He’s not playing hurt49
Barkley shuts down speculation his health is causing his slump
Saquon Barkley’s inand-out juke on Buster Skrine last Sunday in Chicago was vintage Barkley, leaving the Bears’ corner in the dust on an impressive 22-yard fourth quarter run.
Barkley has slumped as a playmaker recently, so he is constantly asked whether his right ankle is preventing him from playing to his full potential.
But it has been more than two months since Barkley’s high ankle sprain, and on Wednesday, the Giants’ frustrated running back set the record straight once and for all.
“Did I look hurt?” Barkley said, interrupting a question about Sunday’s amazing cut. “I know that’s where you’re going towards (with this question). So did I look hurt? No. So let’s stop making an excuse that I’m hurt. I’m not hurt. Let’s stop making an excuse that I’m not 100%. No one’s 100%.”
Barkley typically talks on Thursdays, but the media isn’t in the facility on Thanksgiving Day. So he stepped to his locker on Wednesday, with his hood up a second straight week like Odell Beckham Jr. used to do as a Giant, and continued to exude restlessness with this season.
“I could pull up multiple clips where you can look back and you could see I’m doing the same things I did in college or I did in my first year,” Barkley continued, discussing his physical capabilities. “This season’s not going the way I would like it. I’m not gonna put the blame on anyone else. You’ve got to point the finger at yourself first. You’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be better. And I’m gonna keep working.”
Barkley probably is sick of the injury questions because what he’s really being asked for is a reason why he’s not producing. And that’s a reminder of the frustrating reality he is already well aware of himself.
The ankle sidelined him Weeks 4 through 6, and in the five games since he returned, Barkley is averaging 2.7 yards per carry (81 rushes, 224 yards), he is averaging 21 total touches for just 81.8 yards per game, and he has not scored a touchdown in three weeks.
He was held to that embarrassing 13 carries for one yard by the Jets before the bye week, and had 14 carries for a measly 28 yards the week before against Dallas.
It’s not all on him, obviously. The offensive line, playcalling, everything factors into a run game not working. Still, Barkley hasn’t played his best either. There have been yards he’s left on the field.
He had a killer drop early in Sunday’s loss to the Bears that set a sour tone for the rest of the afternoon. And last week the tone in Barkley’s words reflected increased frustration.
He talked about returning to his own running style and having fun again, how his dad always told him to play the way he knows how to play “when people tried to change my running style in high school and middle school and so on.”
Barkley said he did have fun in Chicago and expressed optimism in his team’s ability to start getting results despite the seven-game losing streak.
“We’re not as far as everyone thinks,” Barkley said.
Those words sound like nothing more, though, than a smart young man who knows the right thing to say.
Head coach Pat Shurmur said, in an answer to whether this losing will zap Barkley of his spirit, that the Giants are young as a team, and they’re learning together how to correct their critical errors, they’re persevering.
And he added: “I think Saquon’s learning that as well, and I don’t think he’s any different than any young player that’s out there.”
Barkley, asked if it’s accurate when Shurmur says he’s young and still learning like anyone else, said: “I don’t look at it that way, but I guess he’s not lying. I’m only 22. On my second year.
“But you’ve got to hold yourself to a higher standard and hold yourself to higher expectations,” the running back added. “And that’s how I am, that’s how I’m gonna continue to be, even though you face adversity or this season’s not going how we want as a team, we just got to keep working.”
Barkley also quoted two people before he wrapped up for the Thanksgiving holiday. One was Bill Parcells. “You are what your record says you are.” Barkley said that’s true of the 2-9 Giants but they can still show they’re more than what outsiders believe.
He also said: “I wrote in my notes today, ‘The great ones figure it out.’ And I want to be great, and I’m gonna figure it out.”
You know who said that? No one, to Barkley’s knowledge. That’s an original. That’s how he’s trying to drive himself through this increasingly frustrating time.
GIVING THANKS
Daniel Jones said he was going to backup quarterback Alex Tanney’s house for Thanksgiving, but he doubted he would cook anything himself.
“I’m probably better off buying something,” he cracked.
Asked if there was any dish he’d request, Jones added: “I don’t think I’m in a position to make any requests. I’m just happy to be invited.”
Right guard Kevin Zeitler’s family is hosting the offensive linemen. And defensive linemen Dalvin Tomlinson and Dexter Lawrence said they might bounce from house to house.
Lawrence, a jolly guy in general, was told he’s probably a festive holiday guest.
“Oh yeah,” he nodded with a smile. “I’ll be hungry.