Eli Manning on What Giants Lose without Saquon Barkley
It goes without saying that the potential season-ending knee injury suffered by running back Saquon Barkley would be a devastating blow to a team, regardless of the head coach, system, or quarterback.
But for a second-year quarterback like Daniel Jones, who is still trying to find his way in a new system, who is still trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t against different coverages, if he doesn’t have Barkley, that would be a significant blow, according to former Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
“Saquon is obviously an explosive running back, and it's not just the run game. It's a screen game; it's the passing game. He's a guy you want to try to get the ball at hands 25 times a game plus this he can make big plays,” said Manning, who spoke to a small group of reporters to promote Verizon Media’s Watch Together Co-Viewing Experience in partnership with the NFL on Yahoo Sports.
Manning knows firsthand what having a good running back can do for a young quarterback. For his first three seasons, he had Tiki Barber, the holder of many of the franchise’s rushing records, in the backfield to help take some of the onus off him as he learned about the game's speed the complexity.
“It just sets up everything else,” Manning said in explaining the benefits of a good running game.
“You don't, for the most part, get stuck in a whole lot of third and longs. You're not getting negative run plays and it just helps with the play action and being under center. You're planning [to] throw against more man coverage and single high coverages and, the ball usually gets out a little bit quicker during those coverages.”
The Giants, who confirmed that Barkley did indeed suffer a season-ending torn ACL, are currently exploring their options, one of which is former Falcons running back Davonta Freeman.
While the goal is to obviously have a good enough running game to help create offensive balance, Manning said that there are certain things that an offense can do if it lacks a running game, but adds that it makes it a little more challenging to be effective.
“There's obviously the short, the short passing game and the quick throws,” Manning said of the options. “I think it just depends upon what the defense is doing.”
But as Manning found out during his career with the Giants, when a team struggles to run the ball, it becomes one dimensional and a lot easier to defend.
“Yeah, if they don't trust that you're gonna run or if they don't think you can run the ball, they can kind of play pass first and take away a lot of the quick stuff by playing certain coverages,” he said.
“So you gotta keep running the ball. It gets hard when they're playing two safeties deep, and you have good looks to run the ball, and you're not effective running it.
“It's hard to get them out of those coverages and it makes it where you have to hold onto the ball a little bit longer to get the ball down the field,” he said. “That's, that's when you get into a bind, when they take away the take away the short stuff and you can't run the ball.”
Manning liked how the Giants had fight in them Sunday, and hopes for the best for his former team. He said that as the Giants continue to make up for the reps they lost in the spring and preseason, things should hopefully start to click.
“They were close in this game and had a chance to win at the end, but it's just reps-- live reps are so important for them and that's what they've been limited with. I think they will continue to improve and get better as the season goes.”
