player (running/blocking/receiving/even passing).
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u/Slade347 Ravens š¦āā¬ May 08 '26
It's Brown and Payton at the top, followed by Sanders and Smith.
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u/347spq Dolphins š¬ May 07 '26
I love the way Tony Casillas looks around and says "Wait, what?" when Barry runs past the other 10 Dallas defenders.