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the best thing about barry was that at 5'9, i am taller than him. he was the best, people face it ....... in the land of gaints he was the strongest, fastest and boldest .......... he did ok for a little man ........
this thread isnot about what if ......... what if marcue depree stay healthy, what if sanuder played one more year,etc it about what is ........... saunder only played 10 years and he might not have all the records but he is the best ......... and its on record
Not according to the NFL Channel. Post #131 has the breakdown regarding where the running backs stack up in regards to the "Top 100 players in NFL History". This poll wasn't conducted by pulling a bunch of joe schmoes off the street and having them vote.
The claim regarding the Detroit Lions being a bad organization has merit. For a long time the Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals was the franchise that had the longest streak of years regarding not playing for a conference championship (last won in 1947). That distinction now belongs to Detroit (last won in 1957) The notion that Lions owner William Clay Ford does not have commitment to winning? For a long time that statement had merit. During Ford's tenure as CEO of the franchise Detroit has only one playoff win in the last 20 years. And in 20 years previous to that they have no playoff wins.
I'm a fan of the NFL Channel's "In their own words" documentary series, featuring one hour bios on different players and coaches. One was done on Sanders a few years ago. This is a direct quote from Sanders- " If I ever lose the feeling for having fun for the game, I will retire immediately." From ESPN's Sport Century 1 hour bio on Sanders, Barry was asked by a reporter why he would want to retire when he was so close to breaking Walter Payton's rushing record. Sanders replied "It's just not that important."
According to several people opining on Sanders that I've seen on the tube and read in print publications and online sites Sanders had a very tenuous relationship with then G.M. Chuck Schmidt that was made worse when Sanders contract was extended after the 1996 season. For some time Sanders observed the futility of draft choices and free agent signings (a lack of).
An issue with him was commitment to a specific quarterback and a specific system. Quarterbacks who were with the Lions during Sanders tenure would include Eric Hipple, Rodney Peete, Dave Krieg, Andre Ware, Scott Mitchell, and Erik Kramer ( am sure there are a few others) While I can't name all the quarterback coaches and offensive coordinators, I know of two that were associated with the club. And they were huge fans of the "Run and shoot" offensive philosophy-June Jones and Darrell "Mouse" Davis.
Then there was a commitment to building a solid offensive line. Five years before Sanders came along Detroit had a good lineman-Lomas Brown. In 1995 he left in free agency. A couple years after that Kevin Glover was released for salary cap reasons. The other linemen during this era were ordinary names-Scott Conover, Larry Tharpe, Mike Compton, Mike Wells, Andre Johnson, Dennis McNight,Ray Roberts, and Jeff Harting. Harting left early in his career and became a 2 time pro bowler with the Steelers. Sanders was not that impressed with that situation. When Glover was dumped (who was a 4 time pro bowler) IMO Sanders was reaching the point of no return regarding retiring. With Gary Zimmerman available it would seem to me he would have been a solid fit to Detroit's o-line, and Sanders was quoted as saying that Gary would be a perfect fit. He went in a trade to the Denver Broncos instead in 1993. He now is in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.
Firing head coach Wayne Fontes was another issue with Barry though in Sanders book "Now You see Me' Sanders stated he had a good relationship with Bobby Ross, who replaced Fontes. Always changing the quarterbacks and the offensive philosophies was one thing, but when Wayne Fontes went down the road I believe Sanders was starting to wonder how much longer he wanted to play football. For years, maybe decades the Lions organization was known as a penny pinching club. In Sanders eyes he saw nothing that could debunk that reputation.
I don't have any recollection about Sanders asking for a trade. One of the earlier posts in this thread pegs Sanders as a "quitter" for not asking to go somewhere else. Um, that's really a stretch. I don't believe the Lions would have accommodate him even if Sanders DID want to leave. I believe Barry considering going to another organization was not an option at all.
I would like some feedback from some of the other long time Lions fans who haven't commented here to confirm that scenario. And the other statements I've made in this post. After all, I'm just opining here. And yes, I loved watching Barry Sanders play. LOVED IT!!
The claim regarding the Detroit Lions being a bad organization has merit. For a long time the Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals was the franchise that had the longest streak of years regarding not playing for a conference championship (last won in 1947). That distinction now belongs to Detroit (last won in 1957) The notion that Lions owner William Clay Ford does not have commitment to winning? For a long time that statement had merit. During Ford's tenure as CEO of the franchise Detroit has only one playoff win in the last 20 years. And in 20 years previous to that they have no playoff wins.
