Something that has always struck me was the difference in Barry the college runner vs. Barry the NFL runner. He ran primarily behind a fullback at Okie State and was much more north and south. He also was a phenomenal goal line back at O State.

I think the Lions misused him actually. They should have scrapped the run and shoot and given Barry a run blocking o-line and fullback. The majority of his Lion's career he was forced to improvise given the pass happy nature of that offense. Their offense wasn't built for short yardage situations either, which is why his TD numbers were never on par with Smith's. In 97, when they gave him a fullback a fair amount of the time, he went for 2,000.

If Barry had found himself behind a line like the early 90's cowboys, early 00 chiefs, late 90's broncos... The rushing record would be north of 20,000 yards.

They didn't cut Barry Sanders. They gave him a $35 million contract. I think he could have bothered to pick up a phone and tell them he wasn't going to play anymore instead of being a classless dick about it.