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The debate has been - and always should be - Barry vs. Bo. That's Mt. Everest for me. Barry and Bo. Barry ran for 2000+ yards, his LAST YEAR !! ... for one of the historically WORST teams EVER !!
Barry has ball bearings where other people have ankles. His cutbacks are insane. There is one sort where the GOAT'S nickname is The Greatest, and no ine says no. Imagine if LeBron wasn't just the top scorer, but if he made more free throw points than the next plays has points. See Wayne Gretzsly.
This highlight reel may be a compilation of Barry's longest 50 plays but I'm not sure that its his 50 greatest plays. I remember so many of what may be his greatest runs were 2 yard gains that he changed from being a 7 yard loss where he escaped, juked, stiff-armed and bounced off the entire defensive team to escape from their clutches. Barry Sanders played for terrible teams which never had a great quarterback and the offensive lines weren't elite either. Defenses would focus on stopping him and dare the Lions to throw the ball and yet he still compiled massive yardage. You were commenting on how "fast" he was, and while he had good wheels I don't know if you could say that he had elite speed as you could see him get run down on many of his longer runs. But what he had better than everyone else was world class acceleration from 0-top speed...he could stop on a dime, force the defenders to stop, and then he would blast away from them because they couldn't match his acceleration. His vision and anticipation was incredible and due to his stature his low center of gravity coupled with incredible balance and foot-speed made it incredibly difficult to take him down. Hands down the greatest running back ever and I loved Adrian Peterson too (Emmitt not so much - always thought he was overrated and I was a Cowboys fan)
Hell yes. Barry is up there with MJ and I don't care that he only ever won 1 playoff game, cuz it's just not possible for one player in football, to take over in games and will your team to victory like MJ could on the basketball court. The athleticism. The pure artestry and poetry in motion. How you never wanted to miss a single down when he was on the field, cuz even if a a defense had somehow held him in check for 3 quarters, you just knew that sooner or later he'd do some shit that wasn't supposed to be humanly possible and embarrass hall of fame defenders, sometimes making them look like high schoolers... On the regular. Top 50? They could easily make a top 100 most amazing Barry Sanders runs and each one would still drop your jaw in some way shape or form. Some of the memorable ones went for 0 or even negative yards, believe it or not. When he got in the zone... Man you were in for a treat and the defense in for a VERY long day. And he was also the most humble football player you'd ever see and among the stars he was also on that point in a league of his own. I'm a 49ers fan, but I was a HUGE Barry Sanders fan.
Barry Sanders is the greatest running back who ever stepped on the football field. He was so athletic, soft spoken, and respectful. He is the total package.
Barry Sanders was incredible. He is such a classy and quiet spoken guy. He never spiked the football after scoring a touchdown - he simply handed the ball to ref. Total class. Quit in after his age 30 season after rushing for more than 15k yards in his career; he quit while he was on top; Barry averaged 5 yards per carry - crazy.
Barry was the best runningback in history in my opinion. The guy was unbelieveable, and he was so humble it was remarkable to see a guy whos so good but never had an ego, at all. He never did any showboating, he didnt spike the ball, he always calmly handed it to the ref and went to the bench as calm as it gets. This was always my favorite thing about him.
If he had the Cowboys OL and a half decent QB like Smith did, his stats would never be touched. he would've probably played a few more seasons as well.
Agreed. It was always electric to watch him play, and I do believe he is the best running back ever. His agility and vision was unparralelled. Yes, it is too bad that the rest of the Lions (and their owners/management at the time) were mediocre at best (for the most part, and I say this as a Lions fan). Even with how good he was, he couldn't carry the entire team to the superbowl and he eventually retired early while at the top of his game.
Welcome to the world of Barry, my brother. Yes, i saw him in the 90's and i agree with you; he is the very best. I'm not old enough to have seen Jim Brown. But i saw Walter: probably the best all-around football player of any RB. I saw Emmit: amazing talent and his longevity and love for the game are unmatched among RBs. I saw Earl: the most powerful and fearless RB i've ever seen. I saw Bo: the greatest athlete of all the RBs. I saw Dorsett, OJ, Dickerson, AP, LT....all true masters of the RB craft. But Barry was truly just better than any of them; no one ever brought as much skill and mastery to the RB position as him. Even though he was the smallest man on the field, he was virtually untacklable and often untouchable. Barry was HIM.
When you said "killed this guy right here"...."this guy" was John Lynch, a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest tackling safeties of all time. He also breaks a tackle by Mike Singletary later in the clip. He didn't just embarrass other players and teams, he embarrassed some of the all-time greats. The Vikings used to make their d-lineman chase chickens in preparation for Barry when they would play the Lions because no one could replicate him in practice. To me, he is the greatest to ever do it.
He is the best Runner I have ever seen. the GOAT RB for me will always be Sweetness, but NOBODY could run like Barry, not even BO, and No one was like Bo
The greatest of all time. When Emmitt broke the record, he said he had to thank Barry for quitting, because he wouldn't have been able to catch him if he'd kept playing. Dude was different.
@@alansnow1129yep!! And he had no signs of slowing down. He had an easy 3 years left, even with the mediocre O line he had at the end.. What might have been if not for what happened to Andelsek and Utley..
If Barry and Emmitt switched O lines, Emmitt wouldn't have had half the yards, and Barry's record would stand for generations. There is only one GOAT, and in my mind, it's Barry Sanders.
Barry Sanders is to this date the greatest RB ever. The Lions were always a mediocre team when he played for them with a subpar OL. There used to be a debate comparing Barry to Emmitt Smith. What a joke. In an interview with the late, great Gale Sayers, he was asked what he thought of the comparison. He said if Barry had Emmitt’s OL he would have rushed for over 2000 yds multiple times. Barry is such a humble person, he even sat out at the end of a game to let the backup get some time even though he would have won that years rushing title. Not like his counterpart who had to mark and save every TD he ever recorded. He is the epitome of a selfless football player and human, what a LEGEND!
Barry's the GOAT. He made defenders look stupid at least once a game but never rubbed it in or celebrated in the end zone. He was always humble and acted like he had been there before.
He didn’t do that cuz he was humble. He did it cuz he felt it was more insulting to the other team to act like it was so easy that it wasn’t even worth a celebration.
@@NoctemAeternusMusic The way I remember him saying it is that it was his job. He was supposed to be doing what he was doing and celebrating the fact that he did his job right would have been silly.
@@NoctemAeternusMusicnot sure where you got that from or if that’s how you feel about it but that’s not what Barry’s thought process is. You can tell what kind of person he is just from listening to him talk and it’s always been that way from his college days to now. He realizes everyone is human and there’s no need to put others down. He was doing what he loved and got paid to do it. That’s why he stopped when he did, the love and drive for a crappy organization was going away
Greatest running back ever! He retired when he was on top. He would’ve destroyed all records if he would’ve continued, and especially if he’d have played for a better team. Plus, he was very humble. Score a TD and hand the ball to the ref, with no showboating.
That's the thing I remember the most about this guy. Never ever spiked the ball after a play. To this day I still resent Mike Lupica for saying that his retirement was a ploy to get more money. And to this day I don't think Lupica has ever apologized for those words. Never have I seen an NFL player with more dignity than Barry Sanders.
@@Azabaxe80 Definitely was not about the money. Barry had intentionally got underpaid so that they could have more money to get a better line and more offense then just him. But of course they got junk QB after junk QB, never addressed the line or the abysmal TE situation. Barry just reached a point that he wanted to be able to play with his grand kids, and he knew he was never going to win a ring, so he retired
I always loved that about him. He just handed the ball to the ref and went back to the sidelines. Anyway, what could he possibly add by doing a silly dance or spiking the ball? The runs were works of art that would’ve only been cheapened by showboating
As a Packers fan, I saw so much of him. My god he was scary, every single handoff was a hold your breath moment. Every single one. The clips you were watching were heavy on long runs and he obviously had breakaway speed. You talked about that first step cutback he did. It was often talked about how the most exciting parts of his runs took place within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. He could make a 3 yard run be one of the craziest holy shit what did I just see runs you’ve ever seen. He was terrifyingly great. Nobody was actually embarrassed by him because everyone - everyone! - got fooled by him. And he never spend the ball after a TD. He was the all time hand the ball to the red and act like you’ve been there guy.
I completely agree and cosign that. What made him so amazing is the short in between like you mentioned. He was the most elusive player I've ever seen on a consistent basis and it really isn't that close.
Someone went back and added his north/south travel on his runs one season. It was crazy ridiculous like another 600 yards that doesn't count to his rushing yards gained. Barry earned more yards than most running backs have in a season.
The true GOATs never do. The only time i can remember Jerry Rice spiking the ball was during the last of his 49ers Championship reign when he has Deon Sanders on the team. Jerry had just scored and Deon ran over and told him to spike it. The announcers made a huge deal about it, and how much "fun' Rice was having
The greatest and also the most humble player ever in the NFL IMO. He never spiked the ball after a touchdown, but would casually hand the ball to the ref, pure class!!
The first time I ever saw Barry was when he was at Oklahoma St. He ran for over 300 yards and I think scored 5 touchdowns. After each one he tossed the ball to the nearest official and went and sat on the bench by himsilf. Can you imagine any athlete in any sport today being so humble and unassuming?
