It seems in sports we are always comparing players and debating the “best”. Whither it is Bird or Magic, Chamberlain or Russell, Koufax or Gibson or, in this HSSS debate, Smith or Sanders. In my opinion, Jim Brown was the best overall running back so I guess this argument will be who the best was during the 90’s or who the was best between the two; Emmitt Smith or Barry Sanders. Rev, being very biased, mistakenly chose Emmitt Smith. I, on the other hand, actually chose the best RB of the two and that is Barry Sanders. Special thanks to Hoit for this HSSS suggestion.! Let us know if you have any for us and we will look into it!!

"I was always someone who led by actions, not words,"   Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders was never a man that gave good quotes. He was a man of very few words. He was a man that never showed much emotion. You would never see Barry Sanders spike the ball after a touchdown. His actions spoke for themselves.

Sanders was one of the most electrifying runners to ever play the game. He spent his entire pro career with the Detroit Lions (1989-1998.) Each season with the Lions, Sanders rushed for more than 1,000 yards; the first running back to do so. Sanders best year came in 1997 when he rushed for over 2,000 yards. He became only the 3rd player to reach this plateau in a single season and the first since O. J. Simpson to rush for 2,000 yards in a span of 14 consecutive games.

Barry Sanders played for the Oklahoma State Cowboys from 1986 to 1988. He backed up All-American Thurman Thomas during his first 2 years but became the Cowboys starter his junior year once Thomas moved on to the NFL. That season has been called the greatest ever in college football history. Highlights of Sanders’ collegiate career:

*Set 34 NCAA records during his Heisman Campaign. 

*Holds the college single-season rushing record with 2,628 rushing yards in 1988. 

*In 1988, Sanders won the Heisman Trophy.

Sanders left for the NFL draft after his junior year and was selected by the Detroit Lions with their 1st-round pick (3rd overall) in 1989. Barry’s size while a concern was deceptive. He was too quick for defenders to hit consistently and way too strong to be brought down with arm tackles. His explosiveness and ability to reverse direction seemingly at will, often left defensive players tackling nothing but air. Sanders finished his first season 2nd in the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns, and won the Rookie of the Year Award. Listed are highlights of Sanders pro career: 

*15,269 career rushing yards
*109 career touchdowns (99 rushing, 10 receiving)
*76 100-yard rushing games
*10 consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons (1989-1998)
*Tied NFL record for total 1,000-yard rushing seasons
*NFC Rookie of Year (1989)
*2-time NFL Player of Year (1991,97)
*10-time Pro Bowl selection (1989-1998)
* Five-time NFC rushing leader (1989,90,94,96,97)
* Four-time NFL rushing leader (1990,94,96,97)
*Set NFL single-season records for most 100-yard rushing games and most consecutive 100-yard games (14 in 1997)
*Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2004)

At the age of 30, Sanders astonished fans when he announced his retirement from pro football. Barry left football still in his prime, having gained 15,269 rushing yards, 2,921 receiving yards, 118 kickoff return yards, and 109 touchdowns (99 rushing and 10 receiving). Upon retirement, he was so close to Walter Payton's career rushing mark of 16,726 yards. Only Payton and Emmitt Smith, who broke the record in 2002, have rushed for more yards than Sanders.

His retirement was unexpected and controversial. Just two years earlier, Sanders had renewed his contract with the Lions for $35.4 million over six years with a signing bonus of $11 million. The Lions demanded he return $7.3 million of the bonus. When Sanders refused the franchise sued, eventually winning and Sanders was ordered to pay $5.5 million plus interest over the next 3 years.

At the time of his retirement Sanders owned almost every Lions’ rushing record along with numerous all-time NFL records. However, in the argument of who is the best between Sanders and Smith, numbers are really pointless. For example, Smith gained 10,160 yards in seven years with the Cowboys, an average of 1,451 yards per season. Sanders, over eight years, gained 11,725 yards, an average of 1,466 per season. See my point? Numbers don’t show the moves and stamina. They don’t record plays that start wide right and end up on the left side with every guy in the secondary scrambling to save his job.

Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith have similarities. They both have the strong, thick legs which defied logic when they moved up and down and sideways all at the same time. Their legs changed the thinking of NFL personnel directors about RB with short stumpy bodies. Sanders and Smith proved that it is okay to be short; it just might be preferred.

"Here's what I see," Jim Brown says. "Emmitt is a great player in a great system, a system that suits him perfectly. He is a hell of a warrior, and he fits into the Dallas scheme better than anybody.” "I don't think Barry's ever been used properly, but that's a different story. If I had my pick of anybody in the league, and I was picking in terms of talent -- maybe not even winning and losing games, but just pure talent -- I'd take Barry. He's the most talented running back in the NFL."

Sanders' rare abilities go well beyond cerebral explanation. The human form just wasn’t meant to cope with endless runs on artificial turf, with stops so hard and fast the skin tears from underneath his toenails, turns so quick tendons and cartilage are expected to fly out of his knee and into the face of the defender. There is no explanation for the manner in which the upper half of his body charges along in one direction while the lower half whirls off in another. “Sander's body seems to change form when needed -- solid to liquid, liquid to gas.”

Gale Sayers, who played for the Chicago Bears and who is consider by some to be the best running back of all time was asked to compare Sanders with Smith. "I wish Barry had a better line to run behind. I'd like to see what would happen then. Many times when you see him, he's making moves behind the line of scrimmage, trying to get away. A lot of times Emmitt isn't touched until he's five yards past the line. When Barry's five yards into the secondary, he's gone. People talk about whether Barry can gain 2,000 yards in a season. Well, if he had Dallas' line, we'd be asking how many years he'd be gaining 2,000 yards. Look at his stats now: He's gaining 1,500 or 1,600 yards anyway. I think Emmitt is a good second-effort runner, a strong runner, but I go with Barry."

Emmitt Smith had an all pro offensive line with 2 potential Hall of Famers. Payton had one of the best as well in 1984. Barry Sanders had none. Emmitt Smith played with a hall of fame QB and WR Barry Sanders did not. Emmitt Smith didn’t have to carry his team’s burden. Barry Sanders did. He was all Detroit had. The fact that Sanders accomplished all that he did with the minimal support that he had is absolutely astonishing.

Every time Barry Sanders touched the ball, he was a threat to score. That cannot be said of Emmitt Smith. Smith benefited more from his surroundings than any of the all time rushers. Put him in a Lions uniform and you get very little. Put Sanders in a Cowboys' uniform and it’s scary. This is how I always compare great players. If they switched teams would they still be as dominate? Emmitt Smith would not. Barry Sanders would. 

HE SAID: Sorry, Barry. Emmitt's Better.