Barry Sanders - Overrated

[Thomas82]

Cry me a river. Barry was a lot better than Emmitt. Look at the line he played for, give me a break.

Look at their college careers. Barry ran behind Thurman ing Thomas and still ended up the all-time leading college rusher.

I already told you that Barry IS NOT college football's all-time leading rusher. He has the record for MOST YARDS IN A SEASON, not the all-time rushing record. Ron Dayne has that record.

There's no way to prove that. Like monos said:

That's what I'm saying. It's one thing to have your opinion based on stats, but to have your opinion based on a hypothetical that can NEVER be proven is idiotic.

[IronMexican]

As far as an NFC team goes, I'll root for the Cowboys yeah. But they're not my team.

I thought you despised the Cowboys? Pats and Cowboys? Pretty gay.

[monosylab1k]

I thought you despised the Cowboys? Pats and Cowboys? Pretty gay.

lol, raiders

[Thomas82]

No doubt Emmitt had a better line, but part of the reason the line looked so good is because Emmitt had the vision to see holes before they opened up, and to have the patience to wait for them. Barry had neither the discipline or the vision to play in Jimmy Johnson's system. He took lots of risks with the football, which would have been a huge problem. And sorry, but part of the reason the Lions O-line seemed so bad is BECAUSE OF BARRY. His wildass, "do what I want" style is what accounted for all the negative yardage plays. He took so many risks that put his team in 2nd & long and 3rd & long situations, which all teams have trouble converting, even the 90's Cowboys. So don't give me this bull about how Barry could have done better with a good line. He never gave his line a chance to block for him in the first place.

Physically, Barry was gifted in ways Emmitt didn't come close to. Barry could do things with the ball that no running back ever could, or possibly ever will do. But Emmitt had an intuition, feel for the game, and overall football IQ that Barry also didn't come close to matching.

They're equally great, end of story, stop with your ing stupidity.

The best post in this thread!! Another thing about this "All World" offensive line that Emmitt had, if they were so good? How come nobody had ever heard of them before Emmitt got there? Before he got there they couldn't spell Pro Bowl. Emmitt made the Pro Bowl in his first 2 years in the NFL without any of his linemen making it.

In 1991 when Emmitt led the league in rushing, none of his linemen made the Pro Bowl. As a matter of fact, they led the NFL in sacks allowed that year. The offensive line that year was made up of a 3rd round pick, an 8th round pick, a 10th round pick, and 2 undrafted free agents. Let me also mention that Emmitt never had a first round pick blocking for him as a Cowboy. Barry had 4, and 3 of them were top 10 picks. I will say that those linemen deserve credit for stepping their games up, but Emmitt was a major factor in the way they are percieved.

[MiamiHeat]

BARRY SANDERS IS THE BIGGEST QUITTER IN FOOTBALL!!!!

HE COULDN'T HACK TO BE ON A LIONS TEAM THAT SUCKED SO HE TOOK THE EASY WAY OUT! BARRY HAD NO HEART!

>>>>>what a quitter and a sorrid RB to leave his team!

at least Emmitt Stuck around when the Cowboys sucked

Emmitt already had championships by then

BARRY NEVER GOT TO WIN ANYTHING.

BIG DIFFERENCE

[Louae]

knocking barry's postseason stats sounds good until you actually remember the games.

that green bay game where he had 13 carries for -1 yards was ridiculous. there were always 2 and sometimes 3 or 4 guys in the backfield before he even got the ball in his hands.

I big reason why was b/c they were in the run-n-shoot offense where they run draw plays.

[Louae]

Can you imagine what his stats had been if he had the Cowboys offensive line of the early nineties? He possibly could have averaged 6-7 yards per carry.

I've always hated this argument b/c E.Smith's strength, balance and vision were so underrated. In my opinion, E.Smith had more to do with the offensive line being All Pros on a yearly basis than the other way around.

