Barry Sanders was fun to watch. His moves were dazzling, and he broke more ankles than Mafia-men with sledgehammers. He indeed was the true epitome to "acting like you've been there before" when he hit the endzone; never dancing, never spiking the ball.

There is no doubt that Barry Sanders is amongst the greatest NFL running-backs of all-time. While there is a common phrase, "the stats don't lie," that I disagree with, I will say Hall of Fame stats don't lie.

There is no way to fake it to the Hall of Fame.

All this being said, I say that Barry Sanders is not the best football running-back in NFL history. When I think best, I think results. And I'm not saying I don't acknowledge the fact that he didn't play on a very good team, and holding their results against him.

I make my case that Barry Sanders would need a lot of carries no matter where he went because he was Barry Sanders and that is what they would do. Despite the enormous yards per carry this guy had, I'd take the production of Antowain Smith for the Patriots in 2001 over Barry Sanders numbers, because he rarely got more than 4 yards, and rarely got less, resulting in less 3rd and WAY LONG situations, and in turn, resulting in less chances for the other teams offense.

Barry Sanders was great. But in no way is he a prototypical back. The prototypical back ALWAYS moves forward! Someone mentioned Frank O'Harris. Well, I never heard of the guy! But Franco Harris, arguably the most underrated RB of all time, always moved forward and he had four Super Bowl rings to show for it. How Franco Harris was overshadowed by Terry Bradshaw, Lynne Swann, John Stallworth, and the Steel Curtain is beyond me, because he was the most consistent element of that dynasty.

Back to the point, Jim Brown was Steady Eddie. In any era, Jim Brown would've done what Jim Brown did. He was too versatile to assume otherwise. A prototypical back always has been and probably will always be a guy that can get four yards while beating on and tiring the defense. This is Football 101; the game of the clock. Move the chains and control the pace of the game. Jim Brown was undoubtedly the best RB in professional football history. Barry Sanders was an entertaining scat-back. Period.

P.S. I'm a Patriots fan, and thus unbiased.

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