Yep. Notice how almost every tackle was him getting dragged down from behind. Those types of tackles are known for causing all sorts of hip and knee injuries. It was only a matter of time before he suffered a career ending injury, and he knew it, so he retired at his peak.
@@joho0 that isnt why he retired at all. He hated the coach of the current team, their ability to compete for a superbowl, and had some dislike for the owners. It wasnt until recently that Barry started to show up around the team. He was a beloved player for our state, and im glad that Barry and Calvin both have come back into the fold of the Lions. About time our superstars are treated as such by the franchise.
@@joho0 You're saying he retired in order to avoid a career ending injury? You know how stupid that sounds. Barry rarely took clean hits like most running backs which is why he was as durable as he was.
I grew up watching him play. Was the one bright spot of that godforsaken team. He was so quick, so solid, such incredible balance, a rare treat to watch. And his speed, he’d lead with his head. Was almost like watching a race horse come up to speed. I don’t think we will ever see another player quite like him. He was like a real life video game.
I was at #1, '91 playoffs vs. Cowboys. What is not in the clip, and what will stick in my head forever, is there were literally ~6 Cowboys on the ground when that play was over. They were all looking at each other, laughing and shaking their heads. 6 professional football players beat so badly they were on the ground. Every time he touched the football was an adventure. Thank you Barry.
I lived near KC and my family is all from Detroit. Because we would go to Detroit a lot as a kid, I got to see Payton, Barry, and Bo Jackson. Payton when he played the Lions, and Bo when he played the Chiefs. Growing up in the 80s and 90s was a blessing
So fun to see you enjoying Barry! He NEVER stopped. When he got caught, he'd just keep running and make them really work to actually bring him down. My mom met him a couple of times and said he is just the nicest guy with the greatest smile.
A few things, from someone that watched during his time: Barry Sanders obviously had that amazing speed, but those sidesteps and hops, and that amazing balance was his magic. He could freeze the defense with those moves. And look at his muscular legs. Sometimes he seemed like all legs; just moving side to side and bursting away with speed. He was like Houdini in the backfield too. The play may have been to go wide left, but with his moves and his vision, he could turn it into a dance to full right and be GONE for the TD. Something a highlight reel won't show is how, for many years, he did not have the team around him, so he'd get the ball in the backfield, and there'd be defenders disrupting that play, right away. And he would dance, hop, and fight in amazing displays, sometimes only to reach the line of scrimmage, or maybe gain some few yards. It was an incredible show, every play. As for any other running back who might compete with him? People could justly argue Walter Payton is right up there. The "Sweetness" himself. And I think the same argument could be made for the great Jim Brown. Definitely worth checking out their highlights to see for yourself. But no one could truly claim anyone is definitely over Sanders, IMHO. Only potential equals. Or 1A and 1B, perhaps.
100% agree with this comment. These highlight reels show his big gain plays, what they don’t show are all the plays he made where he only gained 5-10 yards down field, but ran twice that much from side to side because he did not have the line to support him. In fact, for most of his career he WAS the Lions offense, and the fact that he still had so many yards each season without a WR threat to pull heat off of him is a testament to his abilities. There are very few RBs that I would rate up there and place beside him.
Barry was the first pro i ever met in person and sparked my love for football as a kid. What Barry could do was magic. Uncoachable footwork that only he could pull off. That little shoulder shimmy would catch so many defenders looking while hed plant a foot and be 10 yards past them before they could even react. This was the peak era of the NFL.
Barry Sanders was awesome. My favorite football player was Walter Payton. He preceeded Barry and was a running back as well. Walter never backed down from a hit or a tackle and actually liked hitting defensive players trying to tackle him. He had a long career and was seldom injured. Everyone should check out Walter Payton.
How can you hate this team?? I've been a fan since 1983 and Barry was just plain magical! If he didn't have 5 guys on him..he wasn't going to be stopped. And sometimes even five guys couldn't do it. He's truly nothing short of MAGIC!! He will always be my favorite running back. 💙 🦁 🏈
You really can't overstate how good Barry was. Like, for one thing, how many RBs even have 50 highlight reel worthy plays in a career? And this is just scratching the surface for Barry. The guy did this kinda thing in practically _every_ game. And on top of that, he was basically the Lions' only weapon for most of his career. Everyone was gunning for him. Everyone was game planning to stop him, loading the box on every down, and he still torched them on a regular basis. If he'd played as long as Emmitt Smith played he'd be #1 in yardage by a light year.
I grew up watching Barry... Did you notice in last video you played.. vs. Dallas... There were literally 7.... count them... SEVEN defenders laying in a pile... One grasping air, another looks like he's in the desert crawling for water and another guy holding the back of his knee.... absolutely beautiful running. Thank you Barry... You made me love watching the Lions.
Could you imagine Barry nowadays, he'd break the internet every week. Still have never seen anyone who could shake defenders like Barry. Dude was 1 of 1, amazing
IKR, I always remember that one. If I were a coach and we're watching film, I'd show this to the team and say, "this say it all, he was a man among boys, hit the showers, nothing we could do about that, he's from another planet".
I’d still argue that Payton is the GOAT. But I wouldn’t argue hard. I loved watching Barry run. Even when it was against the Bears. Payton, Barry, Bo. My childhood hero’s.
Not the fastest back of all time, but the speed at which he could switch directions was unmatched. 21:38 that's not just some guy, that's hall of famer John Lynch he juked out of his shoes
Barry Sanders was the best running back, ever. He would get negative yardage on a lot of plays, but if he got his 20 touches, you could count on him breaking a few great plays. Growing up, I was a Lions fan until my hometown of Jacksonville got a team. I was lucky enough to get to see Barry play the Jaguars, live in Jax. I still have my Sanders jersey from the early 90s.
I had to smile this whole video. Barry Sanders is phenomenal. It brings me back to my teenage years when I used to love watching football. But I was a San Francisco 49ers fan still am.
Yeah. I had wet dreams of him coming to the Bay. Let's just say I doubt the Cowboys would have had their string of SBs. No one but no one had been able to stop the offense first with Joe and later Steve with Barry in the backfield. Not that we were lacking good RBs, just that Barry was in a league all his own and with the Niners front line and Jerry Rice demanding plenty attention on his own and receivers in general stretching the field, he would've put up Oklahoma days like numbers and Jerry's numbers would likely have been even more ridiculous as well. 🙂
His ability to see the path, change direction and accelerate to top speed in 3 steps is unmatched. He’s the real 🐐. Anyone that grew up watching him destroy their team every week knows better
I grew up in Minnesota and was a Vikings fan when Barry was dominating our division. I watched him embarrass some of my favorite players several times in one game. Such sweet pain.
@@thefunkybuddha69 Chicagoan here. Will co-sign everything you said. Thanksgiving was always bittersweet. I think we got beat like 55-20 one year when the Bears were (are?) trash. Barry was absolutely amazing.
@@dominicschiro9939 yes sir! Big ol Larry Allen out there with Barry instead of Emmet! Nothing taken away from Emmet smith but his line definitely paved the way for him.
My fave athlete of all-time. You'll notice that he was tackled from behind a lot with the now illegal horse collar. Also, number 84, Herman Moore is a WR legend in Detroit. He shows up in these highlights throwing great blocks downfield.
Barry Sanders did things on the football field, that make my back hurt in my dreams. You watched the Lions back then just to see what Barry would do next, and he consistently raised the bar, every single time he touched the ball. He was that electric, and that impressive. He was a wrecking ball, with insane acceleration and agility. He truly was a one of a kind athlete.
Barry was as amazing of a person off the field as he was on the field. Incredibly kind and humble....and I was fortunate to befriend him for a while. He actually said to me directly on a dance floor where i met him out at a club... "Damn Larry...you've got some moves." One of the greatest things ever said to me. We were so lucky to watch him as our running back... #20 THE GOAT...without a doubt!
Surprised he was at the club and not in bed! That’s an awesome story, though. I’d tell it at every holiday, bbq, and birthday party for the rest of my life haha
@mikefarran3237 thanks man...honestly it truly was even better than that. I won't go into it but Barry was very chill at the club, super kind, no drinks...but friends were coming up to me and going "what the hell man?!! ...you hanging with Barry!"
Not only was Barry the Best RB ever. He was probably also the classiest player of all time!! All those touchdowns and he never spiked the football. Always giving the ball to a ref. And one year he was about to set a record but he pulled himself out of the game so his backup could play in the game. He was one of a kind. My favorite player of all time period!!
The most well articulated observation you made here is the fact that he didn’t just simply get away from defenders with talent/skill… He literally embarrassed entire teams full of the best players on the planet. Like, what Barry did to them makes you think about summer time outside all day and all the aunts and uncles forced the 17 year old big cousins to let the kids play too.
As a postal worker during the 90s, I saw thousands of fan mail sent to Sanders addressed @ the now imploded Silverdome in Pontiac, MI, which was part of our mail distribution region. Most were from youngsters all over the US who had spent quite a bit of time decorating and coloring their envelopes in the hopes that theirs would stand out so that Barry would take notice and read their letters inside. Many were quite artfully good, and I enjoyed seeing them.
