FUTURE he’s
Seen from Jones
point out his rookie quarterback is a dual threat on the field.
“He can move,” Barkley said. “When you see him, you probably think of him as a pocket passer. But no, when you go back and look at his Duke highlights, there’s some games where he took it 50 yards.”
Shurmur has been pleased with the progress Jones has made since draft day. The challenge for the rookie quarterback, he says, is not to repeat mistakes. Shula says Jones’ biggest strides since draft day have been in the consistency department. When the coaching staff asks him to make a change, “he makes them really fast.”
As for not repeating a mistake? “I think he is one of the better guys I have coached so far as far as not making that same mistake,” Shula admitted. “It’s not necessarily the mental mistake, but the thing that has caught my eye is the physical things that we’ve asked him to do that cater to us that he wasn’t doing in college.”
The coaches know this is only training camp. They won’t get too high or too low on any developments made in early August. But at the very least, they’re comfortable with what they’ve seen from the player they reached for at pick No. 6 in this year’s draft. Maybe that’s why Barkley couldn’t hold back his smile when asked about Jones earlier in the day. Maybe he’s just as comfortable with Jones’ progress as the rest of the world should be, too.
“You can see he’s getting a lot more comfortable. He’s understanding the offense a lot more,” Barkley said. “I know we play soon with our preseason game, and I’m excited to see him in live action.”
As of Friday, Saquon Barkley needed a haircut. It’s the reason he wore a bucket hat to practice: “I’m hiding the hair,” he said. Barkley won’t be hiding from linebackers rushing the quarterback this season. He’s put in extra work reading blitz packages to ensure he’s able to protect whoever’s behind center — whether it’s Eli Manning or Daniel Jones.
Big Blue’s standout running back says he’s been picking Manning’s brain, watching film, and chatting with Giants outside linebacker Alec Ogletree in an effort to learn about reading defenses.
“He does a really good job of understanding defense and they do a really good job of hiding blitzes and bringing crazy blitzes,” Barkley said of Ogletree. “So I think it’s really good for me to be able to go up against a defense like that, and have a guy like Tree over there who knows it so well that if they throw a funky look at me that I’m not used to seeing, I can go up and ask him.”
Manning was sacked 47 times last season, the sixthmost in the NFL. Any additional help Barkley can provide would help the Giants, whose offensive line was one of the worst in football last season.
Barkley, though, wouldn’t say reading blitz packages was a focal point of his offseason, despite offensive coordinator Mike Shula’s praise of his improvement in the area. Barkley says he’s been working to improve every area of his game.
One area many have noticed an improvement: his voice.
Barley says it’s only a byproduct of him becoming more comfortable with a year of action under his belt, but coach Pat Shurmur says he saw his star running back
be vocal behind the scenes as a rookie last season. “I guess the world is starting to see it a little more now,” he said.
Barkley recorded 1,307 rushing yards for 11 touchdowns last season, ranking second behind Ezekiel Elliott in yards and fifth among running backs in touchdowns. He’s not concerned with one-upping himself this year, instead focusing more on improving the Giants’ 5-11 record from last season. But whether he likes it or not, his teammates will look to him as a leader.
“The best way you can lead is you have to do it within your personality,” he said. “If you’re vocal and that’s your personality, but if you’re not, I think the biggest thing we talk to our guys about is being a guy that when you walk into the building, your teammates know they can count on you to be dependable each and every day. Yes, the enthusiasm, he’s got a little enthusiasm during the course of practice that becomes contagious for guys that maybe aren’t.”
OBSERVATIONS
Third-year quarterback Kyle Lauletta found secondyear wide receiver Da’Mari Scott for a beautiful touchdown pass that drew cheers from fans watching in the stands. Scott extended his arms and dove out of bounds to make the catch, while tapping both feet inbounds before his body landed.
Manning connected on one of the better passes of the day, finding Bennie Fowler III open downfield on an out route.
Linebacker Markus Golden did not practice. It was his rest day.
Cornerback Grant Haley dove for a ball and landed awkwardly on his shoulder. “He’s going to be fine,” Shula said.