Cardinals Know Saquon Barkley Test is Tough Sledding

There's talented players on every roster in the NFL - though the Arizona Cardinals will have the pleasure of facing one of the top athletes in the league on Sunday.

New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley made noise before he even reach the pro level. At Penn State, blowing past defenders with ease was a weekly occurrence. Barkley went No. 2 in the 2018 NFL Draft, the highest running back drafted since Reggie Bush went at the same spot in 2006.

You need some serious talent to not only land yourself at that spot, but especially as a running back in a league that clearly values most positions more than yours.

When healthy, Barkley is easily one of the top backs in the league. His rare ability to do seemingly everything with blends of speed and agility only seen on created players in Madden makes him tough to stop.

The Cardinals are well aware of the task they face on Sunday.

“He’s very good at hitting the hole and making moves off whoever it is,” safety Budda Baker said. “He’s a very downhill runner, a guy who can make all the cuts. They also like to throw him the ball as well. An all-down, every-down back. One of the great backs in this league and a guy that we’re of course going to be heavily dialed into in the game.”

The Giants got off to a less-than-ideal start to the season with a 40-0 thumping from the Dallas Cowboys. Barkley carried the ball 12 times for 51 yards and caught three-of-four targets for 12 yards, being held in check by a strong Dallas defensive front.

The Cardinals themselves came to play defensively last week, and there's hope their success can be replicated in their home debut.

Arizona also is quite familiar with Barkley and the Giants - HC Jonathan Gannon and DC Nick Rallis faced them twice per season when they were with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Gannon says that won't carry over when game-planning for Barkley or QB Daniel Jones, who can also take off and move.

“Every year is a new year, so my familiarity is they’re two really good players and understand how we have to defend them because of their skill sets. Saquon’s a high-volume guy that can beat you in the run and pass game, breaks a lot of tackles, he’s explosive, he has good vision and he’s fast. Daniel’s got a big arm, he’s hard to sack, he extends plays, he breaks tackles and he’s a runner. They use him in a way that makes it hard on a defense so that’s shown up from when we were playing them in the same division, that showed up against Dallas, and that’s going to continue to show up because they do a good job of maximizing those two guys.”

Rallis dove deeper into Barkley's abilities.

"Saquon's a good player, just so we're all clear. You have to tackle really well. He is unbelievable on contact as far as being able to break free. His balance is phenomenal. And then you really don't want to let him get in an open field with space because he can pull away. The one thing that I think is really unique with Saquon is he'll make some hidden yardage out of what doesn't look to be there, right? You think, 'OK, the way that we're fitting this, the way that we're playing these blocks, this run's gonna go for two [yards]'. He's very patient. He can find those cuts - he can find those cuts late because he's got unreal ability to make drastic cuts and he'll make a four or five-yard gain out of it, and you're like, 'Well now I'm in second-and-five, not second-and-eight. That's really what makes Saquon special in the run game and then they're using him in the pass game very well too, whether it's out of the backfield or split out wide. His ability to run and catch, he's got all of it. So, a really good player."

Cardinals OLB coach Rob Rodriguez called Barkley "unbelievable" and said it will take a community effort to slow him down.

Saquon Barkley pic.twitter.com/6N13kCTVvJ
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) May 5, 2023

"It's tough, and that's this league, man. You run into these guys that are unbelievable in terms of what they can do and Saquon - I mean hell, we knew about him since his college days right? Jesse Luketa has a relationship with him because they're Penn State guys. A ton of respect for him. It's always difficult, it always takes a village man. If you're trying to get one individual to stop a guy like Saquon then guess what? It's a bad game plan. You got to get multiple hats to him and you got to hit him a certain way," he said.

"You can't treat him the same. Again, styles make fights man. We got to have a community of guys who are willing to be physical. Wanna talk about putting your face in the fan? He brings the fan to you with those big legs and the way he runs. He can do so much: catch the ball, protect, so much that he can do to help his team. He challenges you in many ways, and it's difficult. It's going to be difficult every week, but especially for a guy who has that much potential to make those plays."

There's mutual respect on Barkley's side as well.

"They’ve got a really good team and, a great coach (Jonathan Gannon). Obviously, we’re really familiar with him and his defensive scheme with him being in Philly and going against him twice or three times last year. But it’s an exciting test. They’re a fun defense, and we’re going to be ready for them," said Barkley.

The goal isn't to completely eradicate Barkley, but more realistically slow him down. That's a task that proves to be difficult for most teams on a weekly basis, though Arizona's defense did look promising in Week 1.

We'll see if that effort can be replicated against one of the most dynamic players in the league.