NFL was much more exciting a few years ago when Barry, Deion, Elway, Jim Kelly and his offense, etc. were around. Dicky W, it was the Lions organization who should feel like idiots for refusing to trade him and costing the fans the chance to see him play. It made no sense at all, because they could of gotten great players or picks in return, they were just being jerks....
Hache
I know the whole Barry situation quite well. And it was'nt the Lion organization that were jerks. Ford met every demand Barry and his agent ever made, and some. Barry even had a say in hiring Fontes as the head coach. BTW Barry never ever stated publicly he wanted to be traded that was his agent. Truth is Barry got tired of football and fvcked the Lions by waiting till the last minute to retire. He had NO reson to be bitter at mgt and to screw your teamates by bailing leaving them without a RB for the season was wrong.
I know the whole Barry situation quite well. And it was'nt the Lion organization that were jerks. Ford met every demand Barry and his agent ever made, and some. Barry even had a say in hiring Fontes as the head coach. BTW Barry never ever stated publicly he wanted to be traded that was his agent. Truth is Barry got tired of football and fvcked the Lions by waiting till the last minute to retire. He had NO reson to be bitter at mgt and to screw your teamates by bailing leaving them without a RB for the season was wrong.
Ok Dicky, maybe you know a little more inside info than most of us do. The story most people got was he was tired of losing, and wanted to be traded to a contender, or at least a better team, and the Lions just simply refused to do so. Even if he did want a trade though, the Lions would of been rewarded tremendously in compensation whether it be players, or high draft picks.
Hache
No inside info here LOL just a fact. Barry never ever stated publicly he wanted to be traded it was his agent and it was well after he announced his retirement. The truth is his agent probably got nervous knowing the Lions would come looking for their money back. He figured he would throw a comeback statement out there and see if anyone bit. Remember the Lions were contenders up till Barry's final year. If Barry was so unhappy and felt the Lions were not contenders why would he have signed such a HUGE longterm deal? Barry got bored with football which would explain why every year he would report to training camp later, and later. As far as I know not ONE single team put a deal on the table for Barry.
No inside info here LOL just a fact. Barry never ever stated publicly he wanted to be traded it was his agent and it was well after he announced his retirement. The truth is his agent probably got nervous knowing the Lions would come looking for their money back. He figured he would throw a comeback statement out there and see if anyone bit. Remember the Lions were contenders up till Barry's final year. If Barry was so unhappy and felt the Lions were not contenders why would he have signed such a HUGE longterm deal? Barry got bored with football which would explain why every year he would report to training camp later, and later. As far as I know not ONE single team put a deal on the table for Barry.
He was very different Dicky. All of his fellow players admit he was odd compared to most people. Years ago, at the old Tampa Stadium, the "Sombrero", we knew where the players exit about an hour after gametime to their cars, etc., and one of my friends at the time, who pitched for Florida State, knew the Bucs punter at the time. We had another guy with me, which was a Detroit fan, and had a football he wanted some Lions players to sign, and since we had done so before, asked if he would try to find some of the Lions before they left and request they sign it. He went to the bus, and got several signatures, but Barry would not sign....
Hache
Barry had a rule he never signed anything unless it was a young kid. I had a friend who worked at the rec center where Barry would workout. I gave her a couple of rookie cards to sign and he busted her chops asking a bunch of questions about who it was for she ended up telling him it was for her nephew. Your right he was one strange dude, The guy had few friends and talked very little. he recently was inducted into the Michigan Hall Of fame and he sent his wife to accept it for him, how bitter is that? He still refuses to talk about his retirement or the lions
Barry had a rule he never signed anything unless it was a young kid. I had a friend who worked at the rec center where Barry would workout. I gave her a couple of rookie cards to sign and he busted her chops asking a bunch of questions about who it was for she ended up telling him it was for her nephew. Your right he was one strange dude, The guy had few friends and talked very little. he recently was inducted into the Michigan Hall Of fame and he sent his wife to accept it for him, how bitter is that? He still refuses to talk about his retirement or the lions
8- On that EA Sports football game Barry Sanders is working on, does he still win 1 playoff game, disappear in big games, gain 28 yards on 20 carries on grass, constantly get tackled for a loss, get taken out in goal line situations and be no threat catching the ball out of the backfield?
