Thread: BEARS BEST RB? Payton or sayers, WHO YA GOT

I'd sum it up this way having seen both of them run.

Walter was not a guy who easy to bottle up. His combination of shiftiness near the line and his raw power and athletic ability almost always got him his yardage. He didn't beat you with one long run but he'd buldgeon you to death with 20 or 25 of them across the course of a game. On the goaline he was virtually unstoppable.

Sayers could be bottled up. In fact that was about the only way you could stop him. A team might hold him to just a 2 or 3 ypc average for most of the game but then he'd break that 60 yard td run and break your back with it. That's why I compare him to Hester. Teams can and do bottle him up at times on punt returns but give him one small opening where he can kick in his jets and he's gone. That's how Sayers ran.

Originally Posted by soulman

I'd sum it up this way having seen both of them run.

Walter was not a guy who easy to bottle up. His combination of shiftiness near the line and his raw power and athletic ability almost always got him his yardage. He didn't beat you with one long run but he'd buldgeon you to death with 20 or 25 of them across the course of a game. On the goaline he was virtually unstoppable.

Sayers could be bottled up. In fact that was about the only way you could stop him. A team might hold him to just a 2 or 3 ypc average for most of the game but then he'd break that 60 yard td run and break your back with it. That's why I compare him to Hester. Teams can and do bottle him up at times on punt returns but give him one small opening where he can kick in his jets and he's gone. That's how Sayers ran.

I said this in an earlier post on here, but Sayers reminds me so much of Barry Sanders. Sanders, like Sayers, could be bottled up, but then he'd break a big one on the defense for a shit pile of yards and score a touchdown. Walter Payton was probably unlike any other runner in the history of the league.

Originally Posted by Dagan81

I said this in an earlier post on here, but Sayers reminds me so much of Barry Sanders. Sanders, like Sayers, could be bottled up, but then he'd break a big one on the defense for a shit pile of yards and score a touchdown. Walter Payton was probably unlike any other runner in the history of the league.

True as far as the fact that both did do that but again a difference in style.

Barry Sanders was like a waterbug who could squeeze through cracks like a roach does through your kitchen walls. He was tough to get a hit on and almost impossible to tackle one on one. I saw Singletary miss him three times on one play, LOL. Sayers was more like a deer when he took off and just changes direction at will with out even slowing down. He had tremendous break away speed.

Bill Cosby said something about Sayers that could describe both of them. He said that Sayers was like an amoeba in that he could split himself in two and leave the half without the ball with his would be tackler. He said Sayers was single handedly responsible for the NFL rule which states that you could not split your self in half when running with the ball, LOL.

Walter would be my guy. With all that has been said plus the extras like the massive vertical leap over the goalline, could throw the ball, and could kick in a pinch.
I remember watching Sanders squirm and spin out of 3 bears defenders. Was a magnificent run/move but hated to see it on us.

Originally Posted by soulman

True as far as the fact that both did do that but again a difference in style.

Barry Sanders was like a waterbug who could squeeze through cracks like a roach does through your kitchen walls. He was tough to get a hit on and almost impossible to tackle one on one. I saw Singletary miss him three times on one play, LOL. Sayers was more like a deer when he took off and just changes direction at will with out even slowing down. He had tremendous break away speed.

Bill Cosby said something about Sayers that could describe both of them. He said that Sayers was like an amoeba in that he could split himself in two and leave the half without the ball with his would be tackler. He said Sayers was single handedly responsible for the NFL rule which states that you could not split your self in half when running with the ball, LOL.

I would say that had Sayers stayed healthy, he would have put up numbers similar to Barry Sanders. It would have been interesting to see if he would have played into Walter Payton's career any at all.

Originally Posted by Dagan81

I would say that had Sayers stayed healthy, he would have put up numbers similar to Barry Sanders. It would have been interesting to see if he would have played into Walter Payton's career any at all.

I think even if Sayers had stayed healthy he wouldn't have come close to putting up the number of rushing yards Walter did. But, if it came to total yards from scrimmage/returns they would probably very close. Sayers would have had a higher average per carry but Payton would still have far more carries and therefore more yardage. Like I said, to great players but with distinctly different styles of going about it.

I'm not gonna go as far as to say one is/was better than the other, however Payton's my favorite between the two.

Originally Posted by soulman

I think even if Sayers had stayed healthy he wouldn't have come close to putting up the number of rushing yards Walter did. But, if it came to total yards from scrimmage/returns they would probably very close. Sayers would have had a higher average per carry but Payton would still have far more carries and therefore more yardage. Like I said, to great players but with distinctly different styles of going about it.

Why don't you think that Sayers could have put the stats that Barry Sanders did? They, again, were close to the same kind of runner in that they were good open field runners and could juke a defender and go the distance in a flash.

Basically, it's potential vs. production. Walter, again.