Barry Sanders was a great RB, very smart and very slick. He just was surrounded by lousy players. He did the best he could. He's one of the greatest RB's ever.

Next to Gale Sayers as the most electrifying running back of all time. Could/should be all-time leading rusher in NFL history; too bad he decided to pout about the Lions not trading him...

A running back who never stopped moving his legs no matter how bad trouble looked for him. Just kept running.

Great running back, and all people that have seen this man run know how many ankels he's broken. Not quite as skillful and all around talented as walter payton, but a very close second. Only if would have played longer, and for a more productive team.

A great running back who could have played longer.

Bottom line the best I've seen in 24 yrs...(other than Bo Jackson)

PBeaver, football is a team sport, it's not his fault he's the only star on the team. Anyway Sanders is arguebly the greatest back ever. He was an athlete and his elusiveness can literally break legs.

barry sanders is the greatest running back of all time and if he didnt retire he would have shattered that rushing record now held by emmit smith. Ill never forget it the whirlwind move the spin the complete stopping on a dime and reversing direction the man was completely unbelievable and i love him to death although mainly in his career i was a little boy there will never be another running back like BARRY JAMES SANDERS

Take it from a man that saw Jim Brown, and Walter Payton play. Both were among the greatest players in NFL history. However I will tell you this. Barry is in a class by himself. People often wonder how Barry would have done behind a decent line, and a competent QB. Look no further than his junior season at Oklahoma St. It confuses me that in a day of sharpies, cell phones, and fake mooning celebrations, a man of class would be verbally attacked and labeled a quitter etc. As they say in life, The more humble an individual is before man, the more he will get rode over roughshod. One of the greatest accomplishments of my life has been the ability to tell my children and grandchildren that I saw Barry Sanders run. Ohh.. and to all those Lions fans still bitter. I envy all of those that were able to witness him in person.

greatest RB ever

Quit too soon.

Barry Sanders is the greatest back of all time because he didn't have an offensive line that could block for him like the Cowboys and he still made it to just 1400 yds away from the record. He is also the best because he was the most exciting athlete to watch in the 90's, I wish he didn't walk away from the game early and we wouldn't have to be here defending him.

Greatest running back of all time. Had no O-Line yet ran around defenders like it was nothing. A shame that he retired so early but Barry was a very humble back, he didn't care about all the fame and glory and that is awesome.

There is no running back greater than Barry Sanders. Barry is the one who put points on the board for the Lions. And his offensive line was garbage! No other ruunning back has been that effective without a good offensive line. Even with one for that matter.

Barry was one of the best, and having seen so many running backs over the decades, if you're one of the best that's saying something! Yeah, he had the most yards lost, but what other running back had the guts to take the risks that Barry took? Name one. He was a leader and very compassionate, too. One season he paid each of his offensive lineman $1,000 dollars for every 100 yards he got over either 1000 yards or 1500, not sure. Anyhow, this is a moot arguement. Barry should have been complimented during his career with a good quarterback, but never was. Drew Brees is better than the scuzzy QB's he had to support. Notice that every good runningback that wins a superbowl has a good quarterback. Always. How many playoff appearances did the lions even have? Go Barry!

As a dallas fan can any argue the greatests running backs of all-time. Barry is up there. He is one of the greatest Hall of Famer. Need we say more. But Barry show me your right and then emmitt show me yours need i say more.

The only reason I watched the NFL was Barry Sanders. He could turn on a dime a not lose a bit of speed. He broke down defensive lines, not including the law of inertia. No running back ever came close to Barry!

Breathtaking... Humble... Simply the best

Wrong, wrong, and wrong. All-time leader in yards LOST.

barry sanders is not only the GEATEST OF ALL TIME but is great off the field...barry would crush any record if he were still in the game...no one could move like him and no one will ever move like him

I never liked sanders.. he would run for like 3,2,-2,4,1,4 yards and then boom! 53 yards.. I liked backs with more consistency.

You will not find a guy with better moves then Barry. He pulled more Safety's groins then you can shake a stick at. Just getting a finger on him was a defensive backs worst nightmare. He had NO OFFENSIVE LINE and was still averaging over 5 yards a carry. Had of he still played he would of SLAUGHTERED all major rushing records.

No one and I mean no one, could move like Barry. He had the heart of a Lion. He played 10 years for a sub-par team and only had a few injuries and hardly ever missed a game. He was worth the price of admission alone. Barry was truly electrifying. The only regret I have(other than him not winning a Super Bowl) is that my oldest son didn't get the chance to see him play.

whenever i try to run like barry did quick, low, shifty, and break tackles like windows, just still saddening how and why he made the right choice and left.

You are forgetting something else. Barry Sanders played for a god-awful football team. The offensive line was terrible. Can you imagine if Barry had played for the Dallas Cowboys? He would have gone way over 15,000 yards earlier than anyone else. Barry was the best and still is.

THE GREATEST RUNNINGBACK EVER COULD HAVE BROKEN WALTOR PAYTONS RECORD IF HE PLAYED ONE MORE SEASON.THE JUKE MASTER,THE ONE MAN OFFENSE,NO O-LINE AND STILL RUSHED FOR SO MANY YARDS

3rd best running back of all time. Best cutback ability of any player ever... Barry would have eclipsed Walter Payton's record and probably went ahead of Emmit Smith if he would have stayed in the league. Sad to say however that he didn't and numbers don't lie... 3rd best ever...

