- Aug 21, 2014
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30 years: Behind the scenes of Barry Sanders' untouchable 1988 season
- Thread starter oxrageous
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- Sep 4, 2014
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- Mar 27, 2016
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Of course he can. And there is a strong argument that Emmitt is. There is also a strong argument for Jim(my) Brown and a few others.
- Jul 15, 2014
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- Jun 14, 2014
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When Emmitt sat out awhile (contract dispute?) that great OL was repeatedly ineffective for the Cowboys who had just won the prior Superbowl. Emmitt returned, and first games back, they rolled over their opponents.
Emmitt's broad vision was good but his extra came from his brain-vision foreseeing looming events like an approaching LB & processing how best to react. Knowing how his team faltered without him, Emmitt played well with that separated shoulder, suffering through pain. Glad he's on our sideline & a Gator fan even in the announcer's booth when called.
Emmitt's broad vision was good but his extra came from his brain-vision foreseeing looming events like an approaching LB & processing how best to react. Knowing how his team faltered without him, Emmitt played well with that separated shoulder, suffering through pain. Glad he's on our sideline & a Gator fan even in the announcer's booth when called.
- Jan 2, 2018
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Great job quoting stats. Poor job with painting the picture. Barry Sanders’ numbers were compiled over 10 years. Emmitt’s were compiled over 15. Not to mention the talent difference between the two teams - which was readily apparent every Thanksgiving. Barry would’ve needed only two more seasons to surpass Emmitt. He wisely retired to save his body or this wouldn’t even be a debate.
- Jul 23, 2014
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So - a couple of random thoughts.
1. NFL players don’t choose what teams they play for when they’re drafted. Nor do they choose the surrounding talent. Sucks for Barry, but don’t hold that against Emmitt.
2. It’s not like Barry was forbidden to leave the plantation either. Free agency could have been an option -? Could he have gone on to play for a better team?
With all the back and forth - I’d have to rethink things.
Given all the surrounding talent that Emmitt had gave him a decided advantage as well as playing five more years.
Dammit. I’m beginning to think that head to head, maybe Barry was a better (slightly?) RB than Emmitt.
The comments in this thread and this article just made me a believer (I think).
Comparing Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith | Optimum Sports Performance LLC
1. NFL players don’t choose what teams they play for when they’re drafted. Nor do they choose the surrounding talent. Sucks for Barry, but don’t hold that against Emmitt.
2. It’s not like Barry was forbidden to leave the plantation either. Free agency could have been an option -? Could he have gone on to play for a better team?
With all the back and forth - I’d have to rethink things.
Given all the surrounding talent that Emmitt had gave him a decided advantage as well as playing five more years.
Dammit. I’m beginning to think that head to head, maybe Barry was a better (slightly?) RB than Emmitt.
The comments in this thread and this article just made me a believer (I think).
Comparing Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith | Optimum Sports Performance LLC
- Mar 27, 2016
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I am a big stats guy too. But these analyses ignore a couple of things:
1. Emmitt was a positive yardage back. That is he rarely lost yards on a run. Some of Sander's greatest runs were when he got into trouble and made a great run to get back nearly to the line of scrimmage. Coaches seem to prefer the Emmitt type in this dimension. I can see why they do not want a guy who might disrupt a drive one play and be spectacular the next compared to a guy who consistently helps you move the chains.
2. When stats are close doing something for a longer period is superior performance. Since Sanders retired relatively early ala Jim Brown, people somewhat assume he could have kept performing at the same or at least a high level another five years. Emmitt did perform those 5 years and we saw how he did. Sanders might have had a huge drop off as happens in the NFL at times.
- Jun 10, 2014
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Barry Sanders’ highlight reel, and frequency of “Did he just do that?” runs is better than Emmitt’s. If that were the only measure, then it’s Sanders by a mile. Otherwise, put Brown, Payton, Sanders, Smith, and for a short duration Bo Jackson in a bag and pull one out, and you’d have a winner.
- Nov 9, 2015
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I would as well, he made moves that nobody else could, perhaps if he was on the Cowboys he would not have had that opportunity.
- Sep 23, 2017
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This. All day and everyday!
