OT- Bye week article on Barry Sanders
Nice long-form article on the remarkable Mr. Sanders. I give him credit for retiring while he could walk and speak (CTE). Take the leading rusher from every college football weekend last season and they had 2836 yards and 27 TDs. In 1988 Sanders had 2850 yards and 42 (FORTY EFFING TWO) TDs, with FOUR 300+ yard games, in 12 total games.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:23 PM ^
Most who okay football don’t get CTE. Barry would be least likely anyways as he rarely was hit straight on.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:27 PM ^
You actually hit on the point I was going to, I don't think Sanders will have CTE really, he never really got hit, ever. IF he did, it was not a straight on blast, it was directional or to the legs. Best running back ever in my opinion, his stats are still just insane
October 26th, 2018 at 9:34 PM ^
Barry lost over 5,000 yards in the NFL, and still finished with 15,269 yards.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:41 PM ^
Barry did play for the Lions.
I do sometimes wonder what he would have done if he had ended up on the Cowboys.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:58 PM ^
Most likely cocaine and strippers.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:52 PM ^
150ypg easy ... a few 2500yd seasons ...
It still gets my dander up that people think Emmett Smith belongs in the same category as Barry...
October 27th, 2018 at 7:34 AM ^
Barry's a great running back, but he's not as good as Jim Brown.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:30 PM ^
He walked away before the Lions could drive him completely insane. Same with Calvin Johnson.
October 27th, 2018 at 12:19 AM ^
80% of my support for the Lions retired with Barry. The remaining 20% with Calvin.
Horrible orginization from the top down. Create a mediocre product that doesn’t ever win anything yet makes money for the owners.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:57 PM ^
Shhh... you’re not allowed to say that!
October 26th, 2018 at 9:28 PM ^
What incentive do you have if you played for a hapless perennial loser like the lions. Smart guy.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:14 PM ^
Not only so, but he escaped just prior to the beginning of the Matt Millen era. Good for him
October 27th, 2018 at 9:36 AM ^
What’s sad to think about is he played in the most successful decade of the Ford era. Six playoff appearances in the 90s, of course with only one playoff win.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:53 PM ^
42 touchdowns in 12 games is 3.5 touchdowns a game. An average of 5.25 pts a quarter for an entire season.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:01 PM ^
I hung out with him for an hour at the NFL Draft in NYC awhile back.... he actually thought Lions fans were geniunely mad at him for retiring... had to explain to him that they werent mad, but the object of their intense affection had left and this a natural response...and he appreciated this...
I digress... he never got hit cleanly, his entire career...so no chance of CTE for him... the only player ever who could injure opposing defenders with his moves... guys would roll their ankles...
October 26th, 2018 at 10:09 PM ^
Uh... a lot were mad at him and still are.
October 27th, 2018 at 9:55 AM ^
I don’t think Barry cares. Retired jersey, HOF and works in the Lions front office...I’d say he doesn’t care.
October 28th, 2018 at 8:24 AM ^
I wasn’t mad that he left, but I was pissed that the conditions under which he was playing made him leave so abruptly.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:31 PM ^
It's not so much that he left, it's how he left. From a business standpoint, I understand, you don't owe the business anything. But from a fan standpoint, you left our team high and dry.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:17 PM ^
Yes, he retired AFTER the draft and did so by posting a message on a website and then promptly leaving the country on vacation
October 27th, 2018 at 9:08 AM ^
Lighthearted nitpick, but Barry retired in 1999. The internet existed, but nobody posted important announcements on websites. He faxed his retirement announcement to a Wichita newspaper.
Long live fax machines.
October 27th, 2018 at 9:58 AM ^
I stand corrected.
But my point stands. Love Barry, but that was bush league. Faxing his retirement notice to a newspaper, instead of communicating directly with the team?! Very bad.
Although his decision to quit is understandable. How many great careers have the Lions wasted??