I'm a fan of the NFL Channel's "In their own words" documentary series, featuring one hour bios on different players and coaches. One was done on Sanders a few years ago. This is a direct quote from Sanders- " If I ever lose the feeling for having fun for the game, I will retire immediately." From ESPN's Sport Century 1 hour bio on Sanders, Barry was asked by a reporter why he would want to retire when he was so close to breaking Walter Payton's rushing record. Sanders replied "It's just not that important."
According to several people opining on Sanders that I've seen on the tube and read in print publications and online sites Sanders had a very tenuous relationship with then G.M. Chuck Schmidt that was made worse when Sanders contract was extended after the 1996 season. For some time Sanders observed the futility of draft choices and free agent signings (a lack of).
An issue with him was commitment to a specific quarterback and a specific system. Quarterbacks who were with the Lions during Sanders tenure would include Eric Hipple, Rodney Peete, Dave Krieg, Andre Ware, Scott Mitchell, and Erik Kramer ( am sure there are a few others) While I can't name all the quarterback coaches and offensive coordinators, I know of two that were associated with the club. And they were huge fans of the "Run and shoot" offensive philosophy-June Jones and Darrell "Mouse" Davis.
Then there was a commitment to building a solid offensive line. Five years before Sanders came along Detroit had a good lineman-Lomas Brown. In 1995 he left in free agency. A couple years after that Kevin Glover was released for salary cap reasons. The other linemen during this era were ordinary names-Scott Conover, Larry Tharpe, Mike Compton, Mike Wells, Andre Johnson, Dennis McNight,Ray Roberts, and Jeff Harting. Harting left early in his career and became a 2 time pro bowler with the Steelers. Sanders was not that impressed with that situation. When Glover was dumped (who was a 4 time pro bowler) IMO Sanders was reaching the point of no return regarding retiring. With Gary Zimmerman available it would seem to me he would have been a solid fit to Detroit's o-line, and Sanders was quoted as saying that Gary would be a perfect fit. He went in a trade to the Denver Broncos instead in 1993. He now is in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.
Firing head coach Wayne Fontes was another issue with Barry though in Sanders book "Now You see Me' Sanders stated he had a good relationship with Bobby Ross, who replaced Fontes. Always changing the quarterbacks and the offensive philosophies was one thing, but when Wayne Fontes went down the road I believe Sanders was starting to wonder how much longer he wanted to play football. For years, maybe decades the Lions organization was known as a penny pinching club. In Sanders eyes he saw nothing that could debunk that reputation.
I don't have any recollection about Sanders asking for a trade. One of the earlier posts in this thread pegs Sanders as a "quitter" for not asking to go somewhere else. Um, that's really a stretch. I don't believe the Lions would have accommodate him even if Sanders DID want to leave. I believe Barry considering going to another organization was not an option at all.
I would like some feedback from some of the other long time Lions fans who haven't commented here to confirm that scenario. And the other statements I've made in this post. After all, I'm just opining here. And yes, I loved watching Barry Sanders play. LOVED IT!!
I never remember hearing rumors of Barry requesting trades but about a year or two after retirement there was talk that was confirmed that Barry was considering un-retiring and the Dolphins most likely were going to be his new team. Obviously it never happened.
I remember a lot of hubbub about a trade right after Barry retired. There were a lot of rumors that Barry was using retirement as a wedge to force the Lions to trade him.. that story eventually died because it likely was not true.
Barry was still arguably the best back in the league but he had 10 years of wear on him so what kind of trade could the Lions have gotten? I think some desperate team may have been willing to offer a 1 but not much more and if that had actually occurred and the Lions shot it down you would have thought news of such an offer would have made the headlines. I never head any concrete news about a possible trade from reputable sources other than mere speculation.
I remember a lot of hubbub about a trade right after Barry retired. There were a lot of rumors that Barry was using retirement as a wedge to force the Lions to trade him.. that story eventually died because it likely was not true.
Barry was still arguably the best back in the league but he had 10 years of wear on him so what kind of trade could the Lions have gotten? I think some desperate team may have been willing to offer a 1 but not much more and if that had actually occurred and the Lions shot it down you would have thought news of such an offer would have made the headlines. I never head any concrete news about a possible trade from reputable sources other than mere speculation.
he had about 3 years of wear and tear on him ......... nobody could get a good hit on him ......... he problably could have played 10 more years ............
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My thoughts on Barry Sanders