Barry Sanders is the greatest running back of all time. 100% effort every play. And he never spiked the ball or danced in the endzone, let alone anywhere else on the field. He simply handed the ball to a referee after each touchdown. Pure class.
@@jesses5463 What an ignorant comment. Sanders had 99 career rushing touchdowns another 10 receiving. Your words project that of a young troll that doesn't know history, or a fan of a Lions' divisional rival that was seen getting embarrassed many times over in this video. I'm not from Detroit, I have never been there, & I've never been a fan of their teams. But, I can appreciate greatness from afar.
@@enmitygauged44 That's less than 10 rushing TDs a year. That's not all that impressive when you're talking about all time greats. Which divisional foe exactly? You mean like the Packers who held Barry Sanders to negative yards in a playoff game? Actually, have you ever taken the time to review his playoff performances? Lol, I'm positive that I am more familiar with Barry than you are.
@@jesses5463 Think about what you said. 99 touchdowns isn't that impressive. You also pointed out they took him out inside the 20. So he didn't play in the red zone and STILL scored 99 touchdowns. And that doesn't impress you? Which by the way 99 touchdowns puts him in the top 10 all-time. He is also 4th in all-time rushing yards. and the guys before him played in more games. E. Smith (226) Payton (190) Gore (241) Sanders (153). All while playing for a horrible team with only one weapon. With all 11 defenders watching him on every play. And that does not impress you. Wow. I thought you said you knew about Barry Sanders?
@@jesses5463 And since you decided to bring up the Packers I'd like to point out Barry Sanders had 384 carries for 2,059 yards and scored 7 touchdowns in 19 games versus the Packers in his career. Averaging 5.36 yards per carry, 108 yards a game. But tell me again about the 1 time out of 19 tries that the Packers stopped him.
Being a lifelong Vikings fan from the 60's, I LOVED to watch Barry destroy defenses. Too bad they were often the Vikings, but I was privileged to be able to see him play often. I wanted the Lions to lose of course, but wanted Barry to break all the records. He was incredible.
Vikings fan here too, yes that one game he had like 20 carries, 225 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Vikings were usually pretty good at containing him, but not that day. Those Vikings highlights are from the same game. 😂😂
He was so incredible. He could stop on a dime like no other, his only goal was to score EVERY play, and he had that unreal burst of speed once he got loose. Such a legend.
Wasn't a Lions fan but a huge Sanders fan. He got ran down quite a bit but he could change directions in a blink. I think he actually got faster towards the end of his career.❤
I watched every one of these games live on TV. We all knew the Lions were probaly going to lose but we tuned in to see what Barry would do. He made it exciting.
As a detroit native, who grew up watching Barry. I LOVE seeing first reactions to him after the fact. Yes he was that good live. And yeah I feel bad for those that didn't get to experience this first hand.
Don't apologize; we watch these reactions to see you be amazed by things we already know. We lived this; it was such a fun time (musically too). Great reaction!
Instantaneous acceleration, like he had rocket assist. Top speed exceeding all but a very few who were able to run him down from behind. Incredible balance, shifty and fakey broken field running, sudden side-to-side displacement. His leg strength must have been way off the charts.
Walter Payton was my guy growing up and then along came Barry. The man averaged 5.0 yard per carry for his CAREER. Sanders was unreal and the scary part is what he could have been had his career not been wasted in Detroit.
Barry is my favorite running back. This reaction was extremely enjoyable, and I had no problem with the rewinds, actually I'm glad you did. Great reaction, I'm used to you doing Harry Mack back in the day.
This guy and Walter Payton are my all time favorites. I grew up watching them Sundays and thanksgiving. Just beautiful watching how they ran. Fast but like floating.
Wasn't that era such a great time. I'm from Detroit and also lived outside of Chicago. Went to Soldier Field in 1981 and 1982 for the Lions vs. Bears matchup. Witnessed greatness from both Walter Payton and Billy Simms. Amazing running backs, so special to watch. Then Barry came along, and he is a one in a billion talent. So smooth, so fast, and so elusive in his running style. It was a pleasure to watch him at the Silverdome and on the road. Great memories indeed!
Never was a Lions fan; but Sanders was amazing! Everyone at the time knew the Lions only had 1 threat & HE still got loose;; beauty, grace and power. Awesome personality as well.
Barry said his explosiveness is a credit to his father making him carry bundles of shingles up a shaky ladder to help his roofing company… This is why there will never be another Barry
If you pay attention, in almost every highlight, at least two players trip over each other. He was such a talent. It's a shame he retired in his prime. He'd have shattered every rushing record imaginable.
You need to find the video where Sport Science did a thing on Barry Sanders breaking down how he could make all those cuts and juke moves. His ankles are basically one of a kind in how they function. I remember Bruce Smith I think it was, or Reggie White stating tackling Barry Sanders was like trying to tackle 5 ball bearings that were moving in different directions at the same time. Because his upper body is going one way, hips another and his legs yet a third way. Plus, his brute leg drive was devastating. If you went low to tackle him, you were asking for a concussion from his thighs blasting you in the head
Barry wasn’t the fastest but he was the quickest most twitchy player I’ve ever watched. Man I’m always excited when someone discovers him for the first time…brings me straight back to watching him live! I can’t even imagine what he would have produced on a top tier team.
Foolish. Ahh Barry ran a 4.37. (Mike Vick ran a 4.37) Darrel Green was the fastest db. Deon Sanders ran a 4.29 So Barry was fast asf. Emmit Smith ran a 4.55 but didn’t have to slash and cut as much cause he had the greatest line in that era. What you see is him exerting most of his energy and stamina juking and cutting back so by time he got free he had little left in the tank.
@@shadik6903 Never said he wasn't fast af, said he wasn't the fastest. A point you conceded in the opening line of your reply. Barry was a beast, its a shame he had juke all the time because he ran behind a pretty mediocre O-line. Defense met him in the backfield a ton.
💯. I'm grateful that there is footage (albeit poor quality) of his junior year at OSU. THAT was a good team with a good line...and Barry AVERAGED over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns PER GAME, broke pretty much every RB record in the books, and in every game OSU was winning comfortably Barry only played 3 quarters. So at least we have a small taste of what it might have looked like if Barry played on a good pro team. On a bad team, he was virtually unstoppable; on a good team he was literally unstoppable.
@@johnweaver7246 You said he wasn't the fastest. Trust me he was at that time in the league. You just see him exerting a lot of his energy East and West but if he had North South runs just straight through a hole he would have enough energy to burn the whole team. So all the lateral movement and jukes and everything and still have juice to break a long run is what made him the most incredible back. He was the fastest Back. Emmit Smith ran a 4.55. However better line and North South runner but he wasn't even as close to as fast as Barrry. He just saved more energy with a better line.
Long time Lions fan here, so a bit of a homer here but Barry was absolute class for the 10 seasons he played. Always played hard, ran hard and had the quickest shoulders, hips and feet of any running back I've seen live or on film. Those last top 2 plays were against New England and Dallas who always had good defences in the 90's. What I liked about him most is he let his play embarrass you, but NEVER did an over the top celebration when he scored, just a simple toss of the ball to ref and got mobbed by his teammates. I just wish we weren't such a shit team back when he played, he retired because the team never challenged for anything.
Imagine watching this guy on the lions, Emmitt Smith with the cowboys, Lawrence Taylor with the Giants, Deon Sanders with the falcons, Steve Young, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice with the niners, Chris Carter, Charles Haley, and Dan Marino all in the same weekend? Then you had Michael Jordan and company by late fall and early winter. That was the 90s.
I'm saying this as a Detroit fan that Barry was a blast to watch but the Lions were a shit football team when he played. Football is a team sport. If I could chose between a Super Bowl win or to watch Barry's greatness for a season I would choose a Super Bowl. Thank GOD we had the Red Wings in the 90's.
Always thought Riggins was also fun to watch. And Larry Csonka. Maybe not for the flash, but for the sheer punishment. Christian Okoye also comes to mind.
Though he is an extraordinary athlete/ person on and off the field, never celebrating a touchdown showed his true character. Thankful to see him play multiple times at the Silver Dome.
Barry was the best. I had season tickets for his whole career. He never embarrassed the defense. they all knew what they were up against. How he saw those openings in a crowd of players I would never figure out.
Was truly a treat to get to watch this man in real time . Barry is the best running back ever in my opinion. lol you should watch his college highlights he was at OSU WILDING .
My absolute goat, was so fun watching him while growing up, not even a Lions fan but never missed a televised game he was in and even if I didn’t get the games where I live that’s the highlight I would wait for on Sportscenter every Sunday night. Also most humble superstar you will ever see, was lucky enough to meet him a couple of years ago and he was such a nice guy.
Barry was so much fun to watch. I enjoyed watching him when he won the Heisman in 1988 at Oklahoma State University. He was such an unassuming and humble guy
That 1988 season by Barry was just so insane. He had 2850 yards rushing and 42 TDs in 12 games that year including the bowl game. That's 238 rushing yards and 3.5 rushing TDs per game. If including his receiving, kick and punt return yards and TDs as well he had 3474 all purpose yards and 44 TDs in those 12 games which is 290 yards and 3.67 TDs per game.
