OT: RG3 and Barry Sanders on NCAA 13 Cover

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

For all of you NCAA video game nerds out there, they just released who would accompany RGIII on the cover of the game this year. On the EA facebook page, they let people vote on who it would be. Unfortunately, Desmond did not make it but I heard he is going to be in the game as a commentator.

His Dudeness

April 16th, 2012 at 7:58 PM ^

I love Barry. LOVE him. But Walter Payton was better. I know this isn't the time nor the place. Just watched the Payton doc. on NFL Network last night and it moved me. Congrats to Sanders though. He was as excititng a player as ever has been in the league. I miss watching him a great deal. The best thing about Barry is he left on top of his game and on his own terms. Like a boss. Hated that at the time, but looking back on it I respect the hell out of him for it.

Michigan4Life

April 16th, 2012 at 10:34 PM ^

He's the only two RB in the history of NFL to average 5 plus yards per carry in their career.

He was the first RB to run for 1,500 yards in 5 seasons and the only to do it in 4 consescutive years.  In his run to 2,000 yards, he set the NFL record for running over 100 yards in 14 consecutive games and the first since OJ Simpson to rush for 2,000 yards in a span of 14 consecutive games.

His notable accomplishments in the NFL:

- Most season on 1,100 or more yards rushing (10, tied with Payton)

- Most Consecutive Seasons, 1,100 or More Yards Rushing (10)

- Most Seasons, 1,300 or More Yards Rushing (9) tied with Walter Payton

- Most Seasons, 1,400 or More Yards Rushing (7)

- Most Consecutive Seasons, 1,400 or More Yards Rushing (5) tied with Emmitt Smith, 1991–1995

- NFL Record 25 games in which Sanders rushed for 150 yards or more. Jim Brown is second with 22 games.

- NFL record 46 games in which Sanders had 150 yards from scrimmage or more. Walter Payton is second with 45.

- 15 career touchdown runs of 50 yards or more, most in NFL history. Jim Brown is second with 12.

- At the time of his retirement, Sanders' 15,269 career rushing yards placed him second behind Walter Payton's 16,726 yards. At Sanders' then-current yearly yardage pace, he would have eclipsed Payton within one or two years.

- His fewest rushing yards in a season for his career is 1,115

- Most of it came in a single back formation with no FB blocking for him and when he finally runs out of I formation, he runs for 2000 yards.

 

Barry had to run behind one of the worst run blocking OL in the league at least it's the bottom third.  He does it with 8-9 guys in the box accounting for Barry at every single snap.

 

The Sweetness is definitely one of the best RB of all time, but Barry is better.  I'd put him at worst #2 RB at all time after Jim Brown.

M-Wolverine

April 16th, 2012 at 11:19 PM ^

Comparing him to Payton who played for some truly awful Bear teams. When he was on his last legs he played on some great Bear teams, but even then it wasn't much of an offense. It was all defense. Barry on the other hand played with some pretty high powered offenses (and awful defenses). He played most of his career with Herman Moore, so he wasn't the only offensive threat.

M-Wolverine

April 17th, 2012 at 10:55 AM ^

Barry ran for a lot of yards...they passed for a lot of yards...how do you say they couldn't run block?  And even if you're doing the eye test for that...how can you say that Payton had great lines? The records matter, because those crappy Bears teams didn't have anything good on their team...O-Line or more...and wasn't any different than Sanders crappy teams weaknesses.  And Barry played on some pretty good teams...at least offensively.  They bombed in the playoffs because they didn't play a lot of defense.  So you can do anecdotal eye tests, but that doesn't make it so.

M-Wolverine

April 17th, 2012 at 10:52 AM ^

But the Lions had the #6 offense in '94, #2 in '95, #4 in '97 (and #9 in their best year, '91).  And I'm not going to rank that as one of the all time great offenses either. You have to ask yourself- how much of that was the Barry/Walter factor, and how much of it was the offense? We've spent years here hearing how defense makes offense better...well, the possibly best defense of all time makes offense a lot better. They had serviceable QBs and WRs...their next best offensive threat might have been a TE. 

The point is that "Bears offense a powerhouse helping Walter" vs. "Barry played on teams that had nothing on offensive and 11 guys tried to tackle him while not covering Herman Moore and he STILL got all those yards" is completely bogus. And for every really crappy offense Barry played on, there's a crappy offense in the 70's that Payton played on.

M-Wolverine

April 16th, 2012 at 10:58 PM ^

The best football player I ever saw was Payton. Ran great, for sure. But blocked, caught passes out of the backfield....and served as the Bears emergency QB AND kicker. Barry was the best runner I ever saw. Moved like no other, other than maybe Gayle Sayers. And Jim Brown was the best running back. Couldn't move like Barry, but just an imposing physical specimen. If he hadn't left to do movies, none of this would even be up for discussion.

NiMRODPi

April 16th, 2012 at 9:03 PM ^

Barry is the GOAT. I'm totally biased, he is my childhood idol, but I don't care. His 1988 college season and his 1997 NFL season stand as two of the greatest single season performances in the history of sports. Only he and Jim Brown have a career per carry average of 5 or higher. He averaged over 1500 yards a season and NEVER ran for less than 1100. There is not a runner in the history of the game that accomplshed as much with as little as that man had to work with. 

If we could reduce the game of football to a single play; gave your best player the ten worst teammates; going against the 11 best opponents, of any era; and then had to wager your life on the outcome, is there anyone you would pick other than Barry Sanders? There are athletes that have turned in legendary performances, but this man worked miracles. 

 

IdealistWolverine

April 16th, 2012 at 11:30 PM ^

Is it just me or is there a bit of a bobblehead effect with RG3 and is head?  It looks really disproportionate to his body.  

Video Game people always photoshop those pictures so oddly, I can remember in NCAA Baseball 07 (I think) when the U. of Texas "T" on the batting helmet was no where near where it was supposed to be.