Great to see a Finn on the reaction videos. I grew up with Barry Sanders. I am Finnish-American from Michigan. I live in California now. Sanders retired in his prime.
Barry Sanders was not human. That acceleration and shiftiness is unmatched. A lot of those jukes were on hall of famers too. Greatest. Running back. Ever.
One thing people don't appreciate about the 20th ranked Barry run is that on the 3rd tackle attempt he eluded (at about his own 17 yard line), he lost his right shoe. So he ran most of that 70+ yard distance with only one shoe on, which--combined with a bad block attempt by #84 Herman Moore--is why he couldn't cut back and beat that last guy.
The guy the announcers pointed out in the clip. No. 42 who Barry left with his jock strap hanging was John Lynch. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and considered one of the greatest to ever play the safety position. It's not so much Sanders raw speed, although he had that, but his acceleration. He could stop, restart and be at full speed in three steps. Look at the video how he puts in an extra gear to run right between two defenders who have an angle on him. He also had elite vision and superb balance.
Barry was the perfect running back. If you designed a running back it would look like Barry Sanders. Low center of gravity, wide base, acceleration, speed, balance, strength and my favorite, humility. Never saw him talk trash or even spike the football (maybe once or twice). Dude was humble as hell.
Even the plays where he lost yardage (which were many) were exciting just because he could break it even if he looked like he was trapped. He was so exciting because he had to be so creative behind the line.
PS Barry was maybe 5'8", loved basketball and played it well. But he could do a flat foot dunk with his back to the basket. PPS: Check out the Oklahoma State football films of Barry. He played there for just 2 years but set 34 US National NCAA records. His first play in college was receiving the kickoff at the 1 yard line, returning it for a touchdown.
One funny thing in this video is, on #8 you say "Hall of fame ankle breaker"... on that play, the guy who gets his ankles broken is John Lynch - a Hall Of Fame player himself, and one of the best defenders in the game at the time. Barry made him look ridiculous. Thats how good Barry was.
Run # 41 was Barry Sander's first NFL run. He had only 6 fumbles in two seasons in a row, with close to 800 carries. Try running that fast and quickly and not losing the ball. Fun to watch your reaction. What kind of crazy things do Finns do, say with skis, or on the water, or climbing or hunting, or is there a Finnish equivalent of Barry Sanders with pints of beer?
The three guys considered at the top of the list for Running Backs is Jim Brown, Walter Payton, and Barry Sanders. Each has there own unique style of running. Jim Brown is the best power back, Walter is someone who never gave up on any run and his legs never stopped moving.
Greatest Runner of all time. TBH, some of his greatest runs were very short like that jump stop in midair they showed. He would get the ball with a lot of defenders arouns him in the backfield, and turn a 3 yard loss into a 2 yard gain. #3 overall olay #51 is possibly the greatest tackler ever. The earlier run where you said professional ankle breaker, #47 that he broke the ankles of is another hall of famer John Lynch.
There were really only 2 things you could criticize Barry Sanders on. He wasn't the best blocker (he was okay, but since he was smallish, he couldn't sustain blocks that well). And he wasn't the fastest (though he seemed to get faster as he got older). He probably could've gotten maybe 50 more touchdowns in his career because he would break long runs but get caught around the 5 yard line. Then the Lions would bring in a short yardage back to score the touchdown the next play. But pretty much no one could tackle him one-on-one. He would just make a move and the defender would fall over grasping at air as Barry ran by. And this was against some of the best athletes on the planet. There's lots of slowmo camera footage of him taking a step to one side then immediately stepping to the other side all in a fraction of a second. It's incredibly hard to change direction full speed that quickly, but he could do it easily. His legs were incredibly strong. And he had an amazing instinct on when to change direction, spin, duck, etc. He might be the most elusive running back to ever play the game.
check out his college highlights . . . keep in mind he typically only played 3 quarters because they didn’t want to be accused of running up the score . . . his records would’ve never been beat in our lifetime
I don’t hate these too 50 videos but this ain’t his most craziest videos. They take history into account for their consideration. He’s got more impressive plays than this (no kidding some of them for small gains). He’s the only player that could lose a yard and still make say, “WOW!” What MJ was in the air, Sanders was on the ground. Oh and personally, I love number three the most. Dude is getting spun in the air, but as soon as that left foot strikes the ground…he’s full speed. That acceleration is truly unreal, because he’s spinning as his foot is landing. That’s insane body control and leg drive!
Great to see a Finn on the reaction videos. I grew up with Barry Sanders. I am Finnish-American from Michigan. I live in California now. Sanders retired in his prime.
Barry Sanders was not human. That acceleration and shiftiness is unmatched. A lot of those jukes were on hall of famers too.