Barry Sanders wasn't on my home team or on one of my favorite teams. But when he retired early, I was so mad because I knew I would never see another running back like him in my lifetime. I believe most football fans were like me. I didn't care if he didn't play on my favorite team, just watching Barry Sanders play was a thrill of a lifetime.
Great reaction video. I am delighted to watch people's reactions to things that I saw in real time. So you mentioned the horse-collar tackle. This was only implemented in 2004 after a run if injuries. Back then, it was one of the only ways to tackle a guy like Barry. If they had that rule in place back then, he probably would have unbeatable records. That and the fact that, as others mentioned, he was the offense. The O-line he had for years was hot garbage. That is why you see so many backfield hits. He just happened to be able to break them. The O-line couldn't effectively open holes for him so he would need to change direction on a dime. Some of the most impressive running plays I have ever seen are Barry Sanders 4 yard runs that should have been 6 yard losses. Yes Barry Sanders is the greatest running back I have ever seen.
As a massive Cowboys fan… I grew up with the Triplets… Aikman, Irvin and Smith… I’m a big fan of Emmitt Smith, the complete football player. That being said… Barry Sanders is the best there ever was. I also love that you’re a Peterson fan… he ran like a wild horse, stepping out of tackles and whatnot. Thanks for the reaction!
This is not really true. Kevin Glover and Lomas Brown were perennial pro-bowlers. And they had a really good passing game with Herman Moore, Perriman, Morton.
@@profsteve3Herman Moore was an amazing blocking WR too. You can see him in so many of these highlights. The rest of Barry’s line was good too. Multiple guys that left after Barry retired went to Pro Bowls and won Super Bowls with the Patriots, Bucs, and Steelers. Everyone compares them to the Cowboys and that’s unfair to those guys.
@@zimmermanj4 The issue wasn't that they didn't 'have' and offensive line. Barry only played one season with a healthy offensive line throughout the year. So, it's kind of a difficult question to answer. As stated multiple are top shelf linemen over their careers. They just weren't assembled on the field all the time over Barry's career.
@@bettyrose959 Proof? Glover started 16 games every season of Sander's career but two. Brown started 14 or more 9 seasons. 1990 their o-line starters all played 14-16 games. '91 4 starters played 14 or more games. '93 4 of the 5 started 15 or more games. '94 the starters started all 16. '95 5 starters played 14+ games. '96 4 starters played 15+. '97 they started 14+ w/ 3 starting all 16. '98 4 started 13+ w/ 3 starting all 16. I don't know how much healthier you can reasonably expect football players to be over a season. No off. line has ever been 'assembled on the field all the time' over 5 seasons, let alone 10 seasons.
You always had to watch, because he could pull off something amazing at any time. 😀 Not surprised that last play was #1 - half of the Cowboys defense took a shot at tackling him, and all of them failed.
Barry was my guy in the 90s! His spin move was just beautiful to watch. Dude's legs were like tree trunks, he was so powerful yet graceful at the same time.
i grew up watching this man and i am glad he resonates to this day. watching him was nerve wracking because you didn't know he was going to do so he was a master improviser.
I watched Berry my whole life. He spent his whole career with us. I felt sorry for him. He poured his guts out for this team but was never given enough tools to get the job done. Poor choices in coaches and tight purse strings did us in. We coulda been a contenda!! If anyone deserved a trophy it was Berry. He’s a real stand up guy and still lives in Detroit What a pleasure it was to watch him again and watching your reactions.
My favorite thing about Sanders is how humble he was. He made these incredible plays and never celebrated, danced, spiked the ball, or looked for the camera. He just went back to work like a true professional. Calvin Johnson, another brilliant Detroit player, was the same way. Class acts.
Barry is the best runningback in NFL history IMO. His agility and his ability hit his top speed so quickly was unreal. He was so humble as well. If he didn't retired he would have has 20,000 rushing yards easy. If Barry Sanders had Emmitt Smith's offensive line, I can't begin to fathom the amount of yards he would have gained.
IMO, Barry Sanders is the most exciting player to ever play the game. The Top 50 video above only captures runs he broke for large gains. His average runs, those for only a few yards, were every bit as impressive as these were. He made other players miss tackles -- eluding defenses -- in ways no one else could even imagine. We are so fortunate to have had the privilege of seeing him play. To me, he is the greatest athletic genius of our time.
Going on 3 decades since he retired I've yet to see anyone who could shake defenders outta their shoes like Barry. He was magic with the ball in his hand.
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What a treat it was for the teams of the old NFC Central to get Bucco Bruce in the creamsicle uniforms twice a year.
The debate has been - and always should be - Barry vs. Bo. That's Mt. Everest for me. Barry and Bo. Barry ran for 2000+ yards, his LAST YEAR !! ... for one of the historically WORST teams EVER !!
I love you, because of the Browns comment :D
Barry has ball bearings where other people have ankles. His cutbacks are insane.
There is one sort where the GOAT'S nickname is The Greatest, and no ine says no. Imagine if LeBron wasn't just the top scorer, but if he made more free throw points than the next plays has points. See Wayne Gretzsly.
This highlight reel may be a compilation of Barry's longest 50 plays but I'm not sure that its his 50 greatest plays. I remember so many of what may be his greatest runs were 2 yard gains that he changed from being a 7 yard loss where he escaped, juked, stiff-armed and bounced off the entire defensive team to escape from their clutches.
Barry Sanders played for terrible teams which never had a great quarterback and the offensive lines weren't elite either. Defenses would focus on stopping him and dare the Lions to throw the ball and yet he still compiled massive yardage. You were commenting on how "fast" he was, and while he had good wheels I don't know if you could say that he had elite speed as you could see him get run down on many of his longer runs. But what he had better than everyone else was world class acceleration from 0-top speed...he could stop on a dime, force the defenders to stop, and then he would blast away from them because they couldn't match his acceleration. His vision and anticipation was incredible and due to his stature his low center of gravity coupled with incredible balance and foot-speed made it incredibly difficult to take him down. Hands down the greatest running back ever and I loved Adrian Peterson too (Emmitt not so much - always thought he was overrated and I was a Cowboys fan)
Barry was quite emotional last week when the Lions unveiled a beautiful statue of him at Ford Field. Well deserved!!!
He earned that statue. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🥰🥰 🦁
@@Desaundrea He sure did earn it.
Yeah he almost cracked a smile
Hell yes. Barry is up there with MJ and I don't care that he only ever won 1 playoff game, cuz it's just not possible for one player in football, to take over in games and will your team to victory like MJ could on the basketball court. The athleticism. The pure artestry and poetry in motion. How you never wanted to miss a single down when he was on the field, cuz even if a a defense had somehow held him in check for 3 quarters, you just knew that sooner or later he'd do some shit that wasn't supposed to be humanly possible and embarrass hall of fame defenders, sometimes making them look like high schoolers... On the regular. Top 50? They could easily make a top 100 most amazing Barry Sanders runs and each one would still drop your jaw in some way shape or form. Some of the memorable ones went for 0 or even negative yards, believe it or not. When he got in the zone... Man you were in for a treat and the defense in for a VERY long day. And he was also the most humble football player you'd ever see and among the stars he was also on that point in a league of his own.
I'm a 49ers fan, but I was a HUGE Barry Sanders fan.
Insulting they didn't do it sooner.
Barry Sanders is the greatest running back who ever stepped on the football field. He was so athletic, soft spoken, and respectful. He is the total package.
Walter Payton
@@rfd339Maybe. Why him tho?
Oh yea. Now I remember.
@rfd339 fair, I think there's a good argument for both. Maybe Jim brown as well, but those 3 are for sure the tippy top with a wide margin below
@@danday9697 true but the conversation needs Emit Smith too. Over17000 yards rushing..
Barry Sanders was incredible. He is such a classy and quiet spoken guy. He never spiked the football after scoring a touchdown - he simply handed the ball to ref. Total class. Quit in after his age 30 season after rushing for more than 15k yards in his career; he quit while he was on top; Barry averaged 5 yards per carry - crazy.
Man.. I'm 44 y.o. and what a time to be alive as a kid.. Watching Barry, Prime Time, Jordan, & Bo Jackson... We were spoiled!
Don't forget griffey. Tyson. Yeah that was an amazing time
Plus all the dope ass shows and music.
Barry Sanders on Thanksgiving Day was a National Treasure.
Randy moss, Jerry Rice, LT, so many monsters back then.
Hulk Hogan
Jk 😂😂
Barry was the best runningback in history in my opinion. The guy was unbelieveable, and he was so humble it was remarkable to see a guy whos so good but never had an ego, at all. He never did any showboating, he didnt spike the ball, he always calmly handed it to the ref and went to the bench as calm as it gets. This was always my favorite thing about him.
If he had the Cowboys OL and a half decent QB like Smith did, his stats would never be touched. he would've probably played a few more seasons as well.
@metaluzc bro most people don't even realize his o-line was just average.
Emmits? Have you ever seen an Emmit highlight reel? NO, as its really an OL highlight reel. @@mmmidnight1812
Agreed. It was always electric to watch him play, and I do believe he is the best running back ever. His agility and vision was unparralelled. Yes, it is too bad that the rest of the Lions (and their owners/management at the time) were mediocre at best (for the most part, and I say this as a Lions fan). Even with how good he was, he couldn't carry the entire team to the superbowl and he eventually retired early while at the top of his game.
