Who is Barry Sanders

Barry David Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders is best known for being one of the most prolific running backs in NFL history, and left the game just short of the all-time rushing record.

A Wichita, Kansas native, Sanders attended Wichita North High School. Sanders did not play running back until the fourth game of his senior year in 1985. He rushed for 1,322 yards in the final seven games of the season, which earned him all-state honors. He was, however, overlooked by most college recruiters because of his 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) size. He chose Oklahoma State out of the few scholarship offers made to him.

College Career
Sanders played for the Oklahoma State Cowboys from 1986 to 1988, and wore the number 21. During his first two years, he backed up All-American Thurman Thomas. Thomas moved on to the NFL, and Sanders became the starter for his junior year. In 1988, in what has been called the greatest season in college football history, Sanders led the nation by averaging 7.6 yards per carry and over 200 yards per game, including rushing for over 300 yards in four games. He set college football season records with 2,628 yards rushing, 3,249 total yards, 234 points, 39 touchdowns, of which 37 were rushing (also a record), 5 consecutive 200 yard games, scored at least 2 touchdowns in 11 consecutive games, and 9 times he scored at least 3 touchdowns. Sanders also ran for 222 yards and scored 5 touchdowns in his three quarters of action in the Holiday Bowl - a game that was not included with his season statistics. Sanders won the Heisman Trophy as the season's most outstanding player. However, he left Oklahoma State before his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

Professional Career
The Detroit Lions selected Sanders with their 1st-round (3rd overall) pick in the 1989 draft, thanks to the endorsement of then-coach Wayne Fontes. The Lions' management considered drafting another Sanders, cornerback Deion, but Fontes convinced them to draft Barry instead. He was offered the number of Lion idol Billy Sims, known as the 80's Lions' runningback. Though there were concerns about his size, it turned out these concerns were mostly unfounded. Sanders was far too quick for defenders to hit solidly on a consistent basis, and too strong to bring down with arm tackles. Though short at 5'8", his playing weight was 203 lb (91 kg) and Sanders had a large portion of this weight in his exceptionally large and muscular legs, which provided him with a very low center of mass; his weight was also the same as Walter Payton and only slightly under the NFL average for a back. Further, Sanders was able to dazzle onlookers at an ESPN slam dunk contest by jamming comfortably from a flat footed position[citation needed] demonstrating his other defining characteristic: explosiveness. His agility and quick acceleration combined with his low center of mass made him very difficult to bring down. In contrast to many of the star players of his era, Sanders was also noted for his on-field humility. Despite his flashy playing style, Sanders was rarely seen celebrating after the whistle was blown. Instead, he preferred to hand the ball to a referee or congratulate his teammates. In his rookie year in 1989, Sanders missed training camp due to a contract dispute. Despite that, he ran for 18 yards on his first carry, and scored a touchdown on his fourth. He finished the season second in the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns after declining to go back into the regular season finale just 10 yards shy of the rushing title (later won by Christian Okoye), and won the Rookie of the Year Award. In 1994, Sanders rushed for 1,883 yards, on a 5.7 yards per carry average. He also totaled 283 receiving yards, which gave him a combined 2,166 yards from scrimmage for the season. He was named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year. In 1995, Sanders posted 1,500 yards rushing with 398 receiving yards, beating his rushing total alone of the '94 season. In 1996, Sanders rushed for 1,553 yards with a career-low 147 receiving yards. Sanders greatest season came in 1997 (see below), when he rushed for a career-high 2,053 yards.