Greatest. Running back. Ever.
One thing people don't appreciate about the 20th ranked Barry run is that on the 3rd tackle attempt he eluded (at about his own 17 yard line), he lost his right shoe. So he ran most of that 70+ yard distance with only one shoe on, which--combined with a bad block attempt by #84 Herman Moore--is why he couldn't cut back and beat that last guy.
Barry Sanders, making world class athletes look silly. 1989 - 1999
The guy the announcers pointed out in the clip. No. 42 who Barry left with his jock strap hanging was John Lynch. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and considered one of the greatest to ever play the safety position. It's not so much Sanders raw speed, although he had that, but his acceleration. He could stop, restart and be at full speed in three steps. Look at the video how he puts in an extra gear to run right between two defenders who have an angle on him. He also had elite vision and superb balance.
Barry Sanders makes you believe in magic.
Barry was the perfect running back. If you designed a running back it would look like Barry Sanders. Low center of gravity, wide base, acceleration, speed, balance, strength and my favorite, humility. Never saw him talk trash or even spike the football (maybe once or twice). Dude was humble as hell.
Even the plays where he lost yardage (which were many) were exciting just because he could break it even if he looked like he was trapped. He was so exciting because he had to be so creative behind the line.
PS Barry was maybe 5'8", loved basketball and played it well. But he could do a flat foot dunk with his back to the basket. PPS: Check out the Oklahoma State football films of Barry. He played there for just 2 years but set 34 US National NCAA records. His first play in college was receiving the kickoff at the 1 yard line, returning it for a touchdown.
One funny thing in this video is, on #8 you say "Hall of fame ankle breaker"... on that play, the guy who gets his ankles broken is John Lynch - a Hall Of Fame player himself, and one of the best defenders in the game at the time. Barry made him look ridiculous. Thats how good Barry was.
He had 2 brothers that played NFL, deion and kernell.
Run # 41 was Barry Sander's first NFL run. He had only 6 fumbles in two seasons in a row, with close to 800 carries. Try running that fast and quickly and not losing the ball. Fun to watch your reaction. What kind of crazy things do Finns do, say with skis, or on the water, or climbing or hunting, or is there a Finnish equivalent of Barry Sanders with pints of beer?
What made Barry great back then was his strength and lower center of gravity that he mastered
The three guys considered at the top of the list for Running Backs is Jim Brown, Walter Payton, and Barry Sanders. Each has there own unique style of running. Jim Brown is the best power back, Walter is someone who never gave up on any run and his legs never stopped moving.
He is even more impressive if you factor in that he was doing that to other world class athletes!
Greatest Runner of all time. TBH, some of his greatest runs were very short like that jump stop in midair they showed. He would get the ball with a lot of defenders arouns him in the backfield, and turn a 3 yard loss into a 2 yard gain. #3 overall olay #51 is possibly the greatest tackler ever. The earlier run where you said professional ankle breaker, #47 that he broke the ankles of is another hall of famer John Lynch.
Barry is a legend
There were really only 2 things you could criticize Barry Sanders on. He wasn't the best blocker (he was okay, but since he was smallish, he couldn't sustain blocks that well). And he wasn't the fastest (though he seemed to get faster as he got older). He probably could've gotten maybe 50 more touchdowns in his career because he would break long runs but get caught around the 5 yard line. Then the Lions would bring in a short yardage back to score the touchdown the next play. But pretty much no one could tackle him one-on-one. He would just make a move and the defender would fall over grasping at air as Barry ran by. And this was against some of the best athletes on the planet. There's lots of slowmo camera footage of him taking a step to one side then immediately stepping to the other side all in a fraction of a second. It's incredibly hard to change direction full speed that quickly, but he could do it easily. His legs were incredibly strong. And he had an amazing instinct on when to change direction, spin, duck, etc. He might be the most elusive running back to ever play the game.
Explosive and elusive, a lethal combination.
check out his college highlights . . . keep in mind he typically only played 3 quarters because they didn’t want to be accused of running up the score . . . his records would’ve never been beat in our lifetime
I don’t hate these too 50 videos but this ain’t his most craziest videos. They take history into account for their consideration. He’s got more impressive plays than this (no kidding some of them for small gains). He’s the only player that could lose a yard and still make say, “WOW!” What MJ was in the air, Sanders was on the ground.
Oh and personally, I love number three the most. Dude is getting spun in the air, but as soon as that left foot strikes the ground…he’s full speed. That acceleration is truly unreal, because he’s spinning as his foot is landing. That’s insane body control and leg drive!
The GOAT 🐐
Yeah , you are the only one that said it right .... It is called a Dodge !!!!!!! What children used to when playing
the number one play was in the playoffs