He acted like he been there before
Welcome to the world of Barry, my brother. Yes, i saw him in the 90's and i agree with you; he is the very best. I'm not old enough to have seen Jim Brown. But i saw Walter: probably the best all-around football player of any RB. I saw Emmit: amazing talent and his longevity and love for the game are unmatched among RBs. I saw Earl: the most powerful and fearless RB i've ever seen. I saw Bo: the greatest athlete of all the RBs. I saw Dorsett, OJ, Dickerson, AP, LT....all true masters of the RB craft. But Barry was truly just better than any of them; no one ever brought as much skill and mastery to the RB position as him. Even though he was the smallest man on the field, he was virtually untacklable and often untouchable. Barry was HIM.
2nd this
When you said "killed this guy right here"...."this guy" was John Lynch, a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest tackling safeties of all time. He also breaks a tackle by Mike Singletary later in the clip. He didn't just embarrass other players and teams, he embarrassed some of the all-time greats. The Vikings used to make their d-lineman chase chickens in preparation for Barry when they would play the Lions because no one could replicate him in practice. To me, he is the greatest to ever do it.
That is exactly why I rate Barry Sanders as the greatest football player I've ever watched.
@@russcarvertruthjedi259 He's the second greatest, but to a player who played a different position - wide receiver.
You beat me to this comment. He also embarrassed HOF Brooks, Barber and Sapp on an all time great defense.
He is the best Runner I have ever seen. the GOAT RB for me will always be Sweetness, but NOBODY could run like Barry, not even BO, and No one was like Bo
@@bigmike2464 It took 5 people to bring WP down. Bo could run circles around everyone on the field. Barry had eyes in the back of his head.
The greatest of all time. When Emmitt broke the record, he said he had to thank Barry for quitting, because he wouldn't have been able to catch him if he'd kept playing. Dude was different.
Yup sanders was the best and have record for most yards ever by far but retired early and retired on top of his game
@@alansnow1129yep!! And he had no signs of slowing down. He had an easy 3 years left, even with the mediocre O line he had at the end..
What might have been if not for what happened to Andelsek and Utley..
If Barry and Emmitt switched O lines, Emmitt wouldn't have had half the yards, and Barry's record would stand for generations. There is only one GOAT, and in my mind, it's Barry Sanders.
@@JamieNorcrossexactly right
Please stop with this. Yes, Emmitt had the better line, but Sanders did not have a bunch of scrubs blocking for him.@@JamieNorcross
Barry Sanders is to this date the greatest RB ever. The Lions were always a mediocre team when he played for them with a subpar OL. There used to be a debate comparing Barry to Emmitt Smith. What a joke. In an interview with the late, great Gale Sayers, he was asked what he thought of the comparison. He said if Barry had Emmitt’s OL he would have rushed for over 2000 yds multiple times. Barry is such a humble person, he even sat out at the end of a game to let the backup get some time even though he would have won that years rushing title. Not like his counterpart who had to mark and save every TD he ever recorded. He is the epitome of a selfless football player and human, what a LEGEND!
Jim Brown. No debate. Played when the rules allowed defenders to practically kill offensive players. Barry definitely second.
Barry's the GOAT. He made defenders look stupid at least once a game but never rubbed it in or celebrated in the end zone. He was always humble and acted like he had been there before.
He didn’t do that cuz he was humble. He did it cuz he felt it was more insulting to the other team to act like it was so easy that it wasn’t even worth a celebration.
@@NoctemAeternusMusic The way I remember him saying it is that it was his job. He was supposed to be doing what he was doing and celebrating the fact that he did his job right would have been silly.
@@NoctemAeternusMusicnot sure where you got that from or if that’s how you feel about it but that’s not what Barry’s thought process is. You can tell what kind of person he is just from listening to him talk and it’s always been that way from his college days to now. He realizes everyone is human and there’s no need to put others down. He was doing what he loved and got paid to do it. That’s why he stopped when he did, the love and drive for a crappy organization was going away
so full of crap@@NoctemAeternusMusic
He didn't have to celebrate, he'd just give the defense that thousand yard death stare he always had.
Greatest running back ever! He retired when he was on top. He would’ve destroyed all records if he would’ve continued, and especially if he’d have played for a better team. Plus, he was very humble. Score a TD and hand the ball to the ref, with no showboating.
That's the thing I remember the most about this guy. Never ever spiked the ball after a play. To this day I still resent Mike Lupica for saying that his retirement was a ploy to get more money. And to this day I don't think Lupica has ever apologized for those words. Never have I seen an NFL player with more dignity than Barry Sanders.
@@Azabaxe80 you said it all. 😊
@@Azabaxe80 Definitely was not about the money. Barry had intentionally got underpaid so that they could have more money to get a better line and more offense then just him. But of course they got junk QB after junk QB, never addressed the line or the abysmal TE situation. Barry just reached a point that he wanted to be able to play with his grand kids, and he knew he was never going to win a ring, so he retired
If Barry Sanders had played for the Cowboys he would have had 25k yards and multiple rings.
I always loved that about him. He just handed the ball to the ref and went back to the sidelines. Anyway, what could he possibly add by doing a silly dance or spiking the ball? The runs were works of art that would’ve only been cheapened by showboating
He was always professional and a gentleman. Never celebrated in the end zone and acted the fool. He showed how bad ass he was by his actions!
Thats because even in 2024, he's 1 of 1, no there has been no one like him still. lol He could do that when no one else can match your skills. haha
As a Packers fan, I saw so much of him. My god he was scary, every single handoff was a hold your breath moment. Every single one. The clips you were watching were heavy on long runs and he obviously had breakaway speed. You talked about that first step cutback he did. It was often talked about how the most exciting parts of his runs took place within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. He could make a 3 yard run be one of the craziest holy shit what did I just see runs you’ve ever seen. He was terrifyingly great. Nobody was actually embarrassed by him because everyone - everyone! - got fooled by him. And he never spend the ball after a TD. He was the all time hand the ball to the red and act like you’ve been there guy.
I completely agree and cosign that. What made him so amazing is the short in between like you mentioned. He was the most elusive player I've ever seen on a consistent basis and it really isn't that close.
I agree his best highlights only went for a couple yds
Respect from a Lions fan for this take. And yes, his “best” runs often netted anywhere from 0 to 5 yards lol…strange truth.
Barry's total career yardage running horizontally may have exceeded his yardage running vertically.
Someone went back and added his north/south travel on his runs one season. It was crazy ridiculous like another 600 yards that doesn't count to his rushing yards gained. Barry earned more yards than most running backs have in a season.
Plain and simple, I’ve never seen a running back finesse defenders with more style while simultaneously making huge plays.
Imagine if Barry would have played behind an O-line like Dallas had for Emmett. He'd still be running.
Class Act, never spiked the ball or did any kind of celebration. He just would score and then hand the ball to the ref. My all time Favorite player.
I was just going to type that,… Does anybody remember when he broke Rod Woodson’s ankle and never touched him?
The true GOATs never do. The only time i can remember Jerry Rice spiking the ball was during the last of his 49ers Championship reign when he has Deon Sanders on the team. Jerry had just scored and Deon ran over and told him to spike it. The announcers made a huge deal about it, and how much "fun' Rice was having
In all the years I have watched football. I have never seen a Running Back run like this man. Just unbelievable.
Never, craziest part to me is he moved like that on that old astroturf and kept his knees and achilles in tact. He's unbelievable
Gale Sayers was very similar
The greatest and also the most humble player ever in the NFL IMO. He never spiked the ball after a touchdown, but would casually hand the ball to the ref, pure class!!
This is almost hard to believe but he ran for 2,628 yards in 11 games in 1988 at Oklahoma State. That 238.9 yards per game
The first time I ever saw Barry was when he was at Oklahoma St. He ran for over 300 yards and I think scored 5 touchdowns. After each one he tossed the ball to the nearest official and went and sat on the bench by himsilf. Can you imagine any athlete in any sport today being so humble and unassuming?
And he often sat out the 4th quarter when OSU had huge leads.
Greatest Heisman season ever
If Sanders had played for a good team his career would have lasted longer.
Yep. Notice how almost every tackle was him getting dragged down from behind. Those types of tackles are known for causing all sorts of hip and knee injuries. It was only a matter of time before he suffered a career ending injury, and he knew it, so he retired at his peak.
@@joho0 that isnt why he retired at all. He hated the coach of the current team, their ability to compete for a superbowl, and had some dislike for the owners. It wasnt until recently that Barry started to show up around the team. He was a beloved player for our state, and im glad that Barry and Calvin both have come back into the fold of the Lions. About time our superstars are treated as such by the franchise.
If he hadn't quit, his career would have lasted longer.
@@joho0 You're saying he retired in order to avoid a career ending injury? You know how stupid that sounds. Barry rarely took clean hits like most running backs which is why he was as durable as he was.
@harrysatchel Tony M. rewrote the definition of complete bust.
