"Bye Bye Barry," a documentary released Tuesday on Amazon that dives into the storied career of legendary Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders, goes through the former NFL star's 10 seasons with the team, leading up to his retirement. Lions fans are sure to enjoy the film, but one former player is not quite a fan of the work.
Former Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell is unhappy with how he's portrayed, and felt he should not have been singled out for the franchise never reaching the Super Bowl during the Sanders years.
"I am so tired of hearing how I was the reason that Barry Sanders never won a Super Bowl," Mitchell wrote on Facebook, via the Detroit News. "I'm so tired of hearing how I was not a good QB. My only response is F--K YOU ALL!!!!! That includes Eminem [and] Jeff Daniels."
He clearly did not hold back.
Mitchell played for the Lions from 1994 to 1998. Sanders was with the Lions from 1989 to 1998. During his time with the Lions, Mitchell went 27-30, with a 56.7 completion percentage, 12,647 yards, 79 touchdowns and 57 interceptions.
In the documentary, there were many people, including former Lions head coach Wayne Fontes, who said Sanders could have brought the team a championship, if it wasn't for the quarterbacks holding him back. Fontes said if the team had the chance to sign a couple star quarterbacks late in their careers, they would have a different outcome.
This did not sit well with Mitchell.
"I can't even began [sic] to tell you what a disappointment it is to [hear] my own coach, Wayne Fontes, who went out in free agency and actively [pursued] me to the point of begging me to come to Detroit, say that he wanted Joe Montana or Warren Moon, and that the only thing that was missing from the team winning the Super Bowl was a quarterback," Mitchell said in his post. "A little support from the coach might have gone a long way. Wayne never had my back!"
Mitchell, in fact, went so far as to say Sanders should be included in players to blame for the Lions not winning it all.
"Bottom line, Barry Sanders had everything in Detroit," Mitchell wrote. "Everyone loved him. Everything was built for Barry to succeed. In his 10-year career he won one playoff game and the only reason he didn't win more was everyone else was the problem? How many yards did Barry have in the playoffs in '94, '95, '97? I'll give you a hint not very many. We all are to blame for not winning a [Super Bowl] in Detroit even Barry Sanders."
In his two playoff games with the Lions, Mitchell went 0-2 with a 42.6 completion percentage, one touchdown and five interceptions. In those games, he had a 23.1 quarterback rating, per Pro Football Reference.
Sanders appeared in six playoff games in his career, topping 100 yards once (169) in a wild card loss to the Packers in 1993. In his career, the Hall of Famer had 3,062 carries for 15,269 yards, along with 352 receptions for 2,921 yards and 109 touchdowns. He was a six-time first-team All-Pro to go along with 10 Pro Bowls.
