Sanders makes believers of Bucs Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 8 November 1993 Barry Sanders is bottled lightning, an electrifying runner who can strike from anywhere on the field. He proved that again and again in the Bucs' 23-0 loss to the Lions Sunday by rushing 29 times for 187 yards. And if there's a debate about who is the NFL's best running back, it's not being held in the Bucs' locker room. "He's clearly the best back in the league," said linebacker Hardy Nickerson. "There's no argument. Other guys don't measure up. This guy is their whole offense. Look at Dallas. They've got Aikman, Irvin, Harper, Novacek. With Detroit, it's just Sanders. I've played against Thomas, I've played against Emmitt. I've practiced against Barry Foster. No. 20 is the best back in the league." Sanders, who leads the NFL in rushing with 977 yards, has victimized every team in the league. But he plays particular havoc with the Buccaneers. In nine games, Sanders has rushed 192 times for 1,022 yards against Tampa Bay. "He's the most dangerous to me in that he's never out of a play," coach Sam Wyche said. "There are some backs that have great days and run at will, but at some point during the play, you say, `Okay, we've got him, it's just a matter of finishing this tackle.' You can't say that with him. The other thing that he is good for this league is that he's a tremendous person. I'm always happy for good people that become stars because they set an example that you hope this league represents." The Bucs' defense did its best to keep Sanders from breaking loose in the first half. He rushed for 95 yards on 16 carries before halftime, but the Lions had only two Jason Hanson field goals to show for it. "We felt going into the game we could run the ball on them and be successful," Lions tackle Lomas Brown said. "We were able to do that and eventually just wore them down. The offensive line is finally together now as a starting unit. Chemistry is starting to get there with all of us working together. What can you say about Barry? He's great." Sanders credited the Lions' balanced attack for his big day. "After the first Tampa Bay game, we felt we had a lot to prove and were looking forward to this one," Sanders said. "There was a lot of room for me to run. We were well-balanced in our attack. I don't think they could really predict what we were going to do. We mixed it up and had them on their heels." Sanders has a bye week to cool his heels, but there is speculation he might walk out of camp because of dissatisfaction with his contract talks. "From what I've been hearing, I wasn't going to be here for the first Tampa Bay game," Sanders said. "Then I wasn't going to be here for the Rams. Then Minnesota. I really don't have anything to say about it."