I grew up watching him play. Was the one bright spot of that godforsaken team. He was so quick, so solid, such incredible balance, a rare treat to watch. And his speed, he’d lead with his head. Was almost like watching a race horse come up to speed. I don’t think we will ever see another player quite like him. He was like a real life video game.
I was at #1, '91 playoffs vs. Cowboys. What is not in the clip, and what will stick in my head forever, is there were literally ~6 Cowboys on the ground when that play was over. They were all looking at each other, laughing and shaking their heads. 6 professional football players beat so badly they were on the ground. Every time he touched the football was an adventure. Thank you Barry.
I was blessed to have seen Barry play live in the Silverdome a number of times. Whenever he touched the ball you held your breath! The true GOAT
I lived near KC and my family is all from Detroit. Because we would go to Detroit a lot as a kid, I got to see Payton, Barry, and Bo Jackson. Payton when he played the Lions, and Bo when he played the Chiefs. Growing up in the 80s and 90s was a blessing
I was lucky to man my dad lived ten minute from the silver dome I seen him many times
So fun to see you enjoying Barry! He NEVER stopped. When he got caught, he'd just keep running and make them really work to actually bring him down. My mom met him a couple of times and said he is just the nicest guy with the greatest smile.
A few things, from someone that watched during his time: Barry Sanders obviously had that amazing speed, but those sidesteps and hops, and that amazing balance was his magic. He could freeze the defense with those moves. And look at his muscular legs. Sometimes he seemed like all legs; just moving side to side and bursting away with speed. He was like Houdini in the backfield too. The play may have been to go wide left, but with his moves and his vision, he could turn it into a dance to full right and be GONE for the TD.
Something a highlight reel won't show is how, for many years, he did not have the team around him, so he'd get the ball in the backfield, and there'd be defenders disrupting that play, right away. And he would dance, hop, and fight in amazing displays, sometimes only to reach the line of scrimmage, or maybe gain some few yards. It was an incredible show, every play.
As for any other running back who might compete with him?
People could justly argue Walter Payton is right up there. The "Sweetness" himself.
And I think the same argument could be made for the great Jim Brown.
Definitely worth checking out their highlights to see for yourself. But no one could truly claim anyone is definitely over Sanders, IMHO. Only potential equals. Or 1A and 1B, perhaps.
100% agree with this comment. These highlight reels show his big gain plays, what they don’t show are all the plays he made where he only gained 5-10 yards down field, but ran twice that much from side to side because he did not have the line to support him. In fact, for most of his career he WAS the Lions offense, and the fact that he still had so many yards each season without a WR threat to pull heat off of him is a testament to his abilities. There are very few RBs that I would rate up there and place beside him.
Also he played on that horrible astro turf. Just imagine all the wear and tear it did to his legs. Like playing every game on concrete.
His greatest attribute was his feet never stopped moving in traffic. That really helped him to not lose his stride.
Not a Detroit fan, but I loved watching him play. So classy and humble. Never show boated. Never spiked the ball. Overall class act.
Barry was the first pro i ever met in person and sparked my love for football as a kid. What Barry could do was magic. Uncoachable footwork that only he could pull off. That little shoulder shimmy would catch so many defenders looking while hed plant a foot and be 10 yards past them before they could even react. This was the peak era of the NFL.
He had probably the most balanced center of gravity of anyone to ever play
Loved the reaction! Michigander here, and yeah, Barry is definitely the best thing to ever come out of Detroit! 🦁💙
Barry Sanders was awesome. My favorite football player was Walter Payton. He preceeded Barry and was a running back as well. Walter never backed down from a hit or a tackle and actually liked hitting defensive players trying to tackle him. He had a long career and was seldom injured. Everyone should check out Walter Payton.
Sweetness was incredible!
Yes, please check out Walter Payton!!
Sweetness was amazing. Gone to young
My #1 also! Barry and Jim Brown. My top 3. Watched them all!
Yup Barry #2 for me only to Payton
How can you hate this team?? I've been a fan since 1983 and Barry was just plain magical! If he didn't have 5 guys on him..he wasn't going to be stopped. And sometimes even five guys couldn't do it. He's truly nothing short of MAGIC!! He will always be my favorite running back. 💙 🦁 🏈
You really can't overstate how good Barry was. Like, for one thing, how many RBs even have 50 highlight reel worthy plays in a career? And this is just scratching the surface for Barry. The guy did this kinda thing in practically _every_ game. And on top of that, he was basically the Lions' only weapon for most of his career. Everyone was gunning for him. Everyone was game planning to stop him, loading the box on every down, and he still torched them on a regular basis. If he'd played as long as Emmitt Smith played he'd be #1 in yardage by a light year.
I grew up watching Barry... Did you notice in last video you played.. vs. Dallas... There were literally 7.... count them... SEVEN defenders laying in a pile... One grasping air, another looks like he's in the desert crawling for water and another guy holding the back of his knee.... absolutely beautiful running. Thank you Barry... You made me love watching the Lions.
Could you imagine Barry nowadays, he'd break the internet every week. Still have never seen anyone who could shake defenders like Barry. Dude was 1 of 1, amazing
He was the only reason I watched the Lions!
IKR, I always remember that one. If I were a coach and we're watching film, I'd show this to the team and say, "this say it all, he was a man among boys, hit the showers, nothing we could do about that, he's from another planet".
As a Life long Walter Payton fan, it’s still easy to admit, that Barry was the best pure Runner to ever play the game.
I’d still argue that Payton is the GOAT. But I wouldn’t argue hard. I loved watching Barry run. Even when it was against the Bears. Payton, Barry, Bo. My childhood hero’s.
It was a treat getting to watch him every Thanksgiving day during his career.
Not the fastest back of all time, but the speed at which he could switch directions was unmatched.
21:38 that's not just some guy, that's hall of famer John Lynch he juked out of his shoes
He also embarrassed Lynch in an earlier highlight in the creamsicle jerseys.
Sooner or later Barry embarrassed everybody he faced, from the Hall of Famers to 3rd stringers.
Barry made a living clowning hall of famers.
I got to see Barry ... he was, and still is, the best. Nobody could reverse and accelerate like him. The most elusive back ever.
The most dynamic runningback in the history of football.
Barry Sanders was the best running back, ever. He would get negative yardage on a lot of plays, but if he got his 20 touches, you could count on him breaking a few great plays. Growing up, I was a Lions fan until my hometown of Jacksonville got a team. I was lucky enough to get to see Barry play the Jaguars, live in Jax. I still have my Sanders jersey from the early 90s.
I had to smile this whole video. Barry Sanders is phenomenal. It brings me back to my teenage years when I used to love watching football. But I was a San Francisco 49ers fan still am.
Barry with niners w rice Montana super every year 😢
Barry with niners w rice Montana super every year 😢
Yeah. I had wet dreams of him coming to the Bay. Let's just say I doubt the Cowboys would have had their string of SBs. No one but no one had been able to stop the offense first with Joe and later Steve with Barry in the backfield. Not that we were lacking good RBs, just that Barry was in a league all his own and with the Niners front line and Jerry Rice demanding plenty attention on his own and receivers in general stretching the field, he would've put up Oklahoma days like numbers and Jerry's numbers would likely have been even more ridiculous as well. 🙂
Barry had the greatest combination of speed, power, and elusiveness ever.
His ability to see the path, change direction and accelerate to top speed in 3 steps is unmatched. He’s the real 🐐. Anyone that grew up watching him destroy their team every week knows better
I grew up in Minnesota and was a Vikings fan when Barry was dominating our division. I watched him embarrass some of my favorite players several times in one game. Such sweet pain.
@@thefunkybuddha69
Chicagoan here.
Will co-sign everything you said. Thanksgiving was always bittersweet. I think we got beat like 55-20 one year when the Bears were (are?) trash. Barry was absolutely amazing.
Packers fan and I concur. Could you imagine if he had the Cowboys offensive line
@@dominicschiro9939 yes sir! Big ol Larry Allen out there with Barry instead of Emmet! Nothing taken away from Emmet smith but his line definitely paved the way for him.
And all the other HOF’ers on those Dallas teams 😂
My fave athlete of all-time. You'll notice that he was tackled from behind a lot with the now illegal horse collar. Also, number 84, Herman Moore is a WR legend in Detroit. He shows up in these highlights throwing great blocks downfield.
Barry Sanders did things on the football field, that make my back hurt in my dreams. You watched the Lions back then just to see what Barry would do next, and he consistently raised the bar, every single time he touched the ball. He was that electric, and that impressive. He was a wrecking ball, with insane acceleration and agility. He truly was a one of a kind athlete.
Barry was as amazing of a person off the field as he was on the field. Incredibly kind and humble....and I was fortunate to befriend him for a while. He actually said to me directly on a dance floor where i met him out at a club... "Damn Larry...you've got some moves." One of the greatest things ever said to me. We were so lucky to watch him as our running back... #20 THE GOAT...without a doubt!
Surprised he was at the club and not in bed! That’s an awesome story, though. I’d tell it at every holiday, bbq, and birthday party for the rest of my life haha
@mikefarran3237 thanks man...honestly it truly was even better than that. I won't go into it but Barry was very chill at the club, super kind, no drinks...but friends were coming up to me and going "what the hell man?!! ...you hanging with Barry!"