Come on Guys!! Football is an emotional sport and if your heart isn't in it, your emotions wont be, either. Every player decides at what point it is right for him to retire. For Barry, although still physically able, he thought his time was up. He didnt feel like playing anymore. Barry Sanders stil posted the best numbers ever in about every category. Not every carry got him 60 yards, but he did almost always get a few. Very few backs can turn 7 yeards out of every run. He blessed us witht the greatest highlight clips of all time, and with a great story of a legend to tell our kids. he3 was the best ever, and his early retirement doesn't change that a bit.

would have demolished payton's record.

Greatest of all time, period. If he would have played in Jim Brown's day, he would have had over 2000 every season.

Should be a 5, but I'm off-setting all the people that have over-rated him. Barry Sanders had incredible moves and was one of the best ever, but not even the best of his time. He was a home-run runningback. He was not consistent on his carries and did not follow his blockers like a runningback should. He'd have occasional HUGE carries after several losses, and that would all even out to a good average and total. He didn't block, he wasn't an every-down back and his coaches didn't trust him inside. He was a one-trick pony, though with a GREAT trick. Most importantly, he lacked heart and was a quitter. Look at him as the most electric runningback of all time. Not the best.

so many negative attitudes. cummon, this guy was 1 of the greatest backs of all time, if not the greatest. hear people talking about him being suspect when looking for those short gains on 3rd downs. any one with a clue about football knows that thats all down to the offensive line. crap blocking = no gain. i read today that he's signed for the texans. i'm delighted as every fan should be. sooo looking forward to seeing barrys moves again!!

LOSER WHO WAS A QUITER

A human highlight reel everytime he touched the ball. You didn't know what to expect, you held your breathe cause he might do something you will never see again. The most electrifying running back ever. No one ever had his ability to change directions like he did, to stop on a dime like he did, and to make people look silly like he did. If he was playing today, he would probably be at about 20,000 yards right now. Emmitt was one of the best but Barry was in another class above him. His inability to run over somebody is what lowers him from my all time rankings. He's still top 5 in my book just not the greatest simply cause of small size and inability to get that tough 1 yard on 3rd and 1. And to be the greatest, you should be able to do it all.

I've followed him throughout his career, from his rookie year to his unfortunate departure, and there aren't words to describe him. He was/is a freak of nature. I've never seen a RB make so many defenders look so foolish. It was a workout just to TRY to tackle him. The greatest player of the modern era. (My modern era begins at 1990 =) If Barry didn't prematurely retire, we would not be talking about Emmitt as the all-time leading rusher, since Sanders would have taken that title a couple years earlier.

He is no Jim Brown.

there is no doubt that Barry Sanders is one of the greatest backs of all time ( if not the greatest). Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool and only envys his phenominal talent. Noone has the right to critisize his retirement when he has given so many people across the world (I am from Northern Ireland) so much enjoyment in watching him play. If it was not for players like Barry, american football would not be worth watching. "Im sad you retired, but thanks for the memories Barry"

Easily the most exciting back the NFL ever saw, can't give him 5 stars though cause i feel cheated he retired so early. We should have been able to watch him for a few more years.

No passing game, a rag tag offensive line, yet Barry Sanders once held the number 2 record for rushing yards. And he did it with all the class in the world. I was sad to see him go, and I would love to see him come back and break Emmitt's record. I'd pick him over Smith anyday.

This man was the best of the best!! He has as much class as Walter Payton. Neither of them can honestly be beat by Emmitt Smith. No offence but he can not hold a candle to them. They will always rate, no matter what.

WALTER WANNABE IS AN EDIOT BARRY IS THE BEST OF ALL TIME

Very good runner, but nowhere near the running back that Jim Brown was. Then again, nobody else is either.

The reason I started watching football in the 1st place. In my eyes, the greatest player to have played the game. Made the most with which he had. Sad to see other ungrateful people take him for granted to provide greatness year after year with virtually no help what-so-ever, and he does this for 10 years. To be able to do what he did, for so long should grant ANYONE the right to quit on his own terms. The so called Lions fans that talk about Barry in a negative light should be ashamed of themselves. At least have a backbone and back up your guy that shredded the crap out of any defense that tried to stand in your rb's way(especially my Bucs). I know your guy was the greatest, and you know it too. The difference is, you guys are still too pissed off(for no legit reason) to admit it.

the best all around player ever, and the best RB ever.

Quickest back ever and he never fumbled. He was a classy but weird guy and I don't think he really enjoyed playing the game. It sucked how he bailed out on the Lions but for a number of years he made them a better team than they should of been and if he'd been with the Cowboys he might have had a 3000 yard season.

First, none of the players on thisw list are bad. But I have to rate them by comparison. Sanders had some of the best seasons ever. But he also had games where he lost yardage, and couldn't cxarry the team. But what really bothers me is that he quit on the Lions. Why? Because it's all about Barry. And as far as I'm concerned, there's no "I" in team.

classic case of a great back on a horrible team. i cant say i support his retirement descision but you know, i would get sick of losing all the time also. i think he should have just left and went to another team, that would have taken some of the heat off. but i realy hate it when a great back gets stuck on a horrible team. rashaan salaam had potential to be one of the greats, and he got stuck with the bears. hey i would be a pot head too if i had to play with their 95' offensive line. poor bastard

Best rb of all time!!!!

I excuse the idiots that don't realize that this man set records on a team with no offensive line, no passing threat, and he was removed every time the lions entered the red zone. How can you play for the love of the game when you are the only one trying to make a difference and your Coach doesn't have a clue?

he had no ambition.