by Kenneth Schonmeier

Created on: June 12, 2009   Last Updated: June 15, 2009

Ever watch those cartoons when a character is standing in one place, surrounded by several others? Remember laughing when that character would suddenly take off, leaving behind him a small poof of dust and the others all diving into a pile? That wasn't a cartoon, that was Barry Sanders.

I truly saw that exact scene happen in a game. Barry ran around the right side and had two defenders in front of him. He stopped. They stopped. Several others stopped. For a short moment the action on the field seemed to stop as everyone watched Barry Sanders. Suddenly Barry took off toward his left, just as several defenders dove for him, landing in a pile where Barry had been standing.

When it came to excitement, there was no other player in the same class as Barry. Nobody in the history of the game could change directions, spin and roll over a defender without losing his balance like Barry could. No other player has ever had the viewers holding their breath as often as Barry has.

Emmitt Smith? Dont make me laugh. The only reason he is considered by many to be better than Barry is because he was on a great team and won Superbowls. Because he played a few years more and gained the all-time rushing record. If Barry would have kept playing, that record would have been untouchable. If Barry would have had Emmitts offensive line, he would have had 2000 plus yards each season instead of 1500. Remember Juan Roque, the rookie offensive lineman, before he hurt his knee? He popped two big holes for Barry against Tampa Bay and Sanders gave us a taste of what he could do if his line was any good. He ran for 215 yards and had not one but two 85 yard touchdown runs in the same game. If Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith had been on each others teams, there would never even be a discussion on who the best running back in NFL history was. Barry would have demolished all the records.

Jim Brown? That laugh could make me wet my pants. Jim Brown was awesome.... for his time! Modern day linebackers are as big as the Linemen and as fast as the safeties in Browns day. Brown was great because he was a big, fast and strong running back in a day when the NFL had no true talent. Put Jim Brown in todays game and he would be another Christian Okoye. Very good, maybe great, but not All-time great! Put Barry Sanders into Jim Browns era? Now that would have truly been like a cartoon. He might have run circles around his defenders, kissed them on the cheeks and patted their backs before he embarrassed them

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