From James Alder,
Your Guide to Football.
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He was called Sweetness, but to defenders Walter Payton was anything but. He was an unstoppable force running with the ball, he had great hands as a receiver out of the backfield, and he could throw a devastating block that would knock defenders out of their socks.

He also seemed to have a sixth sense for picking up the blitz. Walter Payton was the type of blocker that could lay out a defender coming through a hole in the line just like a linebacker mowing down a running back.

Walter's biggest assets on the field were his leg strength and incredible balance. He could run over a would-be tackler with the force of a freight train. Or he might simply hit a defender hard enough to bounce off, and around him. He also had a straight arm that could take a defender off his feet and send him sliding across the turf on his facemask.

Walter always played the game with the attitude that if he was going to get hit at the end of the play, he was going to dish out a little punishment of his own; something to make the defender remember him the next time they met. Seldom did Walter finish a play by running out of bounds. He was always looking for that extra yard, and that ever-so-slight advantage over his opponent.

Walter Payton's physical style of play... (continued)