How Would Barry Sanders Fare in Today's NFL?
During their trip to New Orleans earlier this week, Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter secured more than just a hangover. The duo hauled in plenty of interviews, two of which dropped on today’s Pardon My Take. First up: Hall of Famer Barry Sanders. The former Detroit Lion hopped on the podcast to discuss his career, dunking, and breaking ankles. An interesting portion of their chat, though, included if Sanders were to hypothetically hop back into the NFL right now. How successful would he be? The tailback explains:
Mr. Cat: Are you officially retired?
Barry Sanders: (Laughing) That’s a serious question?
Mr. Cat: Yes. So, my dad, for a decade after you retired, every July or August, he’d be like, ‘You know who’s out there? Barry Sanders.’ And I still think that you could put up… What do you think you could put up if you had to get out there right now? On a Sunday. You have a great offensive line, you have a great scheme, how many yards you putting up, I’m giving you 15 carries?
Barry Sanders: 15 carries a game? Maybe I can put up, I don’t know, 500-600 yards for the season.
Mr. Commenter: That’s pretty good. The thing is, you’re not actually joking about that, and I’m not joking about laughing about it, because I believe you could. Like, if you were in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, playing for the 49ers, I think you could have 500 yards.
Barry Sanders: If I played on the 49ers this season? I appreciate that man, I appreciate that.
Mr. Cat: At what point after you retired though, at what age were you like, ‘eh maybe.’ Because I’m sure there were some years where you were like, ‘I could still do it if I wanted to.’
Barry Sanders: That’s the thing about retiring when I did. I can always sort of play that game, right. Even when I’m 90, I can still sit there and say ‘Yeah, maybe I still have a little something left in those legs.’ At 50? I feel like I could maybe run like a 4.5 or 4.6 (40-yard dash).
Mr. Cat: (Laughing) That’s good to know! Because you’re playing the same game that my dad’s been playing for the last 20 years, like Barry Sanders has still got something left in those legs.
Mr. Commenter: When was the last time you put the pads on?
Barry Sanders: It was when I played.
Mr. Cat: That’s it?
Barry Sanders: Yeah, when I played. You think I’ve put them on at the house?!
Mr. Commenter: Just walking in front of the mirror saying, ‘I look like a football player.’
Barry Sanders: That’s the one thing. When I look in the mirror, I do not look the same way I did when I was 25 years old. I look a lot different.
Mr. Cat: Father time, yeah.
Barry Sanders: It happens, man. I feel like I’m decent for a 50-year old guy.
Mr. Commenter: You look younger than both of us.
Given that Sanders’ NFL career lasted from 1989-98, I unfortunately did not catch the majority of his weekly outbursts putting up legendary performances. What I do remember, however, is always picking him on my team in Backyard Football. What a speedster. If you and I were fortunate enough to see Sonic Boom pop up in the playbook, all you had to do was hand that innocent, little pigskin off to No. 20, and… GOODNIGHT! Six points for the Wombats, Melonheads, or whatever team you desire.
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