Giants Need Saquon Barkley to Run Wild Against Tough Steelers Defense
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and his staff have never had to gameplan for Giants running back Saquon Barkley until this week.
Still, Tomlin is very aware of the type of player his defense is up against on Monday night as Barkley's college career at Penn State came right down the road from Heinz Field.
"Because he’s an NFC guy, I don’t study him all the time," Tomlin said. "I was just looking for a frame of reference compared to his Happy Valley days when I studied him big time prior to the draft."
Barkley will now look to kick off his third NFL season against a Pittsburgh defense that might strong, but not unbreakable.
Pittsburgh finished with the sixth-best defense in the NFL last season, but that was mostly due to their success against the pass. The Steelers only finished 14th in run defense last year, giving up over 120 rushing yards five times.
Barkley has proven he can do damage against any defense. If the Giants can get their running game going against Pittsburgh and Barkley can get in space, it could cripple the Steeler's defensive gameplan.
“He’s got the quicks and the vision to be a quality interior runner and the power, also, to be a quality interior runner," Tomlin said.
"He’s got burst and acceleration and top-end speed that allows him to excel on the perimeter game and in open grass. Five to 10-yard runs can quickly become 50- and 60-yard runs when you’re facing a guy with the talent of Saquon.
“We are going to spend a lot of time preparing to minimize his impact," he added
Barkley won't be able to beat the Steelers himself, however. The Giants offensive line will have its work cut out against a Pittsburgh front seven loaded with athletic playmakers with the ability to shed blocks and make tackles.
Outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree, defensive linemen Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuit, and inside linebackers Devin Bush and Vince Williams are a tough slate of opponents for any opponent on any given week.
If Barkley and the Giants wish to be successful this week, they're going to have to play as close to perfect a game as possible.
"They’re disruptive. The guys make plays in the backend, the linebackers move well, tackle well in space," Barkley said. "When plays come, you have to take advantage of the plays. Hopefully, it’s able to open up things for other people, and we have to take advantage of it."
Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler expects the Giants to lean heavily on their rushing attack and is preparing his defense accordingly. But even with the right preparation, Butler admits that Barkley could still give the Steelers defense trouble.
"I would like to be an offensive lineman on that team with [Barkley] behind me. That guy doesn’t need a big hole. He can get through some very slim holes, so it will be a challenge for us to try to stop him with their offensive line," Butler said.
"Their offensive line is probably better at run blocking than they are pass blocking at this point. If I’m them, I’m going to try to keep the game in front of them.
"They are going to try and stay away from third and long and stuff like that and keep it third and medium throughout the game so that they can dictate what they want to do and we can’t get them in situations where we want to pressure the quarterback. I think they are going to try to stay away from those situations as much as they can."
