Tom Pelissero

USA TODAY Sports

Hall of Famer Barry Sanders sees elements of his game in several current NFL running backs, starting with the Philadelphia Eagles' LeSean McCoy.

But Sanders' favorite player to watch these days is a quarterback.

"I would probably say Russell Wilson," Sanders told USA TODAY Sports. "That's a great story. To see him be able to win the big one that soon — I think that's definitely very compelling."

It's not hard to figure out why Sanders would gravitate to Wilson, who helped the Seattle Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII in just his second season. Wilson is undersized for his position (5-11, 206 pounds), possesses great improvisational ability and has a knack for avoiding big hits.

Sanders — who spoke while promoting Gridiron Glory: The Best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame traveling exhibit that opened last week at The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Mich. — has said his own small stature (5-8, 200) and elusiveness made defenders approach him with caution.

Wilson, 25, seemed more frantic than usual at times when under pressure in Monday's 27-17 win against the Washington Redskins and took three sacks. But he also ran for 122 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and finished 18-of-24 passing for 201 yards and two more scores.

The signature play was his scramble away from a rush that took him 16 yards behind the line of scrimmage on third-and-4 — only for him to flip the ball to Marshawn Lynch, who rumbled for a 30-yard gain to set up the clinching field goal late in the fourth quarter.

As plays by quarterbacks go, it was practically Sanders-esque.

"(Wilson) really does combine a lot of great attributes," said Sanders, who retired in July 1999 after 10 seasons with the Detroit Lions and 15,269 rushing yards, which still ranks third all-time.

"He throws the ball well and moves around well in the pocket. As we saw (Monday) night, he can pick up a lot of yards in the running game also."

Geno Smith has advocate in Florida

The Geno Smith who returned to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for a refresher course after a rocky rookie season in 2013 bears little resemblance to the Geno Smith who has become the face of the New York Jets' struggles during a four-game losing skid.

"I liked his mindset when he came down in the offseason," former NFL quarterback Chris Weinke, who's now IMG's director of football, told USA TODAY Sports. "I think he's resilient. I think that he's still obviously a young quarterback that has to learn, like they all do.

"But I think what he needs to continue to do is get back to the basics. As I tell all my quarterbacks, sometimes you've got to pick a guy and let it fly to get out of a slump."

It doesn't help Smith that the Jets lack a guy who consistently can make the most of those shots. As one NFL personnel man put it Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons: "He has no weapons. Average O-line. Doesn't do well under duress."

Free-agent addition Eric Decker is a good, solid player, but not a matchup threat. Decker missed last week's 31-0 blowout loss to the San Diego Chargers, in which Smith got pulled at halftime in favor of veteran backup Michael Vick. Yet Decker still leads the Jets with 204 receiving yards.

That doesn't explain everything else going on around Smith, though: cursing out a fan, missing a meeting last weekend because of an apparent time zone mix-up and continuing to give away the ball at an untenable rate, with 33 turnovers in 21 NFL starts.

Weinke said he hasn't broken down Smith enough this season to pinpoint his problem, though it's usually more than one thing with any quarterback. During the pre-draft process last year, Weinke focused on getting Smith to utilize his lower half and drive the football to create consistency.

When Smith returned to IMG this year, "he understood," Weinke said — getting bigger, stronger and using his legs better. Smith performed well in the preseason, too, and was an efficient of 23-of-28 passing in the season-opening win over the Oakland Raiders before everything fell apart.

"If you have a good foundation, good fundamentals and a good understanding, you can fall back on those things," Weinke said. "I think he has that. And I think he's still learning. But I truly believe that he's willing to do the work, and I think he's going to get out of this slump and do some great things."

New identity in Big D

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has taken plenty of grief for bold roster moves that flopped. So give him credit for the dividends paid by forgoing flash in recent drafts.

Three times in the past four years, the Cowboys have used first-round picks on offensive linemen — left tackle Tyron Smith (ninth overall in 2011), center Travis Frederick (31st in 2013) and right guard Zack Martin (16th in 2014) — who now are paving the way for the NFL's leading rusher.

"They've made a full-fledged commitment to the running game, and that helps when DeMarco (Murray)'s healthy," an NFL personnel man who studied the Cowboys recently told USA TODAY Sports, speaking on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons.

"They've got a young offensive line, and for the most part, it's a very good offensive line. Yeah, (the Cowboys) have some weak spots. But their identity is DeMarco Murray running the ball now. It's no longer Tony Romo."

The Cowboys have run 163 times and thrown 159, and that's not strictly a matter of game flow. Even Sept. 21 against the St. Louis Rams, where they trailed 21-0 before rallying to win 34-31, new Dallas offensive coordinator Scott Linehan called 28 passes and 26 runs (plus two kneeldowns).

The big question is, how long can Murray keep it up? He has been a workhorse so far in a contract year, with 130 carries for 670 yards and five TDs in Dallas' 4-1 start. But he never has exceeded 217 carries in an NFL season, missing 11 games over his first three years with injuries.

If the Cowboys can't control the clock with the ground game, there will be more opportunities to expose a defense that has scraped by admirably so far with a lot of help from unretired middle linebacker Rolando McClain, another shrewd acquisition by Jones.

Losing former first-round cornerback Morris Claiborne to knee surgery may have made the Cowboys a more disciplined defense, given Claiborne's propensity for guessing and getting beat deep. But they're thin at cornerback, and nickel defense remains a struggle.

Three and out

— For all their problems, the Jets probably have the best chance of becoming the 15th team since 1990 to be at least three games below .500 after Week 5 or later and make the playoffs, considering the other options currently are the Tennessee Titans, Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders. The last team to pull it off was the 2012 Redskins, who started 3-6 and won their last seven in a row for a wild-card spot. Of course, the Jets would have to upset the Broncos or Patriots the next two weeks just to avoid seeing 1-4 turn into 1-6.

— There has been a lot of positive buzz around first-year Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, who has shown he knows how to use all the weapons they've accumulated. But Lombardi's task gets a lot tougher if WR Calvin Johnson (doubtful) and RB Reggie Bush (questionable) aren't available because of ankle injuries Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. Johnson has missed six games in his career and the Lions have lost five of them, the lone win coming his rookie year. And they lost at home last week to the Buffalo Bills with Megatron mostly a decoy.

— The Bills are anticipating an emotionally charged atmosphere Sunday against the New England Patriots — their first game since the sale of the franchise to Terry and Kim Pegula was complete, preserving the future of the franchise in western New York. The teams are tied atop the AFC East at 3-2. The Patriots haven't won a division road game since the 2013 opener at Buffalo. If there were ever a chance for the Bills to show they deserve to be considered playoff contenders, this is it.

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