by Micah Olson

Created on: October 05, 2007

I am thrilled to have found this topic because it is one that I have been pondering for many years now. Barry Sanders is the greatest running back of all time. I have never seen a player more athletically gifted then Barry. He would spin, swivel and pin ball around all the while making everybody miss. He made would be tacklers look like amateurs. Barry retired at the peak of his career and there is no doubt he would have attained the all time rushing yards record. Sanders was only 5 foot 8 and that is being generous but he had the biggest legs on a man his size that I have ever seen in any sport.

If I could classify any athlete as a ballerina it would be Barry Sanders. He always stayed low too the ground and ran with true grace. What I will never forget about Sanders is the way he routinely brought defenders out of their shoes. There could be up to 4 defensive players around him and he would find a way to get out of it while making each and every defender look bad. Watching Barry run was perhaps the greatest experience I have ever had watching any athlete in their given sport. He was like the Mario Lemieux of football, always deaking, spinning, diving, and dancing. I would have payed any amount of money to watch in my eyes the games premiere player Barry Sanders play week after week.

In a shocking decision Barry Sanders retired quite early leaving me to believe that he felt as though in mastering the game from a running backs prospective he had nothing left to prove or accomplish. That theory is the opposite most would choose as most players in his shoes would hang around long enough to break the big records. I will go so far as to say that Barry Sanders is the greatest player in any position in the history of the NFL. I sure enjoyed watching #20 of the Detroit Lions lace them up and hit the field. So my answer is yes Barry is the best running back in NFL history but Barry is the best overall player in NFL history. Thank you Barry were a true entertainer and are at the basis of the meaning of the phrase, God given talent. You wowed us all Barry.

Learn more about this author, Micah Olson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.