Love him or Hate him....Sanders ROCKED
Sanders will be remembered as best CB ever
July 31, 2001
By Pete Prisco
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Tell Pete your opinion!
There have been plenty of good NFL cornerbacks, some even great. And then there is Deion Sanders.
Nobody did it any better.
If Sanders is truly retired from the NFL, the best cornerback to play the position will be hanging it up. With apologies to Mel Blount, Mike Haynes, Willie Brown and the countless other men who have put their manhood to a test playing out on the island, Sanders was simply the best.
Some fans will remember Deion Sanders more for his bandanna and flamboyant attitude than his spectacular play. (Allsport)
Let's say Cornerback Island is our game of Survivor. One-by-one, the others would get voted off.
Get off, Haynes. Goodbye, Brown. Later, Blount.
Sanders is the one who would be left standing. And the funny thing is, he never had immunity.
He has been attacked personally his entire career -- maybe some of it deserved.
Sanders was -- and is -- an easy target. His "Prime Time" image didn't play well in Peoria. He was everything Middle America didn't want in its athletes. He was cocky, arrogant, wore jewelry like a rap star (which he even tried to become), made bandannas chic and waved at punters as he ran by them for a touchdown. Sanders even talked in the third person, making Prime Time an entire personality.
What everyone lost in all that was that Prime Time might have been one of the best marketing strategies ever. All businesses included. Sanders started it a long time ago at Florida State, and made millions off the persona. No marketing class at FSU could teach it this well.
The reality, though, was that it was simply an act.
The real Deion Sanders, anyone close to him will tell you, is a likeable guy who also happened to be a good teammate. Finding teammates who don't like him is a tough task.
Even guys who had their doubts about Sanders, seeing him much like the fans as an arrogant "me'' guy, changed their minds when he came to their team.
Despite the outside perception, Sanders was a professional. Sure, he bragged about himself, but he also backed it up.
He also defined the cornerback position. In the era of modern football, Sanders played the position his way. The NBA had the Jordan Rules. The NFL had the Sanders Rule.
Simply put, it was this: Avoid him if you can.
Sanders' ability to play coverage allowed for a new style of defense. He would take one receiver, while the rest of the secondary played zone. He was the take-away corner. Those who have watched him on film are amazed at the ease in which he covered people. It was as simple as pulling up the covers at night, which is why "blanket" is an image that Sanders will forever bring to mind.
"You took a lot less chances when he lined up one-on-one with one of your guys,'' Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said. "He was a fantastic player.''
Sanders was a two-way player, a two-sport athlete and the only guy to play in a Super Bowl and a World Series. He was also a great return man, topping any list of the best in that area.
Punting to him was hazardous to a team's health, but worth the price of admission for any fan. His 18 touchdowns on returns (interceptions, punts, kickoffs, fumbles) is an NFL record.
What turned off the public were his on-field antics and off-field personality.
On the field, he was a high-stepper who showed off for the crowd. Off the field, he was a guy who rapped with Hammer (remember him?) when Hammer was still big. He even belted out his own tunes, starring in an MTV video.
So it became chic to rip Sanders, with the public taking him apart for that Prime Time persona. And while they were at it, they crucified him for his poor tackling.
He's a great cover guy, but ... that tackling.
Truth be known, Sanders wasn't a great tackler. But he wasn't nearly as bad as the media made him out to be. He wasn't a ferocious, physical player like Blount, but he did well enough to put runners down.
Maybe it looked awkward and silly at times, especially compared to the ease with which he covered people, but Sanders' faults as a tackler were magnified because of his flashy style. It's easy to try and tear down the great ones.
He was paid to shut down receivers. And that's what he did better than anyone who has played the game. Ask any coach whether they'd prefer a tackling corner or a cover corner and you bet the answer would be the latter.
At 33, the skills began to erode last season. Sanders was perhaps the fastest NFL player for a time, but even he can't outrun Father Time. Who can?
He showed signs of slowing down, plus a back injury limited him some last season. Teams actually went at him, instead of away from him.
The Sanders Rule was broken. For once, he was the second-best corner on his own team -- playing second-fiddle to Champ Bailey.
Coming in second isn't Sanders. That's why he tried baseball again. Sanders failed in his first MLB stint, but he tried again this season, and now looks to have failed again. Friends also say his baseball career is over.
How about the NBA, Deion? There are some who know him well that say hoops might have been his second-best sport to football, which would mean he's one heck of basketball player. A little one-on-one, Tony Gonzalez?
Sanders had his faults, immaturity early in his career being one of them. But since a religious epiphany the past couple of years, he'll be the first to tell you all about them. He never drank, smoked or did drugs, mostly because he saw what those things did to his father, who died at an early age.
He admittedly had some marital infidelities, but that was when he was Prime Time. Now Prime Time is dead, replaced by a happy family man, far removed by the glitz and glamour of hanging out with Hammer and having gold medallions the size of a hood ornament hanging from his neck.
The change in Sanders was quite evident in the way he decided to leave the game. There was no press conference, no turning the lights out on Prime Time. He just sent in a letter, notifying the Redskins of his intent to walk away. He didn't want to play for Marty Schottenheimer and his boot-camp ways. Too bad, Deion missed out on Oklahoma and tackling drills Monday, drills defensive end Bruce Smith called outdated.
People close to Sanders say he hopes to work in television someday. For now, though, he's content to spend time with his family in Texas -- away from the spotlight.
The skeptics say this is all a ploy, a way for him to avoid playing for the Redskins. He'll be back, they say, because he can't stay out of the limelight.
That would be true of the old Sanders. This Deion Sanders has matured, which means this is likely for real. Unlike some of his peers, Sanders knows the skills aren't what they used to be and realizes it's time to get out before he becomes a shell of himself. Then the fans will truly pick him apart.
Good for you, Deion. Walk away as the best corner to play the game, regardless of the tackling.
Cornerbacks will be compared to you for a long time. The Sanders Rule will live forever. |