That shake/shimmy/stutter juking and that low to the ground smooth stride that gaps the defenders w/each yard.
Not only was Barry the Best RB ever. He was probably also the classiest player of all time!! All those touchdowns and he never spiked the football. Always giving the ball to a ref. And one year he was about to set a record but he pulled himself out of the game so his backup could play in the game. He was one of a kind. My favorite player of all time period!!
The most well articulated observation you made here is the fact that he didn’t just simply get away from defenders with talent/skill… He literally embarrassed entire teams full of the best players on the planet. Like, what Barry did to them makes you think about summer time outside all day and all the aunts and uncles forced the 17 year old big cousins to let the kids play too.
As a postal worker during the 90s, I saw thousands of fan mail sent to Sanders addressed @ the now imploded Silverdome in Pontiac, MI, which was part of our mail distribution region. Most were from youngsters all over the US who had spent quite a bit of time decorating and coloring their envelopes in the hopes that theirs would stand out so that Barry would take notice and read their letters inside. Many were quite artfully good, and I enjoyed seeing them.
I was lucky enough to see him live. And on TV. As a Vikings fan, we feared him (but secretly were in awe)
Barry Sanders is the greatest running back of all time. 100% effort every play. And he never spiked the ball or danced in the endzone, let alone anywhere else on the field. He simply handed the ball to a referee after each touchdown. Pure class.
Most of the time they took him out in the red zone though, so he didn't have to worry about spiking the ball in the end zone all that much.
@@jesses5463 What an ignorant comment. Sanders had 99 career rushing touchdowns another 10 receiving. Your words project that of a young troll that doesn't know history, or a fan of a Lions' divisional rival that was seen getting embarrassed many times over in this video. I'm not from Detroit, I have never been there, & I've never been a fan of their teams. But, I can appreciate greatness from afar.
@@enmitygauged44 That's less than 10 rushing TDs a year. That's not all that impressive when you're talking about all time greats.
Which divisional foe exactly? You mean like the Packers who held Barry Sanders to negative yards in a playoff game? Actually, have you ever taken the time to review his playoff performances? Lol, I'm positive that I am more familiar with Barry than you are.
@@jesses5463 Think about what you said. 99 touchdowns isn't that impressive. You also pointed out they took him out inside the 20. So he didn't play in the red zone and STILL scored 99 touchdowns. And that doesn't impress you? Which by the way 99 touchdowns puts him in the top 10 all-time. He is also 4th in all-time rushing yards. and the guys before him played in more games. E. Smith (226) Payton (190) Gore (241) Sanders (153). All while playing for a horrible team with only one weapon. With all 11 defenders watching him on every play. And that does not impress you. Wow. I thought you said you knew about Barry Sanders?
@@jesses5463 And since you decided to bring up the Packers I'd like to point out Barry Sanders had 384 carries for 2,059 yards and scored 7 touchdowns in 19 games versus the Packers in his career. Averaging 5.36 yards per carry, 108 yards a game. But tell me again about the 1 time out of 19 tries that the Packers stopped him.
He ran so compact. No wasted movements. And on a break-away, he was like a locomotive gaining steam with each step!
His turbo boost is nutz!!!!!!
Barry Sanders wasnt just a running back, he was an inventor. He INVENTED holes he didnt just make them
Being a lifelong Vikings fan from the 60's, I LOVED to watch Barry destroy defenses. Too bad they were often the Vikings, but I was privileged to be able to see him play often. I wanted the Lions to lose of course, but wanted Barry to break all the records. He was incredible.
Same sentiment.. He always killed my Bucs. One game he had 2 80yd runs. Amazing player!
well good for you the Lions probably did lose. And I say that as a Detroit fan.
Vikings fan here too, yes that one game he had like 20 carries, 225 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Vikings were usually pretty good at containing him, but not that day. Those Vikings highlights are from the same game. 😂😂
He was so incredible. He could stop on a dime like no other, his only goal was to score EVERY play, and he had that unreal burst of speed once he got loose. Such a legend.
Was gonna say the stops were amazing, but how FAST he got back to top speed AFTER the stop on a dime... 🤯 That is all 😂
There is nothing more to add. The guy was amazing. Best rb in NFL history.
You'll never see better highlights from a running back. His balance, speed, elusiveness, power, and field vision are incomparable
Wasn't a Lions fan but a huge Sanders fan. He got ran down quite a bit but he could change directions in a blink. I think he actually got faster towards the end of his career.❤
93 - Top speed (oh well)
500 - acceleration
360 - vision
99 - break tackle
99 - balance
I watched every one of these games live on TV. We all knew the Lions were probaly going to lose but we tuned in to see what Barry would do. He made it exciting.
Exactly, Detroit sucks always will probably (and I'm from Michigan) but Barry was the only reason to watch them
when i was in 6-7 grade we all wanted to be Barry Sanders on the football field he was a outstanding player and we loved it..
Watching him live was even more electrifying!! Him and Emmitt competing for the rushing title was a blast to watch
Barry was one of the greatest. Poetry in motion is a perfect way to describe him.
"He was an escape artist." I've heard him described in many ways, but that's probably my favorite. 😆 Love it!
As a detroit native, who grew up watching Barry. I LOVE seeing first reactions to him after the fact. Yes he was that good live. And yeah I feel bad for those that didn't get to experience this first hand.
The only way to catch Barry Sanders was in a photo and it would be blurry
Don't apologize; we watch these reactions to see you be amazed by things we already know. We lived this; it was such a fun time (musically too). Great reaction!
This was a great era in the NFL.
Instantaneous acceleration, like he had rocket assist. Top speed exceeding all but a very few who were able to run him down from behind. Incredible balance, shifty and fakey broken field running, sudden side-to-side displacement. His leg strength must have been way off the charts.
Walter Payton was my guy growing up and then along came Barry. The man averaged 5.0 yard per carry for his CAREER. Sanders was unreal and the scary part is what he could have been had his career not been wasted in Detroit.
Saw this man play in his day. Hands down my favorite running back of all time. Phenomenal athlete and a class act.
Barry is my favorite running back. This reaction was extremely enjoyable, and I had no problem with the rewinds, actually I'm glad you did. Great reaction, I'm used to you doing Harry Mack back in the day.
This guy and Walter Payton are my all time favorites. I grew up watching them Sundays and thanksgiving. Just beautiful watching how they ran. Fast but like floating.
Agree! Barry was the best pure runner and Sweetness was the best all-around back IMO
Wasn't that era such a great time. I'm from Detroit and also lived outside of Chicago. Went to Soldier Field in 1981 and 1982 for the Lions vs. Bears matchup. Witnessed greatness from both Walter Payton and Billy Simms. Amazing running backs, so special to watch. Then Barry came along, and he is a one in a billion talent. So smooth, so fast, and so elusive in his running style. It was a pleasure to watch him at the Silverdome and on the road. Great memories indeed!
The way it looks like he’s floating when running is crazy 😮
Never was a Lions fan; but Sanders was amazing! Everyone at the time knew the Lions only had 1 threat & HE still got loose;; beauty, grace and power. Awesome personality as well.
Barry said his explosiveness is a credit to his father making him carry bundles of shingles up a shaky ladder to help his roofing company… This is why there will never be another Barry
Incredible!
And to think, he walked away from the game, still in his prime, with the all-time rushing yards record within his sights...astounding!
If you pay attention, in almost every highlight, at least two players trip over each other. He was such a talent. It's a shame he retired in his prime. He'd have shattered every rushing record imaginable.
The best. Period not only a great back. But a great person all around.
You need to find the video where Sport Science did a thing on Barry Sanders breaking down how he could make all those cuts and juke moves. His ankles are basically one of a kind in how they function. I remember Bruce Smith I think it was, or Reggie White stating tackling Barry Sanders was like trying to tackle 5 ball bearings that were moving in different directions at the same time. Because his upper body is going one way, hips another and his legs yet a third way. Plus, his brute leg drive was devastating. If you went low to tackle him, you were asking for a concussion from his thighs blasting you in the head
I was lucky enough to watch Barry in live games. He was the best.
Barry is the goat, he had great vision, balance, and elusiveness
Barry wasn’t the fastest but he was the quickest most twitchy player I’ve ever watched. Man I’m always excited when someone discovers him for the first time…brings me straight back to watching him live! I can’t even imagine what he would have produced on a top tier team.
Foolish. Ahh Barry ran a 4.37.
(Mike Vick ran a 4.37)
Darrel Green was the fastest db.
Deon Sanders ran a 4.29
So Barry was fast asf.
Emmit Smith ran a 4.55 but didn’t have to slash and cut as much cause he had the greatest line in that era.
What you see is him exerting most of his energy and stamina juking and cutting back so by time he got free he had little left in the tank.
@@shadik6903
Never said he wasn't fast af, said he wasn't the fastest. A point you conceded in the opening line of your reply.
Barry was a beast, its a shame he had juke all the time because he ran behind a pretty mediocre O-line.
Defense met him in the backfield a ton.
💯. I'm grateful that there is footage (albeit poor quality) of his junior year at OSU. THAT was a good team with a good line...and Barry AVERAGED over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns PER GAME, broke pretty much every RB record in the books, and in every game OSU was winning comfortably Barry only played 3 quarters. So at least we have a small taste of what it might have looked like if Barry played on a good pro team. On a bad team, he was virtually unstoppable; on a good team he was literally unstoppable.
