Calvin Johnson in Retirement

[Jameis1of1]

@Jameis1of1 oh lord don't get my buddy @doniceage going he is a Lions fan lol, we will be discussing this on the phone then.

I was raised to be a Lions fans but when I "came of age" I was just a "player fan" ... but the Lions have had some of the absolute all-time greats ... it's just they never have more than one at a time which is sad ...

[lil5up3rman]

Well I wouldn't say never, I think Stafford and Calvin were a great Duo. But yeah I get what you are saying. They haven't had much luck in the way of running backs in the past several years. Just guys I would say that are average and it seems like when someone is ready to break out in their backfield they go down with injuries. Danie

[doniceage]

I was raised to be a Lions fans but when I "came of age" I was just a "player fan" ... but the Lions have had some of the absolute all-time greats ... it's just they never have more than one at a time which is sad ...

Imo Barry was better than any back ever. I never seen Jim Brown so not sure. All the other backs like Smith. Thomas, Dickerson, Campbell, Peterson, on down the list never had his god given ability to cut like he did on turf. Luckily, he had that at home and it helped. Retired in top playing shape in which he could have shattered every record if that was what he cared about but it was not. Not having a great Oline did not help his stats as everyone played a 5 4 to stop Barry from running. Hence the back with the most tackles for a loss. Get rid of those and your talking a ton of yardage. In the end Barry kept thing exciting as you never knew what might unfold.

Don

[Jameis1of1]

Imo Barry was better than any back ever. I never seen Jim Brown so not sure. All the other backs like Smith. Thomas, Dickerson, Campbell, Peterson, on down the list never had his god given ability to cut like he did on turf. Luckily, he had that at home and it helped. Retired in top playing shape in which he could have shattered every record if that was what he cared about but it was not. Not having a great Oline did not help his stats as everyone played a 5 4 to stop Barry from running. Hence the back with the most tackles for a loss. Get rid of those and your talking a ton of yardage. In the end Barry kept thing exciting as you never knew what might unfold.

Don

I agree 100% ... Barry was the greatest pure runner in NFL history and was BY FAR the running back that was the most fun to watch ... I can't even think of a close second ... I'd maybe say Earl Campbell was the back that was the second most fun to watch, but he was BORING compared to Barry!

Had Barry had the Cowboys line ... he probably would have averaged over 2,000 yards per season and had a couple 2,500+ seasons as well!

[doniceage]

I agree 100% ... Barry was the greatest pure runner in NFL history and was BY FAR the running back that was the most fun to watch ... I can't even think of a close second ... I'd maybe say Earl Campbell was the back that was the second most fun to watch, but he was BORING compared to Barry!

Had Barry had the Cowboys line ... he probably would have averaged over 2,000 yards per season and had a couple 2,500+ seasons as well!

I concur!

Don

[Rabs]

I know this thread is about Calvin who I agree was a great WR and retired too soon.

Same can be said of Barry. I agree that he is the greatest pure RB I've ever seen and would easily have the rushing record if he had not retired. Much better than Emmitt to me.

Didn't he have 2000 yards a year or two before he called it quits?

[doniceage]

Didn't he have 2000 yards a year or two before he called it quits?

Yes, the season he retired he had 2000 yards the year before.

DON