October 27th, 2018 at 12:45 AM ^
He never got hit cleanly? You must have missed the Dan Henning years.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:08 PM ^
Still the best RB I've ever seen live - what a thrill it was to watch him run! But I don't like the way he left the game. I don't care that he left the Lions before his contract was up - I blame him not for leaving that situation. But he should have said something before the day camp opened.
The Lions called him all summer - he never once returned the call. The coach flew out to OK to see him, and Barry never met with him. He refused to give the Lions the time of day that entire summer. I'm not going to argue that the Lions deserved the time of day from him, but that doesn't lessen the shit show he brought on by refusing to speak and just quitting on his teammates the day camp opened. That was a shitty way to go out and it soured my memory of him.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:07 PM ^
His personality explains why he did so, as he took it upon himself, to a fault, to win, but he isn't one to blame the OL, QB, etc... His dad was the big alpha and you could feel the subordinated impact on his personality.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:14 PM ^
To each their own. I agree he’s one of if not the greatest RB alive.
Here’s my issue. A man with that much insane talent wasn’t taken seriously by the lions. I truely believe that if the lions tried to build around him he would have stayed longer.
But no the lions made stupid draft pick after stupid draft pick and forced Barry to retire IMO.
If your draft picks don’t pan out you can STILL make an effort in FA to right the ship. This didn’t happen.
Some lions fans are upset that Barry didn’t stick around to carry a regime? I’m upset the regime didn’t make efforts to build around a generational talent.
/end rant
October 27th, 2018 at 12:58 AM ^
I'm not sure what you want the Lions to do, outside of make better decisions. They did try to build around him. He ran behind two pro bowl OL for much of his career. He was paired with two first round WRs during his tenure, plus a great FA WR in Perriman. They spent a 1st round pick on a QB, then made a big FA acquisition to get another QB. Another 1st rounder was spent on an OL during his tenure with the Lions.
Call the Lions incompetent all you want, but it isn't like they weren't trying to build a team. They couldn't just go out and sign every FA, salary cap was in place by then.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:27 PM ^
I’m from Barry’s home town, Wichita, KS. He was / is an icon in the city. I grew up shopping at his parents grocery store; and, he sponsored our entire youth league.
I’ve had the chance to meet him a few times as both a child and an adult. I’ve probably told him a dozen times, “I met you last years. I’m the kid from Wichita that was a Mustang...”
he graciously says, “cool...” and in his mind he’s saying, “who the fuck is this guy?”
i love Barry. A great player and a better man.
October 27th, 2018 at 12:08 AM ^
Lions were like "we could care a less about winning, long as we have Barry putting butts in seats."
October 27th, 2018 at 2:21 AM ^
Pretty amazing to go back and watch his highlights...
could he ever make himself skinny and accelerate though those creases! amazing how quickly he was able to slash through...his little jab step thing he does is also a thing of beauty.
Definitely retired too early, but good on him for being able to hang them up when he was mentally done with playing.
seemed like a genuine and humble guy too.
October 27th, 2018 at 7:17 AM ^
Lots of good memories of Barry Sanders with the Lions. He was very definition of quick, which is different from fast. Sanders was both, but his defining element was unbelievable quickness.
The 1989 draft shaped up like this for the top five overall:
- Troy Aikman (Cowboys)
- Tony Mandrich (Packers)
- Barry Sanders (Lions)
- Derrick Thomas (Chiefs)
- Deion Sanders (Falcons)
Which brings up two questions:
Question 1 -- Imagine you're an NFL GM in 1989, you have the #1 overall pick, and you're looking at those five. You do not have benefit of knowledge of the future. Who do you take?
Question 2 -- You're the NFL GM in 1989, but you have benefit of future knowledge and know how their careers go. Who do you take?
October 27th, 2018 at 9:42 AM ^
Or put it a little differently...and more hypothetically...suppose you're an NFL GM, and you can either draft a guy you know will have the career of a Barry Sanders, or a guy you know will have the career of a Tom Brady. Which do you take?