In Sanders last season in the NFL, 1998 he rushed for 1,491 yards, ending his four-year streak of rushing for over 1,500 yards in a season. Despite his individual success, the Lions never reached the Super Bowl while Sanders played for them. The closest they ever came was in the 1991 season. Aided by Sanders' 1,855 combined rushing/receiving yards and 17 touchdowns during the season, they recorded a 12-4 record and went on to defeat the Dallas Cowboys 38-6 in the divisional playoffs, the Lions only playoff win since 1957. They were beaten by the Washington Redskins 41-10 in the NFC Championship Game, and Sanders was held to 59 total yards. Detroit made the playoffs 4 more times during Sanders' career, but each time they were eliminated in the first round. In Sanders' career, he achieved Pro Bowl status in all of his 10 seasons as a pro. Sanders was named first team All-Pro eight times from 1989-1991 and 1993-1997 and was named second team All-Pro twice in 1992 and 1998. Sanders was also named All-NFC from 1989-1992 to 1994-1997. Sanders was named NFL Rookie of the Year in '89, Offensive Player of the Year in '94 and '97, NFL MVP in '97, and was named to the 1990s NFL All-Decade team. Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman wrote: "It doesn't matter where the play is blocked; he'll find his own soft spot...The scheme doesn't matter with Sanders. He can run from any alignment. While other people are stuck with joints, he seems to have ball bearings in his legs that give him a mechanical advantage...Sanders' finest runs often occur when he takes the handoff and, with a couple of moves, turns the line of scrimmage into a broken field...Nobody has ever created such turmoil at the point of attack as Sanders has...Knock on wood, he seems indestructible..." Article Source: Wikipedia | Photo Source

... you'll automatically be making a donation to Save The Children, working to solve global poverty. As a matter of fact, all of our lenses donate to Save The Children or The Acumen Fund.

Doesn't that feel good?

We Squidoo for charity! One of the coolest things about Squidoo is the opportunity provided for lensmasters designate all or part of their proceeds to charity. Consider creating a lens today for a charitable cause.

Kennewick Real Estate | Washington Real Estate News
Tri City Washington Country Homes | Colleen Lane Blogging
Columbia Riverfront Homes For Sale | West Richland Homes For Sale

Some of this work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. All original work, design, and imagery is Copyright© 2007-09 The Lane Real Estate Team.

Recycling | World Vision | Flipping Real Estate | Jesus Christ Images | Carrie Underwood | Lizzie Stanton | Olevia 747i LCD HDTV | Muhammad Ali | Best Real Estate Websites | Greatest Real Estate Agent In The World | Real Estate Closing | Hillary Duff | Shih Huang Ti | Ford Mustang | Herbert Hoover | Bible Study Fellowship | Aaliyah | How To Hire A Woman | Save The Children | Christmas Forums | Mike Huckabee | Buy Wii Online | Maria Sharapova | Weirdest Photo Ever | Acumen Fund | Evel Knievel | Mother Teresa | Squid Angel | Michael Jordan | Traffic From Image Searches | Free Squidoo Images | Squidoo How-To Reference | Squidoo Lens Candy | How To Prt Scr | Michael Jordan | Maria Sharapova PowerShot Videos | Focus On The Family | Colleen Lane

Consider Joining One (or all) Of Our Groups Today:

• Totally Awesome Tee-Shirts ~ Tee Shirts, Cafe Press, etc.
• Everything Photography ~ Anything Photo & Image Related
• Freebies ~ Yup, All Those Freebie & Savings Lenses
• Let's Party ~ Everything Party Themed.
• For The Good Of Squidoo ~ Charities, Lenses Supporting Good Things, & Involved Lensmasters
• Dance Group ~ Anything Dance Related
• TV Game Shows & Competitions ~ Self Explanatory
• Novelty Gifts ~ Anything Gifts Related
• Squidoo Everything How To ~ How-To & Educating Lenses
• About Anyone Group ~ SquidWho, Biographies, Lensographies, etc.
• Books, Magazines, & Anything Else Read ~ Anything Read!
• Duels, Dueling, Debates, & MonkeyBrain Arguments ~ Self Explanatory!
• Everything Green & Environment ~ Recycling, Going Green, Saving Stuff, etc.
• Home, Garden, & Anything Housing ~ Self Explanatory!
• Humor, Jokes, Comics, Fun, & Goofyness! ~ The Funny Stuff!
• Pop Culture & Celebrities ~ Current Events, People, and Places
• Everything Religious & Spiritual ~ Anything Spiritually Related
• Squidoo Lens Tips & Tricks ~ Squidoo Lensmastering
• Work At Home Group ~ Working From Home, The Self Employed, and Affiliates
• Everything Christian ~ The God Of The Bible Group