by Nathan Halfpenny

Created on: May 22, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Barry Sanders does not hold the NFL's all-time record for touchdowns in a career. He isn't the all-time leader in rushing yards and he never made it to the Super Bowl much less win it three times. Despite all of this, Barry Sanders is still the greatest running back to ever play football. Admittedly so, Emmitt Smith holds all of the previously mentioned records and was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXVIII. In addition, he also has the most games over 100 yards gained in a career with 78. Not to make light of any of the accomplishments Emmitt Smith had on the football field, but he was extremely fortunate in comparison to Barry Sanders. Smith played on a team overwhelmed with talent including two future Hall of Famer's in Michael Irvin and Troy Aikman. Smith played for a franchise, the Dallas Cowboys, that had a tradition of winning and an owner, Jerry Jones, obsessed with it. Sanders played for the Detroit Lions, a team that in a span of 34 years from 1957 to 1991 won one playoff game (ironically against Emmitt Smith's Dallas Cowboys). While Smith had the luxury of running behind an offensive line capable of opening a truck-sized hole, Sanders had to rely on pure talent to create his own running lanes. He popularized the spin move as a technique for running backs in the NFL and made countless numbers of would be tacklers look foolish demonstrating it. Sanders had the ability to make all 11 defenders on the field miss without actually going anywhere, Smith did not. Sanders was the type of player people paid to watch to see what he could do, Smith was the old reliable type of player. Smith was not flashy, relying on his offensive line to create his running lanes, Sanders could turn a seemingly broken play into highlight reel worthy touchdown run.

Smith is often credited as being the greatest running back in NFL history due to his statistical accomplishments. He is the all-time leader in rushing yards in a career with 18,355 as well as holding the record for the most touchdowns in a career with 164. These are two truly amazing statistics that speak to Emmitt's ability to avoid injury and his consistency at a position known for short careers. But if you want to discuss statistics you have to look at some of Sanders' career stats as well. Sanders averaged an amazing 99.8 yards per game during the course of his career, Smith at 81.2. Sanders averaged 5.0 yards per carry in his career while Smith was at 4.2. Barry Sanders was elected to the pro-bowl in each and every

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