You take the QB in a heartbeat,100 times out of 100.
October 27th, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
Question 1- Hard to say, but definitely not Sanders. Probably Aikman, but any of those other guys are at positions I would also spend a high #1 pick on.
Question 2-Obviously not Mandarich (sorry Packers). Maybe still Aikman, and in 1989 maybe Sanders. Today, definitely not Sanders. The NFL is just too pass-oriented any more. You don't need a great running back to be succcessful in the NFL these days, and using a high pick on one is overspending, even for a generational talent.
October 27th, 2018 at 8:23 AM ^
Thanks for reminding us that he had an amazing year - and the OSU really ran him a lot during that time. 2800 yards - many QBs don't throw for that many in a season.
As for CTE - we'll have to see - I hope he donates his brain for analysis, because of this whole "glancing, angled hits versus direct hits" question. He had a lot of carries, and probably took a lot of hits, even when he is in college.
The Lions period was a time when the team was still a hobby for William Clay Ford but today, it is a major financial asset for the family - their auto stock is becoming diluted over generations of cousins. The rules of the NFL prevent corporate ownership so suddenly it is a nearly billion dollar asset owned by one person - Martha Ford. Barry Sanders did the smart thing for him - quit while ahead. I shudder to think of how Earl Campbell will be in a few years. He was literally a human battering ram.
October 27th, 2018 at 8:44 AM ^
He was sadly bad 13 years ago when I saw him.
October 27th, 2018 at 8:49 AM ^
Barry was always my favorite. Waiting for another generational talent like that to cheer for, well, after Adrian Peterson retires that is.
October 28th, 2018 at 8:32 AM ^
I would switch to someone else.
October 27th, 2018 at 9:49 AM ^
My enduring memory of Barry Sanders is the classless way he left the team. First he didn’t show up for voluntary off season workout, showing a complete lack of leadership. Then he didn’t show up for preseason camp. We didn’t know he had retired until the team phoned his father. I get that the team was and is a consistent loser. But the fans deserved more and so did his fellow players. Great runner lousy team man.
October 27th, 2018 at 9:57 AM ^
Greatest running back in history in my opinion.
If he plays 3 more years he makes the all time rushing record one of those “never will be broken” records.
He did more in 10 years with a mediocre team than anyone else could do in 15 years with a good team.
October 27th, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^
Barry Sanders did not like Bobby Ross. Barry Sanders did not like running behind a fullback (even though he got the most yards these seasons). Barry Sanders did not like the team trading his good friend Lomas Brown.
This day and age with a player like Barry...brown would have stayed, a fb would be out, Bobby Ross fired....but back in that day, the Lions stuck with what they did and this was the end result, him disappearing and retiring.
hell of a player though!
October 27th, 2018 at 10:41 AM ^
I have a Barry Sanders "Cool Story Bro."
Just after my son was born 17 years ago (as of last week!), I was standing in that hallway outside the room that they park the babies in just after they're born. The one with the windows...where you can find the dads hanging out and looking at their newborn child.
There was another guy standing there. Didn't really take note of him right away, as he was about my size (I'm of average height for a Jewish guy...5'7"). At some point, we gave each other that "hey, you doing?" nod/half smile. I turned back to look at my son and said to myself "self, I think that's Barry Sanders." I looked back at him, and, yes, indeed, it was Barry Sanders.
My wife was next to his wife in the recovery area. We still joke about how they had every nurse and staff member attentively waiting for them...while my wife had to wait forever just to get a cup of ice chips. Not to mention that they had a huge group of family/friends with them...so much so that the curtain dividing the space between my wife and his wife kept getting pushed in to our area to a degree that it kept hitting the bed in which my wife was resting.
It was a funny reminder of the status of celebrities...compared to that of regular folks like us.
As a side note, our 17 year old has just sent in his application to become a third-generation Michigan Man. I'll be spending the next two months "clenched" in anticipation!