@@johnweaver7246 You said he wasn't the fastest. Trust me he was at that time in the league. You just see him exerting a lot of his energy East and West but if he had North South runs just straight through a hole he would have enough energy to burn the whole team. So all the lateral movement and jukes and everything and still have juice to break a long run is what made him the most incredible back. He was the fastest Back. Emmit Smith ran a 4.55. However better line and North South runner but he wasn't even as close to as fast as Barrry. He just saved more energy with a better line.
Long time Lions fan here, so a bit of a homer here but Barry was absolute class for the 10 seasons he played. Always played hard, ran hard and had the quickest shoulders, hips and feet of any running back I've seen live or on film. Those last top 2 plays were against New England and Dallas who always had good defences in the 90's. What I liked about him most is he let his play embarrass you, but NEVER did an over the top celebration when he scored, just a simple toss of the ball to ref and got mobbed by his teammates. I just wish we weren't such a shit team back when he played, he retired because the team never challenged for anything.
No doubt, he is the best I ever saw. And was such a humble, quiet guy, too.
Imagine watching this guy on the lions, Emmitt Smith with the cowboys, Lawrence Taylor with the Giants, Deon Sanders with the falcons, Steve Young, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice with the niners, Chris Carter, Charles Haley, and Dan Marino all in the same weekend? Then you had Michael Jordan and company by late fall and early winter. That was the 90s.
I'm right there with you. The 90's were it, especially 90's NBA. Oh, you forgot Bo with the Raiders.
@@garfieldheathcliffe5535 there's more forgotten top tier talent from the 90s than there is in general right now.
I'm saying this as a Detroit fan that Barry was a blast to watch but the Lions were a shit football team when he played. Football is a team sport. If I could chose between a Super Bowl win or to watch Barry's greatness for a season I would choose a Super Bowl. Thank GOD we had the Red Wings in the 90's.
💯
Those were the years. All those men were touch as nails too. No one was soft. Head hunters were out there like Romanowski et el.
jim brown...oj simpson...gale sayers ..earl cambell...all are pretty impressive to watch...barry was the human highlight reel...
How about Corey Dillon? Marcus Allen?
thank you for including gale sayers. i get a lot of flack when i say in my opinion, he was better than walter payton.
Always thought Riggins was also fun to watch. And Larry Csonka. Maybe not for the flash, but for the sheer punishment. Christian Okoye also comes to mind.
Watching Lions games in the 90s was so joyous with that man on the field. He was an artist.
Though he is an extraordinary athlete/ person on and off the field, never celebrating a touchdown showed his true character. Thankful to see him play multiple times at the Silver Dome.
Barry was the best. I had season tickets for his whole career. He never embarrassed the defense. they all knew what they were up against. How he saw those openings in a crowd of players I would never figure out.
Barry said in an interview that his eyes being wide set gave him excellent peripheral vision
Was truly a treat to get to watch this man in real time . Barry is the best running back ever in my opinion. lol you should watch his college highlights he was at OSU WILDING .
My absolute goat, was so fun watching him while growing up, not even a Lions fan but never missed a televised game he was in and even if I didn’t get the games where I live that’s the highlight I would wait for on Sportscenter every Sunday night. Also most humble superstar you will ever see, was lucky enough to meet him a couple of years ago and he was such a nice guy.
Barry was so much fun to watch. I enjoyed watching him when he won the Heisman in 1988 at Oklahoma State University.
He was such an unassuming and humble guy
@harrysatchel true class
one of my earliest football memories is of barry torching wyoming in the holiday bowl that year.
That 1988 season by Barry was just so insane. He had 2850 yards rushing and 42 TDs in 12 games that year including the bowl game. That's 238 rushing yards and 3.5 rushing TDs per game.
If including his receiving, kick and punt return yards and TDs as well he had 3474 all purpose yards and 44 TDs in those 12 games which is 290 yards and 3.67 TDs per game.
@@markmccollough1017 Like I said - Fun to watch!!
Barry Sanders wasn't on my home team or on one of my favorite teams. But when he retired early, I was so mad because I knew I would never see another running back like him in my lifetime.
I believe most football fans were like me. I didn't care if he didn't play on my favorite team, just watching Barry Sanders play was a thrill of a lifetime.
Great reaction video. I am delighted to watch people's reactions to things that I saw in real time. So you mentioned the horse-collar tackle. This was only implemented in 2004 after a run if injuries. Back then, it was one of the only ways to tackle a guy like Barry. If they had that rule in place back then, he probably would have unbeatable records. That and the fact that, as others mentioned, he was the offense. The O-line he had for years was hot garbage. That is why you see so many backfield hits. He just happened to be able to break them. The O-line couldn't effectively open holes for him so he would need to change direction on a dime. Some of the most impressive running plays I have ever seen are Barry Sanders 4 yard runs that should have been 6 yard losses. Yes Barry Sanders is the greatest running back I have ever seen.
As a massive Cowboys fan… I grew up with the Triplets… Aikman, Irvin and Smith… I’m a big fan of Emmitt Smith, the complete football player. That being said…
Barry Sanders is the best there ever was.
I also love that you’re a Peterson fan… he ran like a wild horse, stepping out of tackles and whatnot.
Thanks for the reaction!
I remember when the cowboys got an offensive line 91 and the triplets started putting up stats that were respectable.
if Sanders would have had the Oline that Dallas had at that time I think hed have records that wouldnt be beat
@VanGTO49 we saw what Emmitt did without that Offensive line in his rookie season. Less yards than Randall Cunningham and 3.9 yrd per carry.
Barry Sanders was and still is the best ever. He had no offensive line , never a premier quarterback, but did consistently every week. The best ever
This is not really true. Kevin Glover and Lomas Brown were perennial pro-bowlers. And they had a really good passing game with Herman Moore, Perriman, Morton.
@@profsteve3Herman Moore was an amazing blocking WR too. You can see him in so many of these highlights.
The rest of Barry’s line was good too. Multiple guys that left after Barry retired went to Pro Bowls and won Super Bowls with the Patriots, Bucs, and Steelers. Everyone compares them to the Cowboys and that’s unfair to those guys.
@@zimmermanj4 The issue wasn't that they didn't 'have' and offensive line. Barry only played one season with a healthy offensive line throughout the year. So, it's kind of a difficult question to answer. As stated multiple are top shelf linemen over their careers. They just weren't assembled on the field all the time over Barry's career.
@@bettyrose959 Proof? Glover started 16 games every season of Sander's career but two. Brown started 14 or more 9 seasons. 1990 their o-line starters all played 14-16 games. '91 4 starters played 14 or more games. '93 4 of the 5 started 15 or more games. '94 the starters started all 16. '95 5 starters played 14+ games. '96 4 starters played 15+. '97 they started 14+ w/ 3 starting all 16. '98 4 started 13+ w/ 3 starting all 16. I don't know how much healthier you can reasonably expect football players to be over a season. No off. line has ever been 'assembled on the field all the time' over 5 seasons, let alone 10 seasons.
You always had to watch, because he could pull off something amazing at any time. 😀
Not surprised that last play was #1 - half of the Cowboys defense took a shot at tackling him, and all of them failed.
Barry was my guy in the 90s! His spin move was just beautiful to watch. Dude's legs were like tree trunks, he was so powerful yet graceful at the same time.
i grew up watching this man and i am glad he resonates to this day. watching him was nerve wracking because you didn't know he was going to do so he was a master improviser.
I watched Berry my whole life. He spent his whole career with us. I felt sorry for him. He poured his guts out for this team but was never given enough tools to get the job done. Poor choices in coaches and tight purse strings did us in. We coulda been a contenda!! If anyone deserved a trophy it was Berry. He’s a real stand up guy and still lives in Detroit What a pleasure it was to watch him again and watching your reactions.
My favorite thing about Sanders is how humble he was. He made these incredible plays and never celebrated, danced, spiked the ball, or looked for the camera. He just went back to work like a true professional. Calvin Johnson, another brilliant Detroit player, was the same way. Class acts.
Barry is the best runningback in NFL history IMO. His agility and his ability hit his top speed so quickly was unreal. He was so humble as well. If he didn't retired he would have has 20,000 rushing yards easy. If Barry Sanders had Emmitt Smith's offensive line, I can't begin to fathom the amount of yards he would have gained.
Like it or not it’s him or OJ. Dude broke 2000 in 14 games
Barry was, is and probably always will be the GOAT!
IMO, Barry Sanders is the most exciting player to ever play the game. The Top 50 video above only captures runs he broke for large gains. His average runs, those for only a few yards, were every bit as impressive as these were. He made other players miss tackles -- eluding defenses -- in ways no one else could even imagine. We are so fortunate to have had the privilege of seeing him play. To me, he is the greatest athletic genius of our time.
Going on 3 decades since he retired I've yet to see anyone who could shake defenders outta their shoes like Barry. He was magic with the ball in his hand.
Barry Sanders holds the NFL record for most yards lost behind the line of scrimmage. Some of those runs, alone, were a thing of beauty!