vicfurth Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Not really a battle, per se, but an interesting debate none the less. I'd like to present a new "series" if you will, where the top players of all time are debated. First off:Debate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rams80 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 SandersNo contest-he was a dominant NFL running back for the duration of his career, racking up incredible yardage against defenses that pretty much had to only account for him. If he hadn't retired out of sheer disgust for the Lions, he would likely have taken the career rushing record to unbreakable status.As an aside, Smith probably gets on his knees and thanks Sanders for retiring early because of that.-------------------------------------------A "better" comparison would likely be Sanders vs. Brown. On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said: You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now. On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said: Today, we are all otaku. "The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010 The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFoA Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Emmitt's my favorite NFL player of all time. All-time rushing yards leader, 3-time Super Bowl Champion, & a true class act on and off the field. Hell, I can't name anybody other than still-bitter fans of their divisional/playoff rivals that hates the guy. He's that good, & that likable.With that being said, Barry Sanders was better. If Sanders played for the Cowboys & Smith for the Vikings, Smith would be lauded as a nice little story out of Detroit & Sanders would be declared the greatest RB of all time (), mainly because, like rams80 said, he wouldn't have retired due to sheer disgust of the team that he played for. Plus, just look at the way Barry Sanders ran. I know we've all seen that one NFL Films clip where the Lions are playing the Patriots & Sanders breaks this one run where he's shaking off people as if his uniform is covered in grease & the Pats either can't bring him down or can't catch him. Haven't seen anything like that since Jim Brown (or maybe Purple Jesus AP since the ceiling on that guy seems to be the moon.).So yeah, Emmit: Great back, great career. Sanders: Better back, career cut short that would've easily been one of the greatest in pro football history. Sanders, easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicfurth Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 How do you guys feel about the teams that Sanders had around him?Scott Mitchell (threw for 4000 yards once; was consistent in the mid-90s)Herman Moore (one of the top 10-15 WRs of all-time)With a couple different moves, could the Lions and Cowboys have switched places? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEW.ERA Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Sanders brings the elusiveness to the game made it fun to watch him every snap in reality it's sad he never got to show off his ability on the NFL's biggest stage like Emmitt did. JETS|PACK|JAYS|NUFC|BAMA|BOMBERS|RAPS|ORANJE| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintsfan Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 The Lions actually did have a decent team in the mid 90s. I remember they did pretty well in under, was it, Bobby Ross for a bit. Then Millen came in and ruined it all. I wonder if the Lions ever had the financial power to match the Cowboys, especially in a division next to the Packers and Vikes at that time. But for a time they were a very good team.On the Sanders/Smith thing. No question for me, Barry Sanders was the best RB I have seen play, maybe until Peterson. 2011/12 WFL Champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDixonDesign Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Will this become a war of words eventually? Because after Emmitt's ESPN stint, Sanders win's hands down I keed, I keed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapshot Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Emmitt Smith was a great running back on a consistently good Cowboys team. Barry Sanders was even better on much worse teams.Sanders > Smith Back-to-Back Fatal Forty Champion 2015 & 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooter13 Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Smith even has said that Sanders was better then him. Detroit Dragons - 2010 ULL Gait Cup ChampionsDetroit Cougars - 2010 and 2011 WAFA Wills Cup Champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tBBP Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Emmitt's my favorite NFL player of all time. All-time rushing yards leader, 3-time Super Bowl Champion, & a true class act on and off the field. Hell, I can't name anybody other than still-bitter fans of their divisional/playoff rivals that hates the guy. He's that good, & that likable.With that being said, Barry Sanders was better. If Sanders played for the Cowboys & Smith for the Vikings, Smith would be lauded as a nice little story out of Detroit & Sanders would be declared the greatest RB of all time (), mainly because, like rams80 said, he wouldn't have retired due to sheer disgust of the team that he played for. Plus, just look at the way Barry Sanders ran. I know we've all seen that one NFL Films clip where the Lions are playing the Patriots & Sanders breaks this one run where he's shaking off people as if his uniform is covered in grease & the Pats either can't bring him down or can't catch him. Haven't seen anything like that since Jim Brown (or maybe Purple Jesus AP since the ceiling on that guy seems to be the moon.).So yeah, Emmit: Great back, great career. Sanders: Better back, career cut short that would've easily been one of the greatest in pro football history. Sanders, easily.I'm sure there's a few natives/residents of the little city of Pensacola, FL, who disagree with that assessment. (But then, unless one's been there or know the reasons as to why the guy hasn't shown his face there in close to ten years save for a few short visits to his former high school, one couldn't know. We know...and it ain't a pretty story. FTR...I ain't one of those haters...but I do know why those who are, are.) That said...Emmitt, to me, was pretty much a concoction of all that you like to see in a RB...he never had the greatest speed, but he had some shiftiness. He was durable, he was physical, and probably had the best field vision of any RB of his time. He never really had any kind of distinctive running style...he just went on the field and went about his business. And, of course, that he's the NFL's all-time leading rusher gives the city of Pensacola something else to brag about--sports-related, that