Michael Whitaker
Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders knows the frustration of not being on the winning side of things all too well. Having finished half of his 10 seasons in the NFL outside of the playoff picture looking in, Sanders can count himself among those hoping that Detroit will return to the playoffs under first year head coach Matt Patricia.
And though he’s staying optimistic, he knows things won’t be easy in the tough NFC North Division that features last year’s division winning Minnesota Vikings, a Green Bay Packers squad with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, and a Chicago Bears team that just acquired linebacker Khalil Mack from the Raiders in a lopsided deal.
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“It’ll be tough,” he explained, “but that’s why you play the game. I hope they can compete. We certainly are not the favorite, but you don’t have to be. We’re hoping for big things from Coach Patricia, but that’s really where I would leave it.”
As far as Detroit’s running game is concerned, fans have reason to believe that the team will fare better than last year’s last place finish in that statistical category following the additions of LeGarrette Blount and Kerryon Johnson as well as guard Frank Ragnow. Quarterback Matthew Stafford recently noted he’s liking what he’s seeing from Detroit’s improved ground game.
“Yeah, they’re super talented,” he said this week. “We’ve got a bunch of talented guys, a bunch of guys that have different skill sets. We’ve got all different shapes and sizes back there and those guys are doing a good job for us.”
Sanders himself is glad to see a resurgence in focus on running backs.
“Most things in football are very cyclical, there’s an ebb and flow as the game changes and evolves,” he said, “and I think of that with the resurgence of running backs … I think that last year was a great example.”
His picks for the game’s top running backs include Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell, Leonard Fournette, Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, and Ezekial Elliott.
