When it comes to which NFL Running Back was the greatest of all time, many will make arguments and make their case as to who is and why. For me I believe that Barry Sanders happens to be the best of all time and will give you facts and to other reasons why I believe so.
Some of the Facts
Barry Sanders who only played in the NFL for 10 seasons still managed to register 15,269 rushing yds. 2nd of all time on the career rushing list at the time of his retirement (3rd of all time to this day behind Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton, respectively)
Now lets look at Sanders, Smith, and Payton's numbers and averages throughout their careers.
Barry Sanders Emmitt Smith Walter Payton
No. of Seasons 10 15 13
Played
Career Rushing Yds. 15,269 18,355 16,726
Avg. Yds. Per Season 1,526.9 1,223.66 1,286.62
Total Career TD 99 164 110
Avg. TD Per Season 9.9 10.9 8.46
As you can see the numbers speak for themselves. Barry Sanders at the time of his retirement(age 31)
would have probably passed Walter Payton on the all time Rushing list if he played one more season. And
if Sanders would have played 5 more seasons (same amount as Smith) going by his average he would have
amassed 7,634.5 yds. (1,526.9 x5) which would have put him at 22,903.5 yds. ( 15,269 + 7,634.5)
This would have put Sanders first on the all time list and over 4,500 yds. ahead of a 2nd all time Smith.
Now even though Sanders' production may have likely slowed down over those extra 5 years, he would only need to average 617.2 yds a season to put him in a tie with Emmitt Smith
18,355 - 15,269 = 3,086 divided by 5 = 617.2
(Smith) (Sanders) (difference between (number of more seasons Smith (Avg. number of
Smith and Sanders) played over Sanders) yds. Sanders needed)
Not only are Barry Sanders numbers are reasons why he was the best Running Back of all time, but the
way he carried himself as well. He never show boated, always gave credit to his offensive line, and was very humbled with his accomplishments.
And to add to that, Barry Sanders was a Heisman Trophy winner in college. And was recently voted by
fans in a poll in which former Heisman Trophy winner they wanted to appear on the cover of
NCAA Football 13.
Some may agree and I'm sure many will disagree with my opinion. But given the reasons
and facts I presented, this is why I believe Barry Sanders was the best Running Back of all time!
Image Sources: (1.) http://www.makefive.com/categories/sports/team/greatest-football-american-players-of-all-time/barry-sanders
(2.) http://www.makefive.com/people/ryankoziel
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haha how are you gonna have a Pittsburgh background and have barry on here. Good stuff for backing him though
ReplyDeletelol yea, but only in hockey am I Pittsburgh. Nevertheless it's hard not to see as to why Sanders is the best back in NFL history.
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