is. As a person, eh...decent man, I'm sure, but like I said...there's a reason he hasn't shown his face back in his hometown for a long time.Barry was plain-out more fun to watch, BUT...the main knock on him was those happy feet also caused him to lose a lot of yardage (I think he still leads in all-time negative rushing yards). However, that still doesn't diminish the little man's greatness. (And Flame, I know exactly the clip of which you speak...though I think the best part of that was Barry completely spinning around Otis Smith like a lost turnstile.)I give the edge to Barry, simply because he did more with less...considerably much less, at times. *Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. || dribbble || Behance || Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwabel Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 12 carries- 69 yards- 1 TD11 carries- 44 yards- 0 TD27 carries- 169 yards- 0 TD13 carries- (-1) yards - 0 TD10 carries- 40 yards - 0 TD18 carries- 65 yards- 0 TDThose are Barry's playoff numbers and only one win, the first game. One RB for one game, I take Emmitt. Barry could go the distance at any time, but Sanders' career he had 336 carriers for a negative 956 yards. With Emmitt, the key number is 20 as in carries. If he got 20+ touches, Dallas won an exorbitant number of games. In the playoffs, if he got 20+, they went 8-2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicfurth Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 I remember the -1 game, against the Packers. What's interesting is that if he didn't have the 956 negative yards, he'd still be 2000 yards behind Emmitt. I remember when I worked in construction and my boss told me "Make every move count for something".Emmitt was better at "quality yards" than Barry was, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigga Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 No need to repeat the things most others have said. Anyone without a bias toward Smith or the Cowboys clearly knows that Sanders was the better back. And it's not even close.There are lies, there are damned lies, and there are statistics and that's a cute little stat about Emmitt Smith in playoff games getting 20+ carries. Barry Sanders got 20 carries once and balled for 169 yards. So Emmitt's better because his team won more games? Again, so Mark Rypien is better than Dan Marino because Ryp has a ring, right? Barry Sanders played on the inferior team every time he stepped onto the field in a playoff game, except for maybe the first one on your list there, which they won against Emmitt's Cowboys. [Hey doesn't that make Barry better since he beat Emmitt head-to-head in the playoffs. ] Who had more Hall of Fame calibre offensive linemen? Did Barry have a HoF QB like Emmitt? A HoF WR like Emmitt? A star-studded defense like Emmitt? A coach that had a clue like Emmitt? Exactly.Barry Sanders was selected to the Pro Bowl each season he played. Every last one. All of 'em. That's special. And other than Barry's first year, Emmitt Smith was always in the same conference [Emmitt made the Pro Bowl 7 of the 9 years they were both playing, but I want to skew statistics for MY argument, so let's forget that ].Barry Sanders is in the discussion of greatest 2 or 3 backs of all time. Emmitt Smith isn't even considered the best of his era. C'mon, man! On January 16, 2013 at 3:49 PM, NJTank said: Btw this is old hat for Notre Dame. Knits Rockne made up George Tip's death bed speech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tBBP Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 No need to repeat the things most others have said. Anyone without a bias toward Smith or the Cowboys clearly knows that Sanders was the better back. And it's not even close.There are lies, there are damned lies, and there are statistics and that's a cute little stat about Emmitt Smith in playoff games getting 20+ carries. Barry Sanders got 20 carries once and balled for 169 yards. So Emmitt's better because his team won more games? Again, so Mark Rypien is better than Dan Marino because Ryp has a ring, right? Barry Sanders played on the inferior team every time he stepped onto the field in a playoff game, except for maybe the first one on your list there, which they won against Emmitt's Cowboys. [Hey doesn't that make Barry better since he beat Emmitt head-to-head in the playoffs. ] Who had more Hall of Fame calibre offensive linemen? Did Barry have a HoF QB like Emmitt? A HoF WR like Emmitt? A star-studded defense like Emmitt? A coach that had a clue like Emmitt? Exactly.Barry Sanders was selected to the Pro Bowl each season he played. Every last one. All of 'em. That's special. And other than Barry's first year, Emmitt Smith was always in the same conference [Emmitt made the Pro Bowl 7 of the 9 years they were both playing, but I want to skew statistics for MY argument, so let's forget that ].Barry Sanders is in the discussion of greatest 2 or 3 backs of all time. Emmitt Smith isn't even considered the best of his era. C'mon, man!AHA--caught yo' black ass! On another note...I often wonder just how much further Barry would have gotten had he not quit the game cold turkey. I still think that the statement he came up with when he announced his retirement was one of the slickest lines I've ever heard...one I've used several times over the years (this ain't verbatim, but it's something close):"My desire to leave the game is greater than my desire to remain in it." *Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. || dribbble || Behance || Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicfurth Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 Okay, I think this debate has "run it's course" (ha, I keel me). We have another football debate today, just to prove this isn't a "passing fancy" (the puns are rolling today). The main question with these two is simple: what constitutes a better quarterback, stats or rings (or both)?DEBATE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFB Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Not really a battle, per se, but an interesting debate none the less. I'd like to present a new "series" if you will, where the top players of all time are debated. First off:Debate!Sanders. And it's not even close. Okay, I think this debate has "run it's course" (ha, I keel me). We have another football debate today, just to prove this isn't a "passing fancy" (the puns are rolling today). The main question with these two is simple: what constitutes a better quarterback, stats or rings (or both)?DEBATE!!!Marino had perhaps the greatest arm in the history of football, but I'll take Elway's heart and leadership over Marino's arm every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.