the Hall of Fame running back was on the field to turn a huge key, and the sta

Barry Sanders shook hands with fans Womens Tyron Smith Jersey , posed for pictures and engaged in small talk outside a suite at Ford Field before the Detroit Lions opened the season against the New York Jets.At halftime, dium's speakers blared with the sounds of an engine revving.Sanders is in his second season as an ambassador for the team, a paid role that is sending him on the road for Detroit's game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday."It's definitely nice to be back after the first few years of being retired and there not being much communication," Sanders said in an interview with The Associated Press. "So, certainly just being able to be involved with certain things that the team is doing from a community outreach standpoint and that sort of thing, for me, it's great."And, just being able to be around the game a little more and certainly around the Lions family a little more for me is meaningful so I do appreciate that."The Lions like the arrangement, too.Sanders visits suite holders during games and attends meet-and-greet sessions along with going to other team functions such as its draft party."It's great having him around and back in the fold, interacting with fans and corporate sponsors," Lions president Rod Wood told The AP. "He's probably if not the best player in Lions history Youth Anthony Brown Jersey , he's in the handful of the best."And, he's definitely the most remembered by our fans."While it may seem like a logical connection between the former star player and the only NFL team he played for, their relationship was not smooth in the years following his sudden and surprising retirement just before training camp began 1999.Sanders is always showered with cheers in the Motor City these days. But he was booed in public at times back in the day by fans who were still unhappy he walked away from the game after 10 spectacular seasons when he was on the verge of becoming the NFL's all-time leading rusher."I hated that it came to the point where he was getting booed," said Lomas Brown, one of Sanders' former teammates. "He's one of the greatest ever and he did it all here in Detroit. There are still some people holding a grudge today, but that's been gone for a while."Brown hopes the Lions take another step in their relationship with Sanders by honoring him with a statue at Ford Field."It's hard to believe there's not one," Brown said.Wood declined to say if there are plans to erect a Sanders statue."We've talked about things we haven't announced," Wood said.When Calvin Johnson announced his retirement two years ago, it reminded people of Sanders' decision to walk away from the game.Like Sanders, the former star receiver chose to leave the Lions and the league with years left on his contract and seemingly some solid seasons left in his career.Johnson retired two years ago and the team has tried and failed, so far, to rekindle its relationship with him.As Sanders was the honored guest in Wood's suite for a game earlier this month Womens Ezekiel Elliott Jersey , Johnson was in a nearby luxury box on the same floor."I know Lions fans appreciate Barry's role with the team because he's the greatest Lion and one of the greatest running backs — if not the greatest — to play the game," said Johnson, who declined to talk about his relationship with the team.Brown believes time will take care of whatever issues are keeping Johnson from being a part of the organization in some way."If the Lions continue to reaching out to him and being warm to him, I think it'll happen," Brown said.Wood is working on it."It's still goal of the organization, and me in particular, to get Calvin back in the fold," Wood said. "It was good to see him at the (Jets) game."2018 Dallas Cowboys rookie class falling short of previous rookie classes... so far [Ed. Note: A previous version of this article contained some incorrect data that has since been corrected, but has necessitated a partial rewrite. Apologies.]The 2018 Cowboys draft class has gotten off to a so-so start into its first NFL season, as things started off on the wrong foot almost from the beginning with this year’s rookies. First-round pick Leighton Vander Esch suffered a groin strain that kept him out of action for three preseason games. WR Cedrick Wilson suffered a shoulder injury in the first padded practice of training camp and was placed on injured reserve, which means he will not play a snap for the Cowboys until at least 2019. RB Bo Scarbrough didn’t make it through final roster cuts, and has been languishing on the practice squad.Driven partly by injuries and partly by other considerations Womens Travis Frederick Jersey , this year’s rookie class has only started in a somewhat disappointing five games so far. But a look at the snap counts gives us a more positive view of this draft class than the number of starts does. Here’s on overview of the offensive and defensive snaps accumulated by the 2018 draft class so far this season: The 2018 draft class has combined for 563 snaps on offense and defense, which adds up to 10.2% of all snaps the offense and defense have played in four games.Compared to recent draft classes, that’s not a bad number. Here are the snap percentages of the last 11 years, keeping in mind that the data from 2007-2017 is for the full rookie seasons, while the 2018 number is for the first four weeks only. If we assume that adding the equivalent of two starters (or 9.1% of all snaps) to the roster is a good target for a rookie class, then the Cowboys look to have been fairly successful at restocking their talent cupboard over the previous five drafts, and the 2018 draft looks to have surpassed that benchmark (as measured by snap percentages), even if it comes in at the lower end of the percentages established by the recent draft classes ... so far. But it’s early days.When you ask around what constitutes a successful draft, the answer you’re most likely to get is that if you get two starters out of a rookie class, you’ve done a good job. Veteran NFL General Managers like Baltimore’s Ozzie Newsome set three starters as the benchmark for a successful draft, but those three guys don’t have to be first-year starters, eventual starters in later years count as well.Daniel Jeremiah http://www.thecowboysfootballauthentic.com/geoff-swaim-jersey-authentic , a former scout for the Baltimore Ravens who now works for NFL Network, explained Newsome’s thinking.Do the Cowboys have three future starters in the 2018 draft class? Connor Williams (4 starts) is already a starter. Leighton Vander Esch (1 start) looks like a future starter, especially after his standout performance against the Lions (PFF included him in their team of the week). After missing most of preseason, the Cowboys have been slowly ramping up his snap counts, and he’ll likely not be a full starter as long as Sean Lee is around (and healthy), but his future looks bright.Michael Gallup hasn’t had a start yet, but given the housecleaning likely to happen at WR after the season, he looks like a lock to be a future starter.Those three players may be enough to keep this draft class above the 9.1% threshold by the end of the season. But it sure would be nice if the rest of the draft class steps up and moves this class more in the direction of the 2013 or 2016 draft classes - even if that may not happen before next year.