What if barry sanders had an offensive line

After 10 seasons with the Detroit Lions, Barry Sanders stepped away and retired from the game that he dominated since he was a rookie in Looking back 21 years after Sanders made this decision, it was undeniable that many people were in disbelief that he walked away from football so suddenly.

The conspiracies that inevitably surrounded his departure were meaningless to his legacy. Seeing a year-old superstar walk away from football was not something that happened too often in the NFL. Prior to Sanders, the last superstar to retire in the middle of his prime was Jim Brown, who hung up his cleats at age 30 in People still wonder what could have been for Brown if he continued to play deep into his 30s.

Sanders had 15, rushing yards when he retired in , which placed him second all-time on the rushing list. The NFL will probably never see a player rush for more than 15, yards in less than 10 seasons again.

Historically, backs ran north and south and tried to dole out the punishment to the defense. Sanders had the strength and capability to run up and down but he played behind an offensive line that had trouble creating gaps up front. He was the MVP in but he easily could have won that award more times. His attributes would have translated in any time period of the NFL.

This changed the Lions' season. Sanders had 14 straight yard games after -- an NFL record. It also means Sanders rushed for exactly 2, yards in 14 games -- the same number of games as O. Simpson, the league's first 2,yard rusher.

In addition to adjusting to a fullback, Sanders shifted his own prep, even though he hadn't missed a game since and was coming off two straight rushing titles and three straight 1,yard seasons.

At age 29, he started to hear questions about whether he'd soon break down. He still was the best back in the game, the guy who came from behind to take a rushing title away from Terrell Davis in And he was motivated.

Already in the process of tweaking his preparation the year before, Sanders made more changes in Before and after practice almost daily, Sanders would be off on the side, running about 10 yard sprints to stay sharp, something Croom called "remarkable. He ate fruit -- yellow apples or grapes -- at halftime for extra energy.

I had dropped a pound or two, maybe five pounds, and just wanted to be able to run to improve my speed distance. After those meetings, the yard games piled up. It started with yards against Chicago in Week 3. In Week 7 against Tampa Bay, he had one of his iconic games, gaining yards, including touchdown runs of 80 and 82 yards on which he faked Hall of Fame safety John Lynch to his knees.

Sanders had 1, yards with five games left. The offensive line and coaches started to wonder if 2, was going to be possible. The offensive line discussed it weekly. One lineman kept a weekly tracker of how many yards Sanders needed to average to get to 2K. The way they were doing it was unlike anything Croom had called before. After the failed first two weeks, Detroit mostly ran inside zone, draws and stretch outside zones.

Croom said he called a run dubbed "60 Outside" times that season, averaging 6. Sanders said he didn't realize 2, was a possibility until four games remained in the season.

He knew people started to peek at Walter Payton's career rushing record, but not the 2,yard mark. As he got closer, everyone knew. So, of course, I watched. There was more than a record to worry about entering the season finale against the Jets. Sanders entered the game with 1, yards -- needing yards. He had hit at least yards in the four games prior, so it was do-able. The game became an event in Detroit.

A television station invited Dickerson to attend. He flew in with a friend from Los Angeles, still the only time he has gone to a game because a back was about to cross the 2,yard mark.

Yet it almost didn't happen. Sanders had 20 yards in the first half. He had no run longer than 5 yards until the last play of the third quarter -- a yard gain on a third down. Every time Tharpe came back to the sideline after a series, he'd ask statisticians how far they were from Sanders reaching 2, The players who had been keeping secret tabs on per-game averages had a mental countdown, as well, even if they never actually discussed it.

I'll never forget that," Croom said. What are we going to run on third down? I heard a couple suggestions from a couple guys on the staff and said, 'What the heck. I'm just giving it to Barry. On his second carry of the fourth quarter, Sanders scored a yard touchdown to give the Lions a lead. Sanders, who almost always improved as games progressed, found rhythm. A playoff berth was possible. Sanders closed in on the milestone. Three plays later, the Silverdome fell silent.

They have safety lights on so it has a real eerie atmosphere. To me, that's the greatness of Barry Sanders. So you know he used to come over to my house every Thanksgiving and my ex-wife used to set out a spread, and I remember this one particular Thanksgiving, Barry came over and he got there a little late, but when he came to the house he had a box of ice cream sandwiches, and it was either a box of 12 or six, but when he walked in the house there was only two of them left.

He was like a stray. So I just kind of remember how he used to eat me out of house and home, especially when he first got to Detroit. Sanders also was known for his ability to dose off anywhere.

In the locker room before games, on the plane for road trips and in meetings watching film. Painter said he carried an ice pack to meetings to put on Sanders' neck in the event he fell asleep, and Gagliano said he and Sanders took naps in a darkened training room before games. So a lot of times on my way out for the game, we would have to wake him up cause he would be laying by his locker and he would be knocked out.

He would be asleep. One particular game, he was sitting there on the sideline asleep. With his helmet on. I promise you, you can ask four or five guys. You can ask Kevin Glover, you can ask Brett Perriman.

He was on the sideline sitting on the bench asleep during an NFL game. I think we were in the second half of this game and this man is sitting on the bench asleep with his helmet on. It was just unbelievable how he could take it from zero to 60 just like that. Sanders became the third player in NFL history to run for 2, yards in the final game of the season, and naturally he gave one of the game's most coveted artifacts to a teammate.

It was kind of twofold because of what happened with Reggie Brown suffering a spinal cord injury , but I remember, I just kind of casually leaned over cause he was only a couple lockers down and said, 'Hey man, let me get those shoes. And him sign it big-eyed like anybody else. And he signed them and gave them to me and I felt honored. And to this day, just have them and I really protect them. Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in , and while the day was about him, he still did his best to stay in the background.

We went to his Hall-of-Fame induction and we went up to Canton and it was the day before the actual induction so they had all the former Hall-of-Fame winners on risers in front of the Hall, and then one by one the new inductees came up. And John Elway came in a limousine, and someone else came in a limousine. They all came in limousines.

He never gave us a problem. Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett freepress. Follow him on Twitter davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android! Facebook Twitter Email. Barry Sanders at Here are 20 tales about No. Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press.

Taxi-cab confession. Waiting game. First impressions. Pull the plug. He got game. Watch this. Must-see TV. Shoe game. The impostor. Hug it out. Barry on the big screen. Extra, extra. Bottomless pit.

Sleeping beauty.