FILM | Saquon Barkley's Week 1 Run Game Struggles
Giants running back Saquon Barkley rushed for six yards on 15 carries against the Steelers defense Monday night, the second season in a row where Barkley was rendered useless by the opponent.
So what gives? Well, the natural inclination is to blame the offensive line, which indeed was part of the problem, but upon closer review, other elements didn’t help the cause.
The first was the choice of blocking scheme against the Steelers. Pittsburgh not only has a very good defense, but they also have a very fast flowing defense. If you’re not getting a hat on a hat right away on these guys, chances are one or more of them is going to beat you.
Barkley has burst and speed. Why the coaching staff decided to line him up so deep on nearly every play, again against a fast defense, is a headscratcher and one perhaps that might have had to do with them wanting to
Here are Barkley’s runs for negative yardage from the first half of the game. Each one has a different reason for failing, but there are also common threads such as the slow-developing plays called in most of the plays that went for a loss.
(All clips via NFL Game Pass.)
Quarter 1
Situation: 1-10, NYG 38
Result: Minus-1 yard rushing
Formation: Single-back set, Barkley seven yards off the LOS
This notion of not having a full preseason is a thing and can be seen on this play as the offensive line's timing appears to be off. There are a couple of things that happen here. First, center Nick Gates fires out to the second level and completely whiffs on his man.
The reason why Barkley got nowhere is that it looks like right tackle Cam Fleming (purple arrow) tried to pass off his initial blocked man to a pulling Will Hernandez (aqua arrow) just a second or two too early.
Hernandez got the guy, but because Fleming committed early, the second man he was to block (yellow arrow, and the one who made the initial hit on Barkley) was able to cut inside of Fleming, who was headed outside.
Situation: 2-and-3, PIT 42
Result: Minus 5 yards rushing
Formation: Single-back set, Barkley seven yards off the LOS
Why coaches on this team (past and present) ask tight end Evan Engram to play any major role in run blocking is beyond me.
I know it’s part of the tight end’s job description, and to his credit, Engram is a willing blocker who tries. But how many more times does it need to show up on film that this is not the best use of his talents?
In this clip, Engram looks like he dipped his head and got low against the defender a little too soon. The defender, doing a good job of using his hands, swats Engram away, sheds the block, and drops Barkley for the loss.
Situation: 2-and-10, NYG 44
Result: Minus 4 yards rushing
Formation: Single-back set, Barkley seven yards off the LOS
Barkley never had a chance on this one as Bud Dupree, who makes the stop, literally ran behind Will Hernandez as he pulled. That the Giants, in this game, left some of the Steelers’ edge blockers untouched was mind-blowing; if you don’t get a hat on a hat, how is any running back expected to find daylight?
Quarter 2
The second quarter wasn’t any better for Barkley, who lost one yard on four rushing attempts. Here are the plays from that quarter.
Situation: 1-10, NYG 49
Result: Minus-2 yards rushing
Formation: Single-back set, Barkley seven yards off the LOS
Tyson Alualu beats center Nick Gates, tossing him aside to burst up the middle to drop Barkley for a loss. I couldn’t tell clearly from the camera angle (All-22 wasn’t available when I did this breakdown), but it looked like Gates had a little too wide of a base, which put him off-balance and made it too easy for the defender to knock him to the ground.
Situation: 1-10, NYG 25
Result: Minus-2 yards rushing
Formation: Shotgun, single-wing left (Barkley 5 yards off the LOS)
NFL Game Plass
The Giants had their guards do quite a bit of pulling in this game, but they seemed just a split second or two too late in getting to their targets on several occasions.
This is one such case. Kevin Zeitler (yellow arrow) pulled to the left side, intending to pick up Bud Dupree.
Dupree, who earlier showed that speed off the edge, is in Barkley’s face before Zeitler can get to his spot to anchor and slow him down.
Situation: 2-11, NYG 48
Result: Minus-2 yards rushing
Formation: Single-back set, Barkley seven yards off the LOS
This is the final Barkley run for negative yardage in the first half. Again, you can see a Steelers defender at the top of the screen coming in clean off the edge as Barkley works against an eight-man box with only seven blockers.
Down at the bottom of the screen, Steelers corner Steven Nelson comes up in run support to make the stop, and he too is untouched by a Giants blocker.
How to Fix This
Could the offensive line have played better? Absolutely, but the Giants struggles in the running game, at least based on this week, lie mostly on the coaches for stubbornly sticking with slow-developing plays against a speedy Steelers defense.
The coaches are going to have to figure out ways to take some of the pressure off Barkley. Right now, teams appear to view Barkley as the lone threat this team has. So why not mix it up and take some of the onus off him?
We saw instances of eight or more men in the box. Why not try a pass up the seam to a tight end or even play-action to loosen things up?
And why not have a lead blocker in there to help, especially if you have concerns about the offensive line’s chemistry?
Barkley can’t do it all himself; he needs help. Every single yard he gained, he had to work for. And as I've said before, if the Giants want to ensure they have Barkley at his best for years to come, they need to work him smarter, not harder.