There's a reason the running game would come to a halt when Smith was on the sidelines. Now, if you could plug any running back behind that line like the Denver Broncos did and churn out a 1,000 yard rusher as they did in the late 90s, than this argument would have some legs to stand on. Unfortunately for people who stand behind this argument, it doesn't.

It's my belief that Sanders benefited greatly from the run-n-shoot offense. He was a great open field running back and the Run-n-Shoot offense definately allowed him to tap into his greatest strength by spreading the field, getting him into the second level and putting more defensive backs with poorer tackling skills on the field.

While it's obvious that he would've been successful in any offense, but it's not guaranteed that he would've been more successful in a conventional offense than he was in the run-n-shoot offense.

[Louae]

Emmitt already had championships by then

BARRY NEVER GOT TO WIN ANYTHING.

BIG DIFFERENCE

Honestly, I'd think it would be easier to hang them up after you'd have won the championships.

[Louae]

Emmitt would have done well anywhere, but he obviously was in the perfect situation for his abilities. Barry wasn't in the perfect situation, but I doubt Dallas would have been the perfect situation for him. I think it's really unfair to say Barry would have done better in Emmitt's situation, or that Emmitt wouldn't have done as well in Barry's.

Here's the thing that always bothered me. No-one asks how the Lions would've done with E.Smith in that run-n-shoot offense. Think about it. E.Smith was perfect for that offense. He was a great pass blocker which is essential in that offense. He was a very adequate pass catcher and would've been a great release valve for any QB. B.Sanders was not a great blocker or a great pass catcher.

And the thing about E.Smith that everyone overlooks was his ability to slip tackles. He wasn't flashy, but he was strong, had great balance and had great vision.

And chew on this stat, in 1989 (1-15 season) our leading rusher was Paul Palmer who ran for 400 some yards. The following season, E.Smith was our leading rusher as a rookie with a little over 900 yards and we improved to 7-9 that last season. I'll never forget Aikman going down in the Eagle game and having Babe Laughenberg throw our playoff chances down the drain in Atlanta. Who could forget Deion Sanders high stepping through the middle of our offense on his way to a touchdown after Babe gave him a gift.

[samikeyp]

Here's the thing that always bothered me. No-one asks how the Lions would've done with E.Smith in that run-n-shoot offense. Think about it. E.Smith was perfect for that offense. He was a great pass blocker which is essential in that offense. He was a very adequate pass catcher and would've been a great release valve for any QB. B.Sanders was not a great blocker or a great pass catcher.

And the thing about E.Smith that everyone overlooks was his ability to slip tackles. He wasn't flashy, but he was strong, had great balance and had great vision.

And chew on this stat, in 1989 (1-15 season) our leading rusher was Paul Palmer who ran for 400 some yards. The following season, E.Smith was our leading rusher as a rookie with a little over 900 yards and we improved to 7-9 that last season. I'll never forget Aikman going down in the Eagle game and having Babe Laughenberg throw our playoff chances down the drain in Atlanta. Who could forget Deion Sanders high stepping through the middle of our offense on his way to a touchdown after Babe gave him a gift.

Well said.

The thing about this debate that makes it silly is that people feel the need to knock one of the best football players of all time. By that I mean either Barry or Emmitt. Say what you will about either on, they both were two of the best ever and both would be the first to acknowledge the other as such.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

While it's obvious that he would've been successful in any offense, but it's not guaranteed that he would've been more successful in a conventional offense than he was in the run-n-shoot offense.

They only ran the Run-N-Shoot for two/three seasons and Barry's best season (2000 yds in 14 consecutive 100 yd games) came in a conventional Bobby Ross O.

[Obstructed_View]

I always hate this debate because it usually requires that the Sanders fans trash Emmitt Smith.

I just realized the irony of the above statement since it appears in a thread en led "Barry Sanders - Overrated".

[Thomas82]

I just realized the irony of the above statement since it appears in a thread en led "Barry Sanders - Overrated".

Sal Palantonio was never too crazy about Barry Sanders.