How great was Barry Sanders? He rushed for over 2,000 yards at the end of his career. The season after this would be his last and he put up 1,491 yards rushing in his final campaign. He is the greatest running back I ever witnessed.
I was able to witness Barry and O.J. the really sad part about both of their careers, they were never on really good teams and didn't get great blocking. O.J. had another gear that Barry didn't have, if he got past your linebackers, it was pretty much a wrap, whereby Barry was more elusive then O.J. Both were great, If I had to take one it would be a flip of the coin, you couldn't go wrong.
In the beginning of both of their careers I'd have to agree with you on OJ being the faster home run threat. However when most backs slow down Barry sped up. The two 80-yard runs in the same game against the Bucs came much later in his career. His 2k season was his next to last season in the league.
Train2kill00 Barry didn't speed up, he was able to avoid a lot of serious injuries because he had an elusive running style. He hurt his knee once and it sidelined him for a game or 2 but that was it. Whereby with O.J. he took a beating throughout his career. A lot of people don't realize just how fast O.J. was, at one time he was on fastest 4x100 relay team in the world because they held the world record at USC.
Barry Sanders tore his PCL and MCL, and missed the last five games of the '93 season. At the time of the injury(Thanksgiving loss against the Chicago Bears he was leading the league with 1,115 in 11 games) Yes, he was the most elusive Running back in the history of the league but his stop and go style and his jump cuts alone wouldn't been enough to put the numbers he put up. He was also extremely fast. OJ was Olympic level fast but no more a speedster than Herschel Walker or Bo Jackson. Barry was better than all three. Of all the great attributes a dominant running back must have to be successful I value speed the least. If you don't have the balance, vision, decisiveness, lateral movement, short area burst, creativity, heart, and determination having great speed won't amount to much. Barry's last two season 2,053 yards rushing and 1,491 yards rushing. O.J.'s last two seasons 593 yards and 460 yards. OJ played one more season than Sanders that balances out because OJ played 14 games a season to Barry's 16
Barry Sanders is not one of the greatest, but the GOAT. If he had an O line like Smith, he would have been the first 20,000 yard RB. It was a pleasure to watch a nice guy dominate his position.
To this day it still amazes me how the man darted through a crease and you could tell when the big run was happening by the stride he hit after getting in the backfield. And after every one of those runs was a display of being perfectly humble. LEGEND
The way the red took that football, looked Barry in the eye and gave him the most sincere of congratulations was one of the most wholesome moments I’ve ever seen on a field.
I'll never forget it. Was at this game and me and my buddies are always bringing this day up. Couldn't talk for a week. We were going crazy when they were trying to quiet us down. I never understood that rule and never will !!!!
@@RedWhiteAndBlue4evr1 if only you could go back on time and enjoy those good old days. God these days suck! On a side note, how did you post this comment? Laptop? Cell phone?
I'm new to Barry Sanders I watched Bye Bye Barry this week and I realise how great he was so I've been looking at highlights ever since he's amazing one thing I will say it's incredible that OJ Simpson managed this feat in 2 less games the pitches looked terrible in the 70s!
I was at the Siverdome that day with my three young sons. I had been to dozens of rock concerts, but that place was the loudest sound I had ever experienced in my life. It was insane. What a game, what a player, what a performance!
I remember as a kid watching lions games when I had the chance just to watch Barry. Score meant nothing. Even as a child I knew Barry was different than anything that had been or is to come. He's the best running back the world has ever known.
Barry is my all time favorite player ever, never will see another like him. The Lions can go to hell for robbing this man of his passion. That being said, of course only the Lions would be threatened with loss of timeouts or penalties for their crowd actually supporting them
Being born in 99 and growing up a lions fan. I grew up watching Megatron. I always believed he was the best. After this video I wish I could a watched Barry . Man was different
I love how so many comments are about loving the "good old days" while using cell phone and computer. That said, Sanders was AWESOME. And telling the home crowd to be quieter is absurd.
I was fortunate enough to be a that game and I guarantee that was the loudest the Silverdome ever was. (Well, the monster truck jams were obviously louder but whatever.)
Interesting fact: The guy who Barry juked on his TD was Otis Smith (former New England Patriots CB who won a Super Bowl with them, and believe it or not, a former Detroit Lions CB (2003)!
Sanders is such a class act, today’s chest thumping, me,me, me players could learn a lot from a classy guy like that. It was amusing to see the ref ask the Lion players to encourage the fans to keep the noise down.
My favorite Rb still to this day! Barry Sanders might of had 5 more seasons in him, made the decision to retire before his body broke down. Much Respect !
People want to bring up Barry's loss per carry when talking about his weaknesses. However if you observe the man you can see how he has great vision where he can see the slightest hole in the defense, and would attempt to make something out of nothing when there were none. The lions just simply had a weak offensive line. Barry just took what they gave him and tried to make something out of nothing when nothing was available. I don't think any other back would come close to achieving what Barry was able to do with such a poor line. The same rule of Eric Kramer who was the QB at that time. He is probably the most underrated QB of his era working with little to no protection. Barry is the Most electrifying RB ever. Probably best.
