One was known affectionately as “The Bus,” while the other was considered the shiftiest running back in NFL history. So, their rushing styles were obviously much, much different.
No player in NFL history had a better understanding of the differences between Detroit Lions’ Hall of Famer Barry Sanders and Pittsburgh Steelers’ Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis than former Lions and Steelers offensive lineman Jeff Hartings.
In a sit-down interview with Steelers.com’s Rob King in a “Time Machine” segment, Hartings recalled Sanders’s and Bettis’s running styles. While Sanders was a dynamic running back who made several defenders miss in a phone booth, Bettis was a more power runner who understood the offensive linemen’s blocking scheme and followed it well.
“Yeah, it is completely different styles. Even when you look at running backs now, and I get asked that, or I’m comparing myself, who do you compare to Jerome Bettis? I don’t even know if there are good comparisons because that guy could run guys over,” Hartings said to King, according to a video via Steelers.com. “But he could also…he had feet that could make guys miss. And then you have Jerome Bettis, who he’s just…I heard a great quote about or from Barry Sanders. He was never looking at the guy in front of him.
“Whereas Jerome really understood our blocking concepts and really understood how to make cuts based on how the defense aligned and how Alan [Faneca] and myself and the other guys up front were going to block for him. And I kind of knew exactly where he was gonna go.”
Hartings spent five seasons with the Detroit Lions after being drafted in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft out of Penn State. From 1996 to 1998, Hartings had the opportunity to block for Sanders, helping the running back rush for 1,553 yards and 11 touchdowns in 1996, 2,053 yards and 11 touchdowns in 1997, and then 1,491 yards and four touchdowns in 1998 before Sanders called it a career.
He was an electrifying back, one that made defenders miss in a phone booth. That often led to Sanders freelancing at times, too, but in a good way.
That can be tough on offensive linemen, not knowing where the running back is going. This can cause defenders to not be where they are expected to be within the scheme of a play, making it harder for linemen to get a hat on a defender.
All of that changed once Hartings came to Pittsburgh, though, as Bettis was a downhill power back. Though he had some great feet, Bettis followed the blocking scheme and really knew where his linemen were going, helping set up blocks in the process.
From 2001 to 2005, Hartings blocked in front of Bettis, helping the Steelers find the end zone a combined 42 times on the ground. Though Bettis had just one 1,000-yard season during that span, which came in 2001, he was still a force in the ground game. The Steelers rode that ground game, which was the best in the NFL in 2001, second in 2004, and fifth in 2005, helping the Steelers win Super Bowl XL.
Hartings was fortunate to block for two elite running backs, both of whom are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But trying to compare the two is impossible due to the completely different styles the pair played with.
