Sanders vs. Smith Is Game Within a Game

PONTIAC, Mich. —  Barry Sanders isn’t thinking in terms of having a personal showdown with Emmitt Smith Sunday afternoon at the Silverdome -- running backs at 20 paces and may the shiftiest feet win -- but he can understand how everyone else would.

“I’ve been a fan,” Sanders said earlier this week. “I know people like to see individual players go against each other. But we have a tremendous opportunity with the Lions. That’s what’s on my mind.”

Despite a slew of injuries that would have crippled other teams, the amazing National Football Conference Central champion Detroit Lions are just one victory away from playing for the NFC title. They have come this far primarily because of the magical moves of Sanders, who rushed for 1,548 yards this season. But if they want to go farther, the Lions will have to stop Smith, the Dallas Cowboy running back, who edged Sanders for the NFL rushing title by 15 yards.

It’s a dream matchup, and who better to describe their contrasting styles than Sanders, who admits to being a running back aficionado? Of Smith, Sanders said, “He’s kind of silky; he slips a lot of tackles. He’s not the type to run a guy over -- neither am I -- but he still has a certain amount of strength. He’s elusive and can make you miss pretty often.”

Of himself, Sanders said, “I do more spins and jukes, head and shoulder fakes. I make more moves.”

Neither running back had his best game when the Lions defeated the Cowboys, 34-10, earlier this season. Dallas stacked the line of scrimmage and held Sanders to 55 yards on 21 carries but got burned by the passing of Lions quarterback Erik Kramer. Smith carried 16 times for 66 yards, but the Cowboys spent much of the game playing catch-up.

But when they tee it up in an NFC semifinal playoff game Sunday, the top priority for each team will be to stop the other’s running game. Sanders, who averaged 4.5 yards per carry and had eight 100-yard rushing efforts and 16 rushing touchdowns in 15 games, is 5-8 and 203 pounds. He has 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash and exceptional leg drive. Smith, who is 5-9, 203 and a tick slower than Sanders, averaged 4.3 yards per carry and had nine 100-yard games and 12 rushing TDs.

It sounds simple, but the key to success for both the Lions and Cowboys is good tackling. “Tackling is 90 percent heart and 10 percent technique,” Lions strong safety William White said. “A great back like Emmitt Smith is very smooth and flowing. It doesn’t look like he’s running hard, but he makes excellent use of his blockers. Barry will embarrass you in front of your wife and kids and family; he’ll hand you your jockstrap on national TV.

“You try to come at them from an angle and give them one way to go. Then you pray for the pursuit to get there.”

The Lions have a rule against tackling Sanders, even in training camp, but their defenders know what it’s like to clutch at his body parts when Sanders is at his shake-and-bake best. “He can make you miss twice in a 2-foot hole,” said free safety Bennie Blades. “If you try to go at him full speed, he’ll stop and make a cut.”

Tacklers must try to stay square to the ballcarrier, maintain good balance by keeping their feet moving and then be sure to wrap up the runner with both arms and squeeze. But it’s difficult to make form tackles against Smith and Sanders. “You don’t want to lean with them one way because they’re setting you up to go another way,” Lions cornerback Ray Crockett said. “They’re not the type of running backs you can knock out. You grab anything you can to get them down. If you come up for a knockout shot, you’ll miss.”

The Cowboys’ traditional offensive scheme provides a fullback and one or two tight ends to block for Smith along with the interior line. The Lions rarely use a tight end in their run-and-shoot formation and never have a fullback, but the threat of the pass to four wide receivers spreads the defense and forces the use of more defensive backs in place of larger linebackers.

Sanders and Smith both are especially effective at picking their way through small openings between the tackles. Smith is good at hiding behind his huge offensive linemen. For instance, Lions defensive end Marc Spindler will have to shed 332-pound Cowboys tackle Nate Newton before he can get to Smith.

Spindler’s job is to force Smith into the traffic in the middle, but he’s eager to put a good lick on Smith himself. “I’m not going to pay attention to all the hype,” Spindler said. “I’m going to run right through him and smash his skull. I ain’t worried about Emmitt Smith. I can already tell it’s going to be a hot-tempered, flagrant game. He has great vision and good moves end speed, but I’m not going to dwell on that. I’m coming to take him out and force them into a passing game.”

Those sentiments are common to tacklers who have been frustrated by Smith or Sanders. On their good days, they leave a tangled trail of defenders grabbing air. Sanders had one of those days when the Lions won their regular-season finale at Buffalo. “It got to the point where the Bills were laughing at each other because Barry was making them miss so badly,” Lions center Kevin Glover said. “They were actually trashing each other, saying stuff like, ‘Man, he made you look stupid’ or ‘You never even laid a glove on him.”’

Sometimes there’s nothing a tackler can do except shake his head in disbelief.