mdonnelly21 Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 Who was a better player at their Peak? Barry Sanders or Jerry Rice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAF-N72EX Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 ??? Barry was great but Jerry Rice is the best player to ever play the game at ANY position. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggie. Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 I love it when people compare players at completely different positions and vaguely ask which is better. This is like asking what's better between a Civic and a F-150. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluhartz Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 On 5/2/2022 at 9:38 AM, biggie. said: I love it when people compare players at completely different positions and vaguely ask which is better. This is like asking what's better between a Civic and a F-150. WTF? it's the Civic 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrantikRam Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 I love Barry. I really really do. But this is Rice. The only way it's not is if we imagine what Barry would have done on a better team, which is tough to do. In 1987, Rice had 23 total TDs in 12 games. Just think about that for a minute.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdonnelly21 Posted May 4, 2022 Author Share Posted May 4, 2022 This poll is a lot closer than we think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggie. Posted May 5, 2022 Share Posted May 5, 2022 (edited) Why is this neck and neck? Barry Sanders is the most overrated player in NFL history. Biggest playoff Houdini of all time. Edited May 5, 2022 by biggie. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malik Posted May 5, 2022 Share Posted May 5, 2022 7 hours ago, biggie. said: Why is this neck and neck? Barry Sanders is the most overrated player in NFL history. Biggest playoff Houdini of all time. Houdini? He was getting like 10 carriers in all his playoff games except one of the Green Bay ones. The Lions bizarrely turned into throwing teams every time they went into the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotun_Fan Posted May 6, 2022 Share Posted May 6, 2022 To me, Barry Sanders is the biggest "what if" in NFL history. He took over for future HoF and NFL MVP Thurman Thomas at OK St, and all he did was average 1.2 yards per carry better than Thomas the previous year (6.4--->7.6). How is he rewarded? By getting drafted by a team that ranked 28th out of 28 teams in yards per carry and 28th out of 28 in yards per pass. They were 1st in yards/carry his first season on the team Kudos I guess to Wayne Fontes for having the balls to try something new to try and fix that wretched franchise, but a run and shoot offense combined with bad/below average QB play (at best) and a bad offensive line is not conducive to a team or a RB having success. On 5/3/2022 at 8:41 PM, FrantikRam said: I love Barry. I really really do. But this is Rice. The only way it's not is if we imagine what Barry would have done on a better team, which is tough to do. In 1987, Rice had 23 total TDs in 12 games. Just think about that for a minute.. Thurman Thomas had 43 total touchdowns at OK st in 4 years. In 12 games in 1988 Barry Sanders had 44. But yes, you're right. We'd have to imagine what Barry would have done on a better team. For questions like this, I try to imagine what would have happened if the players' roles were reversed. For running backs, I don't really see any RB in NFL history being able to do what Barry did on that team (However, I do not recall if Fontes instituted the Run and Shoot because of Barry or before. So if they drafted a different running back, then perhaps they play a more traditional set?) I do see Barry having success if he took the roles of other backs. Barry in 1958 with the Browns? With a couple of HoF O linemen, a HoF coach? How about with the Cowboys in the 90's instead of Emmitt? What about on the Bears in the 70's (I think this is actually similar to what he went through with the Lions, except they didn't have a run and shoot offense.) What would the 49ers have been like with Barry Sanders instead of Jerry Rice? I personally don't see them getting any worse, I see them probably being better...although I could easily see if people disagreed. What would the Lions have been like with Jerry Rice instead of Barry? Jerry didn't start in his first season with the 49ers, so if he struggled out of the gate with the Lions, would he have lasted more than a season or two? The team was not good, so it's possible he would not have found much success. Does he have a megatron type career? 22 hours ago, biggie. said: Why is this neck and neck? Barry Sanders is the most overrated player in NFL history. Biggest playoff Houdini of all time. Jim Brown- 4 playoff games, 1-3 Record, 66 carries, 241 yds, 3.7 avg Barry Sanders- 6 playoff games, 1-5 record, 91 carries, 386 yds, 4.2 avg I understand why most sports publications and official media would try to stay away from the "what if" game when talking about all-time great players, so having Barry ranked at #20 or less for all-time great players doesn't surprise me much. But I'm not sure there's been another player who has made so many pro bowl and hall of fame players look straight BAD. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEagle Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 (edited) I like Barry, but how is Barry winning this? Rice set the receiving yards mark (1848) in 1995 that wouldn't be surpassed for 17 years. Rice set the receiving TDs (22) mark in 1987 that wouldn't be surpassed for 20 years, and he did it in 12 games. Edited May 8, 2022 by TheEagle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matts4313 Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 On 5/3/2022 at 4:09 PM, fluhartz said: On 5/2/2022 at 8:38 AM, biggie. said: This is like asking what's better between a Civic and a F-150. WTF? it's the Civic Id like to see you pull a boat with a Civic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabbs4u Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 (edited) 18 hours ago, TheEagle said: I like Barry, but how is Barry winning this? Rice set the receiving yards mark (1848) in 1995 that wouldn't be surpassed for 17 years. Rice set the receiving TDs (22) mark in 1987 that wouldn't be surpassed for 20 years, and he did it in 12 games. 1997, Sanders became just the third player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season 4× NFL rushing yards leader (1990, 1994, 1996, 1997) 2× NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1994, 1997) Sanders has accolades too, just not the Playoff success of Rice who played with 2 seperate HOF QB'S. Just saying. It's comparing apples to oranges. Edited May 9, 2022 by Nabbs4u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 1 hour ago, Matts4313 said: Id like to see you pull a boat with a Civic. Don't need to. My boat is in the water. You know, where boats go. Boom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matts4313 Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 3 minutes ago, Forge said: Don't need to. My boat is in the water. You know, where boats go. Boom! Yeah but what if you want to move it to new water? Ever think about that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 11 minutes ago, Matts4313 said: Yeah but what if you want to move it to new water? Ever think about that? Then I'll just sail it there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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