Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC
New York Saquon Barkley Remaining Patient Despite Slow Start
Through three games, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has 134 rushing yards on 39 carries and nine receptions for 56 yards, the rushing yardage total being the worst three-game start of his NFL career, not counting last year’s injury-shortened season.
But Barkley, who, despite being able to be on the field, is still having his practice reps managed, isn’t looking to make excuses.
"I don't want to make any excuses. I'm not going to do that throughout this whole season. I'm never going to make any excuses. The expectation that people have for me, it's not even close to the expectation I have for myself -- and it never will be as long as I play football or whatever I do after football. That is just my mindset."
There have been questions about Barkley being tentative, given a tendency to “dance” behind the line of scrimmage after taking a handoff. In reality, keeping his feet moving is something he’s always done in his career as part of him always looking to cut into a hole when one opens up.
The problem, though, is Barkley hasn’t been hitting those holes as quickly as he did pre-injury, which has made the dancing a bit more noticeable.
New York Giants radio analyst and former linebacker Carl Banks, during an appearance this week on WFAN’s “Moose and Maggie” show, said, “It’s time for them now to have that blunt conversation with Saquon and say, ‘You have to stick your cleats in the ground and get north-and-south. When you have a convoy of blockers in front of you on a power sweep, get in the pocket of one of those blockers and ride it out. Do not get impatient and think you have to break away from that.’ ”
According to NextGenStats, Barkley has a rushing efficiency rating of 4.29, which puts him 13th in the league. A running back’s rating “is calculated by taking the total distance a player traveled on rushing plays as a ball carrier according to Next Gen Stats (measured in yards) per rushing yards gained. The lower the number, the more of a North/South runner.”
And while Barkley has a lower efficiency rating than Javonte Williams of Denver, Aaron Jones of Green Bay, and Christian McCaffery of Carolina, to name a few, those players also have more rushing yardage than Barkley through the first three weeks of the season.
Another noteworthy stat has been Barkley’s yards after contact, which per Pro Football Focus is 2.46, down from his 3.13 career average. That drop-off has also raised questions about whether Barkley is playing tentative, either consciously or otherwise, in trying to avoid the contact that typically comes with trying to push through piles.
“Absolutely, we want to be physical, we want to be downhill, he’s a part of that,” said offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. “But at the same time, you don’t want to take Saquon out of Saquon.
“We talk a lot about dirty runs—four and five-yard runs that nobody talks about, but they’ll put you in a manageable second-down and third-down situation. It’s important for us to be able to do that. He did that in the game the other day—there were a lot of three, four, five, six, seven-yard runs that nobody talks about that were positive runs. But in an effort to do that, you never want to take away his ability to make big plays.”
Barkley has always held himself to a higher standard than his critics, and this season is no different.
"I hold myself to a high standard. I know this team holds me to a high standard. I know a lot of people hold me to a high standard. Like I always say, I set my own expectations. Right now, I just have to keep working, keep growing, keep improving,” he said.
"I know what I'm coming off of. My mom and dad try to make me understand I'm coming off a knee injury. Try to teach me patience in there. I just have to keep being patient with it. I have to keep getting better and keep trusting it, trusting the process and keep working."
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