A different era for sure. I can make this short and simple.
I believe the current common career average for running backs in the NFL is around 3 years. That’s just the modern statistics.
Barry Sanders played 10 seasons.
It just makes me chuckle, because Barry gave us a whole decade… and it wasn’t good enough.
All positions except QB have seen a steady decline in average career length because players abuse their bodies so much more than in the past with the amount of excess training they do to push their bodies past their genetic limits.
The average career length for RBs in the 90s was around 2.8 years and now its around 2.6. I think there is a perception that they played longer because of guys like Barry and Emmitt Smith having longer careers but they were exceptions. I also think there was more of an incentive then to play longer because RBs were paid much more (relative to the time period) then they are now.
“It wasn’t good enough”
Thats BS it was more than good enough he is the greatest of all time at his position.
His TEAM was not good enough the organization was not good enough we borked that era hard
I even fudged the numbers a bit. The numbers are more like 2.5 years.
A different mindset at the time. The general feeling among a lot of fans and personalities that this was an act of betrayal.
As a younger fan, I’m more amazed that he played 10 full seasons with the same team.
It was an anomaly then as well. Very few players can play at an elite level for so long, especially RB. It was also wild he played for Detroit the entire time, but it happens. We’re witnessing something very similar with Derrick Henry right now. Adrian Peterson played 10 years in Minnesota before moving on. Both of those guys are also looked at as freaks that they played for so long as workhorses.
So, honestly, I don’t find Barry retiring to be as confusing and shocking as a previous generation did.
The dust has settled a bit. 10 seasons at running back is more than fine. Barry was also amplified as being a weirdo… and he was a bit. Still, if you lose a passion for the game, at least Barry was honest about it.
Right, freaks for sure.
That was joke with Joel Zumaya. We wanted to believe the Nolan Ryan theory.
Of course, Zumaya was built to blow his arm out in a few years and he did.
Nothing really shocking there.
I think I’ve told this story before. I do trust the guy that told, because, very simply, this was the only story that he told me like this, and it’s fits with Barry’s personality.
My friend was in high school and was at his buddies house, who lived in Barry’s subdivision. Barry was shooting hoops in his driveway and my friend and his buddy went and joined him. They had a good time. A while later, my friend was in a local grocery store. He saw Barry, and was thinking of saying “Hello” but decided to leave him alone. A few minutes later my friend gets a tap on the shoulder and it’s Barry, who says “Don’t I know you?”
Haha! That’s cool.
I never realized how apathetic he was to stats, yet he either shattered or was going to shatter numerous records.
But he just seems like a genuinely good dude and his sons aren’t stuck up rich kids.
The only thing that hasn’t been explained is why he waited until the start of the season to retire, leaving the team hanging?
Yeah our ability to have generational talents like sims, sanders, and megatron and not be able to find a suitable supporting cast was so damn frustrating. And now we have the no name team that’s so complete is incredibly ironic.
Edit: I think Sewell can reach those heights but he’s not there yet. But if he maintains his arc it’s certainly possible.
“It wasn’t good enough”
Thats BS it was more than good enough he is the greatest of all time at his position.
His TEAM was not good enough the organization was not good enough we borked that era hard
All positions except QB have seen a steady decline in average career length because players abuse their bodies so much more than in the past with the amount of excess training they do to push their bodies past their genetic limits.
The average career length for RBs in the 90s was around 2.8 years and now its around 2.6. I think there is a perception that they played longer because of guys like Barry and Emmitt Smith having longer careers but they were exceptions. I also think there was more of an incentive then to play longer because RBs were paid much more (relative to the time period) then they are now.