Dickyw is correct on all fronts...
Barry walked out on his team and that was that, he never said he would COME BACK if the Lions traded him... FVCK the Lions would have loved to have gotten a draft choice for him after his 1st year off... Barry was a guy whom really didn't like his job, but as we all know sometimes you just have to go to work even if you don't like it... When COCAINE WAYNE got the AXE and Barry found out he had to go to practice he decided to hang them up rather then actually have to go to work ever day...
BARRY WAS GREAT... BUT HE WASN'T THE GREATEST...JUST ASK BARRY'S DAD HE'LL GIVE YOU THE D.L. ON WHOM WAS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!
Barry walked out on his team and that was that, he never said he would COME BACK if the Lions traded him... FVCK the Lions would have loved to have gotten a draft choice for him after his 1st year off... Barry was a guy whom really didn't like his job, but as we all know sometimes you just have to go to work even if you don't like it... When COCAINE WAYNE got the AXE and Barry found out he had to go to practice he decided to hang them up rather then actually have to go to work ever day...
BARRY WAS GREAT... BUT HE WASN'T THE GREATEST...JUST ASK BARRY'S DAD HE'LL GIVE YOU THE D.L. ON WHOM WAS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!
Best ever my a@@, MOST OVERRATED ever is more like it. SoccerBob, you said it best, this guy disappeared in the crucial situations. I am so tired about hearing how if he had a great offensive line he would have been even greater than he was. How can the greatest ever be pulled in the most crucial times of the possesion down at the goal line? Amazing how when Barry broke one for a big gain all you heard about was what a great back he is, but when he got caught 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage the other 9 carries, the offensive line sucked.
Now dont get me wrong, Barry was a good running back, but not the greatest ever, Top 3 to 5 definitely, but not the greatest ever.
40 years from now people will still be calling him the greatest back ever because all they will see is the numbers which are impressive, but you have to look at how those numbers were arrived at.
How one arrives at who was the best at thier position is a matter of opinion, I just dont think Barry should be classified as the best ever at his position IMO. Makes for a great bar room discussion though.
I never saw Brown or Sayers play but did see Walter Payton play and to say Barry was better than Payton is an insult to "Sweetness". Compare the 2 offensive lines of Chicago and Detroit and you will find that neither line was probably in the top 100 of all time in the NFL. Payton could do much more than Barry could and to this day I think Mike Ditka is the biggest a$$ clown out thier for not giving Payton the chance to score in the Super Bowl debacle over New England. By allowing the fat #$@! William Perry to score was an insult not only to Payton but to the game of football.
My vote for the greatest ever would be Walter Payton!!!
Now dont get me wrong, Barry was a good running back, but not the greatest ever, Top 3 to 5 definitely, but not the greatest ever.
40 years from now people will still be calling him the greatest back ever because all they will see is the numbers which are impressive, but you have to look at how those numbers were arrived at.
How one arrives at who was the best at thier position is a matter of opinion, I just dont think Barry should be classified as the best ever at his position IMO. Makes for a great bar room discussion though.
I never saw Brown or Sayers play but did see Walter Payton play and to say Barry was better than Payton is an insult to "Sweetness". Compare the 2 offensive lines of Chicago and Detroit and you will find that neither line was probably in the top 100 of all time in the NFL. Payton could do much more than Barry could and to this day I think Mike Ditka is the biggest a$$ clown out thier for not giving Payton the chance to score in the Super Bowl debacle over New England. By allowing the fat #$@! William Perry to score was an insult not only to Payton but to the game of football.
My vote for the greatest ever would be Walter Payton!!!
