Barry Sanders was one of the few players in the history of the game to hold spectators breathless every time he touched the ball. The diminutive (by NFL standards) 5'8" back had an unparalleled ability to cut, juke, and make defenders miss their mark. Sanders could run into a pile of ten men and emerge on the other side in full sprint. A seemingly broken play with defenders breaking through the offensive line and trapping Barry in the backfield would often result in positive yardage for the Lions. Perhaps one play against the Tampa Bay Bucs says everything you need to know about Barry Sanders. With the ball around the 35 yard line, Sanders took the ball on an inside handoff and was met by a defensive back shooting straight up the middle. Already running at near full speed, Sanders planted, shucked five or six feet to the left, sending the defender flying past him, and began running forward once again. With ten defenders left, and Sanders not yet passed the line of scrimmage, quarterback Rodney Peete could be seen raising his arms signalling touchdown. About eight seconds later, Barry was in the end zone.
Sanders' rise to stardom started in Wichita, as the 7th of 11 children. Attending North High School in Wichita, Sanders excelled in both football and basketball before receiving a scholarship to play for the Cowboys of Oklahoma State. Although Barry was only the feature back at OSU for one year, it was more than enough. As a junior Barry set the NCAA Division I single-season record for both yards (2,628) and touchdowns (37), averaging a ridiculous 7.6 yards per carry. Sanders still holds or shares 34 NCAA records. The Cowboys went 10-2 that year, including wins in the Tokyo Coca-Cola Bowl and the Holiday Bowl. Sanders capped the season off by winning the Heisman Trophy, securing 559 of the 917 first-place votes, and beating out quarterbacks Troy Aikman of UCLA and Rodney Peete of USC for the title of Best College Football Player. Sanders was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the third overall in the NFL Draft, behind Aikman and offensive tackle Tony Mandarich of Michigan State. The Lions also snatched up Peete to play quarterback.
Sanders continued his rushing assault at the pro level, racking up 1,470 yards and 14 touchdowns en route to winning the 1989 Offensive Rookie Of The Year Award. The Lions meanwhile went 7-9, within striking distance of their first winning season since 1983. The following season the Lions went to the well again, drafting another Heisman Trophy winner in Andre Ware to play quarterback, apparently not satisfied with the progress of Peete. Ware never became the player the Lions hoped, and it's perhaps the most tragic aspect of Sanders' career that the Lions never found a suitable quarterback to take pressure off him. To see the plight of Sanders, one need look no further than the Dallas Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys were every bit as bad as the Detroit Lions in 1988. While the Lions got the best running back in the draft, the Cowboys selected the best quarterback in the draft in Troy Aikman. Two years later, while the Lions were working on fitting Andre Ware into the offense, the Cowboys drafted Emmitt Smith and plugged him into the offense immediately. Ten years later, Aikman and Smith were still playing together, sporting three shiny Super Bowl rings. At the same time Sanders had seen quarterbacks come and go as though there were a revolving door installed at the Pontiac Silverdome. Ware, Bob Gagliano, Rodney Peete, Erik Kramer, Dave Krieg, Scott Mitchell, Charlie Batch - all saw significant time at quarterback for the Lions.
To compensate for the lack of talent, the Lions focused their draft strategy on defensive talent, and implemented the run-and-shoot offense to keep pressure off Barry. The Lions continued to perform poorly on defense, and even with the spread formation, defenses put seven or eight men in the box to stop Sanders. Despite all of this, Barry piled up yardage year after year: 1304, 1548, 1352, 1115, 1883, 1500. Sanders was named the NFC's most valuable player in 1991 and 1994, and shared the NFL's MVP award with Brett Favre in 1997. That year Barry became just the third player in history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season, and his 6.1 yards per carry was the highest average in over 30 years.
Barry Sanders became the second player ever to amass 15,000 yards, and was poised to break Walter Payton's all-time rushing record in 1999. At the same time, however, Sanders had grew tired of playing for the underachieving Detroit Lions, confiding in Andre Ware that he could no longer just pick up checks. Sanders wanted a ring, and felt that there was nothing he could do in Detroit to make it happen. Indeed, when you rush for 2,053 yards in a season, and your team doesn't make the playoffs, there isn't much more you can do. Amidst speculation about his contract and conflicts with management, Sanders retired from football rather than continue losing.
Sanders leaves behind an amazing legacy. An eight-time Pro Bowler, Sanders retired holding or sharing 20 NFL records, including most consecutive 1,000 and 1,500 yard seasons (ten and four respectively), most touchdown runs of 50 or more yards (fifteen, including five of eighty or more), and most rushing yards in one half of a game (200). He also finished with the second highest per-game rushing average, behind only the legendary Jim Brown.
Barry Sanders - Detroit Lions
Year Games Carries Yards Avg. TDs
1989 15 280 1470 5.3 14
1990 16 255 1304 5.1 13
1991 15 342 1538 4.5 16
1992 16 312 1352 4.3 9
1993 11 243 1115 4.6 3
1994 16 331 1883 5.7 7
1995 16 314 1500 4.8 11
1996 16 307 1553 5.1 11
1997 16 335 2053 6.1 11
1998 16 343 1491 4.3 4
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10 Seasons 3062 15269 5.0 99