For You Young Whippersnappers

Discussion in 'National Football League' started by NCJetsfan, Jul 17, 2021.

  1. NCJetsfan

    NCJetsfan Well-Known Member

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    Who may never have seen Barry Sanders play:

     
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  2. jetstopgun

    jetstopgun Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for posting NC … The most elusive RB I ever saw…Once he got Past you no one was going catching him… the GOAT
     
  3. jetstopgun

    jetstopgun Well-Known Member

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  4. NCJetsfan

    NCJetsfan Well-Known Member

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    You're welcome! I remembered that he was elusive, could stop on a dime, made would-be tacklers look foolish, and all that, but had forgotten just how amazing he was. I was in awe and also laughing as I watched this. He truly was the GOAT in that regard. He even had more power, and ran through/broke more tackles than I remembered.
     
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  5. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    Another excellent post @NCJetsfan I have never seen anyone like Barry in my lifetime. I suppose the closest comparison might be Gayle Sayers, but he was before my time. Truly a magician/artist when he had the ball in his hands. Still cant believe some of the insane moves he pulled off. Also respect the hell out of him as a person. The way he handled his retirement (no bullshit "fete me as I announce my retirement a year in advance for a "farewell tour" bullshit), the way he obviously didn't play the game for individual records (who else walks away when they are on the verge of setting an all-time mark in their respective sport and still perfectly healthy?!). One of the true greats. My top 3 RBs of all-time are: 1-Payton 2-Brown 3-Sanders. You can quibble with the exact order (I put Sweetness first for obvious reasons, lol), but I honestly don't think you can quibble with those 3 being at the very top. I place all of them ahead of guys like Smith, Dorsett, Dickerson, et. al. BTW interesting bit of trivia, BOTH Sayers and Sanders were born in Wichita, KS.
     
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  6. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    I realize it's blocked on TGG by the NFL, but just click on the "watch on youtube" option to see the top 50 runs/plays of Sanders' career, per NFL Films. Def worth a watch, esp for the young guys who never got a chance to see him play.
     
  7. statjeff22

    statjeff22 2008 Green Guy "Most Knowledgeable" Award Winner

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    The fascinating thing about Sanders is that he holds the NFL records (unofficially, since apparently this wasn’t officially recorded) for both number of rushes for negative yards and yards lost on negative rushes (1116 yards). I knew this before I knew it, since you only had to watch one game of his for it to be obvious. Many of those amazing twists and turns ended up in very unspectacular fashion.

    I am just barely old enough to know that Jim Brown was the greatest running back ever, and it’s not close.
     
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  8. abyzmul

    abyzmul R.J. MacReady, 2018 Funniest Member Award Winner

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    Barry Sanders made me hate Fords.
     
  9. NYJetsO12

    NYJetsO12 Well-Known Member

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    Wow! nice Post you all Sanders looks like he score at will

    Can somebody tell me why the Lions still sucked at football??
     
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  10. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    lol.....further proof that football is the ULTIMATE TEAM sport, NYJetsO12. :( You need to have a lot of talented, dedicated guys on BOTH sides of the ball (along with quality coaching) to enjoy success in the sport (at any level, basically)...and aside from 3-4 seasons, the Lions simply did not have the necessary roster talent/depth to win during Sanders career.
     
    #10 patleahy, Jul 18, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2021
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  11. jetstopgun

    jetstopgun Well-Known Member

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    Gail Sayers great comparison! Like you Pat he was a little before my time didn’t take notice of him really until the movie Brian song we could never see these guys there was no sports center at that time..I remember watching the movie in the early 70s with my family and a couple of buddies we were all in tears after the movie..I guess certain events in your life you never forget..watching that movie was one of them
     
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  12. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    great points @jetstopgun as a child of the mid to late 80's, it is hard for me to appreciate how earlier generations were basically limited to following their local team due to the dearth of news/information on other teams in the league. You had your local sports team coverage (in your newspaper or local tv station) and that was about it.
     
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  13. NCJetsfan

    NCJetsfan Well-Known Member

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    If memory serves me correctly, their OL wasn't that good, and a lot of times Barry was stuffed for a loss or no gain. Their passing attack wasn't great, and I think their D was pretty bad, but may be mistaken.
     
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  14. NCJetsfan

    NCJetsfan Well-Known Member

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    Think about being a Jets fan and growing up in NC. There was literally nothing EVER about the Jets in the local papers except for the prediction and the SB win. During the AFL days, the local NBC affiliate would show Jets games. Once the two leagues merged, Namath aged, and the team declined, with the exception of the 80s when we had Klecko, Toon, Walker, et al, and the Parcells and Rex days, the Jets were and still are never shown here. Evidently whomever makes those decisions for the local CBS affiliate hates the Jets.
     
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  15. patleahy

    patleahy Well-Known Member

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    correct as usual, @NCJetsfan ...in spite of the presence of perennial pro bowler Lomas Brown, as a unit, the Lions OL was usually sub-par. Combine that with spotty (and I am being generous) QB play (Rodney Peete, Andre Ware, Scott Mitchell (who did have 1-2 good season to his credit) Charlie Batch, et. al.) and your team is pretty much doomed, ESP when as you noted, their D was usually in the bottom half of the league.
     
    #15 patleahy, Jul 18, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2021
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  16. jetophile

    jetophile Bruce Coslet's Daughter

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    Dec. 21st, 1997 Barry Sanders breaks 2,000 yards against the Jets and knocks them out of playoff contention. That was great. : /

    I remember how shocked the sports world was when he abruptly retired. Probably saved himself from being a cripple.
     
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  17. ConcordeChops

    ConcordeChops 2018 International Poster Award Winner

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    One of the NFLs greatest-ever players with some of the NFLs shittest-ever advisers and hangers-on.
     
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  18. Snatch Catch

    Snatch Catch Well-Known Member

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    Sanders was simultaneously the greatest and most unique running back I've ever seen. I went out of my way to go to The Meadowlands when the Lions were in town once, and it turns out it was the only game he ever played at the Jets.

    I remember being so excited to watch a legend in his prime - he was challenging all sorts of records at the time and just rolling up ridiculous totals every week. It ended up being a classic Barry Sanders performance. I remember every time he took the handoff I was ready to see something great...and it just wasn't happening.

    His first carry of the game went for 27 yards, but at halftime he had gotten to just 50 yards on 8 carries. Half of those 8 carries went for no gain or negative yards.

    He came out in the 3rd quarter and had 4 carries for...negative 10 yards. He entered the 4th quarter with 12 carries for 40 yards.

    In the 4th quarter he had 2 more negative yardage runs, bringing his total of no gain/negative plays in the game to 10 carries for -22 yards.

    He finished the game with 23 carries for 127 yards, and the Lions won.

    Most astonishing football player I've ever seen. In a league of world class athletic marvels he routinely made the opposition look inept, helpless, and confused. He made no sense when you watched him, because he routinely did things that aesthetically looked nothing like anything anyone had done before - or since.
     
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  19. jetophile

    jetophile Bruce Coslet's Daughter

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    I remember when Corey Dillon (Bengals) ran for over 270 yards (?) something crazy like that. I think it was against the Broncos, someone correct me if I'm wrong.
     
  20. bicketybam

    bicketybam Well-Known Member

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    278 yards against the Broncos in 2000, which broke Walter Payton's single game record.
     

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