Saquon Barkley’s Hype Has Been Stopped at the Line of Scrimmage: Unchecked

The problems with the New York Giants go way beyond Saquon Barkley, but he's way too inconsistent.

Saquon Barkley has a signature shoe on the way, and if you wear it, you too could be stopped at the line scrimmage.

I think it’s come to this with Saquon this week. #TNF #NYGvsWAS pic.twitter.com/Qsv7ddwcSX

— Adam Rank (@adamrank) September 16, 2021

The problems with the New York Giants go way beyond Barkley, I no longer believe he’s a transcendent talent that will justify having taken a running back near the top of the draft.

Saquon played 58 snaps tonight had 13 carries for 57 yards . When you realize he had a carry for 41 yards you realize just how ineffective he was on 99% of his touches . 2nd pick in the draft let me know when it’s time to hold him to then standards Yal hype him up to be

— Brandon James (@BrandonJBranden) September 17, 2021

To be fair, he is coming off a major injury and there is no doubting his explosive ability. The problem with Saquon is there is no consistency. He either gets a big gain, or nothing, which makes it hard for the offense to consistently move the chains.

Saquon Barkley did ummm... not have his best game. pic.twitter.com/MNJEkiUWlp

— Micah Adams (@MAdamsStatGuy) September 17, 2021

Barkley is kind of the equivalent of a home run hitter who can’t get on base if he doesn’t go yard. Which was on display against the Washington Football Team as he had one gain of 41, and 12 other carries for a total of 16 yards.

That is a pattern, not an isolated event. Barkley has more games under 50 yards than he does over 100 and as Albert Breer pointed out in his mailbag, the majority of his 100-yard games were in large part due to a run of 50 yards or more.

"Barkley’s played 32 NFL games and has rushed for fewer than 50 yards on more occasions (13) than he has rushed for more than 100 yards (11). If I were the Giants, I’d be really careful about giving Barkley his next contract." - @AlbertBreer https://t.co/5inu4ZS5b3

— WBG84 (@WBG84) September 15, 2021

Perhaps with better circumstances or utilization, like a larger role as a receiver, Saquon’s stellar big-play prowess could be better leveraged. But given current results, he’s been a part of the giant problems with Big Blue and not a solution.

Is it crazy to say Saquon may not be a good running back?

— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) September 17, 2021

Because Daniel Jones should not feel like as big a threat on the ground as Saquon Barkley.