There are quite a few in the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. But in the game of football there are only a couple dozen truly, very special great players. I'd suggest Barry Sanders, Deon Sanders, Dick Butkis, Lawrence Taylor, Walter Payton and Earl Campbell. Notice it guys running with a football versus guys trying to stop them. That's the epitome of football. Not throwing and catching or blocking or kicking. Sure that's important but at it's core it's I got the ball and try to stop me. So, runners against tacklers is the short list for the best of the best. Why Deon? Because Deon scored TDs six different ways. If that's not better than just running and exceptional then the greatest means nothing.
Best moment was when he got the 2000 and was really modest about getting it😊 Yeah tell that to his next play that wasn't modest that straight ruthless 😏🤣
At the start of the game Eric Dickerson had the record at over 2100 yards, OJ Simpson had killed two people, and Barry Sanders was about to make some history.
Can you imagine Barry as a little kid in his neighbourhood when they would gather for a game of tag? The game would end when he had to go home for dinner I guess.
Barry retired early. If he went one more season, he would have beaten Walter Payton's record for all-time yards. In Payton's career, he never had a run over 60 yards. Barry had THREE touchdown runs over 70 yards, IN ONE GAME.
It' funny to see the ref stop the game because the Jets offensive couldn't hear anything. They would never do that today. Slap the Center on the ass that's how you get him to snap the ball when you can't hear.
Barry Sanders was Legendary however, O.J. Simpson rushed for his 2,000 in only 14 games, the length of the season in 1973 - Love him or hate him, No one has ever made it to 2,000 yards in 14 games except O.J. The next best was Eric Dickerson getting to 2,000 in 15 games. Just an observation.
Lions made the playoffs 6/10 years he played. He also played with many pro-bowlers like Herman Moore, Lomas Brown, Kevin Glover, Robert Porcher, Brian Blades and Chris Spielman. Stop parroting what other say and look it up for yourself.
What Barry Sanders dad said after that game ill always believe that's why Barry retired early in his Career. Hell if ur dad doesn't believe in his son why play Barry did it for this family
I was at this game. What a thrill. An honor to watch Barry run. I remember him being carried off the field on the shoulders of a couple O linemen. One of the great privileges of life to watch him play.
Barry was the most respected player in the NFL. He never talked trash & everyone media,players,fans..... liked him. The most modest & humble superstar ever.
OMG I still remember this game...my Jets were just one win away from clinching a playoff spot....and consequently would become the only team in NFL history to go from 1-15 (1996) to 10-6 and make the postseason....it appeared for most of the contest legendary coach Bill Parcells had kept Barry Sanders in check...that is until near the end of the third quarter...Barry's 4th quarter performance is still ranked the greatest one quarter achievement in NFL history...thusly, it was the Lions who went to the dance while the Jets went home.....still the greatest running back in NFL history IMHO....the legendary BARRY SANDERS!!!
Barry is the best ever. I don't want to hear your reasoning for why he's not. His legs looked like he should have been on the offensive line. I'm a vikings fan, I grew up in MN. I remember jumping in, around, or over my parents couch watching Barry. I will someday buy an autographed Barry Sanders jersey.
I've been a faithful Lions fan since 1996, and Barry is the reason why. He is the best. And he always will be. Amazing that the place where the crowd was once so loud that the refs and team members had to quiet them down is now abandoned, empty, and decrepit. Lol, and the Jets team, fans, and press were all so sure that the Tuna would work his magic and take a 3rd team to the playoffs that day . . . but Parcells laid a goose egg, and he and the Jets had to wait just one more year. Too bad about Reggie Brown - five years after the Jets themselves lost a team member to paralysis, Dennis Byrd, and six years after the equally frightening Mike Utley incident for the Lions.
Often forgotten in this game was a devastating neck injury to Detroit lion linebacker Reggie Brown, which ended his career at just 23 years old. ... Early in the 4th quarter, the game was delayed for 17 mins as Reggie laid motionless and nearly died on the field. Lots of prayers and tears from both jets and lions players
Yeah man, I was at the game. It was so quiet when he went down. It was eerie. Reggie could have been great. He had so much speed. I'll never forget one game of him returning a interception for a touchdown. Nobody was close to chasing him down.
We have an old Freep front page printout from the Monday following that game. The headline is "Barry Christmas" but nearly every word on the front page is about Reggie Brown. A very sad moment
G.O.A.T. period. no running back will ever be able to dupelicate his running style. I might be biased because I'm a die-hard Lions fan, Barry Sanders was the greatest. and now we got Megatron.
I love how loud the building gets -- incredible. I remember watching this live and the cameras were shaking. Players said the ground was rumbling. That is what Lions football can be!
I sat upper level in this game. When the crowd hit it's peak loudness, I couldn't speak because I was in awe of what was happening. The noise resonated so strongly that the upper level was shaking under our feet. I never felt anything like it, and I went to quite a few games.
