Resting Saquon ultimately will help in long run
SAQUON Barkley wants to wear a gold jacket when his career is done. To accomplish that, he knows he must be considered great. Not good, but great.
That’s a big reason why he has closely studied the careers of Hall of Fame running backs and few others who have starred at his position, and why he wants no part of any discussion about limiting his touches to preserve his body.
“I think of the great running backs, who played: Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Thomas Jones, Curtis Martin, Matt Forte, they had injuries throughout their career,” Barkley was saying on Tuesday as the 2-8 Giants entered their bye week. “Those guys were able to withstand a bigger workload back in the day than what we have now. You might get 300 touches, but 300 touches might come with 250 carries and 50 catches.”
He talked about Payton, the legendary Bears running back, saying he had 347 carries in 14 games during his second season in the NFL. Actually, it was 311 rushes (for 1,390 yards) and 15 receptions (149). More impressively, Payton had at least 300 carries in 10 of his 13 seasons in the NFL. Sanders had at least 300 carries in seven of his 10 seasons.
“I’m not saying I want to put myself up to those standards because they are the best to ever do it and Hall of Famers,” Barkley said. “But the way they were able to carry that workload and be able to have a successful career is the way I know I want to operate. I know the other great running backs in this league want to do that, too.”
It’s notable Barkley is built like that. But the Giants need to save him from himself and monitor his workload for the remainder of the season. Barkley still needs to play. He has teammates to support and coaches whose jobs are on the line. But he doesn’t need to be worked to the point he goes into the offseason battered, bruised and trying to recover from injuries.
Not when he doesn’t look right after his high ankle sprain suffered against the Bucs in Week 3. And not when the Giants aren’t going anywhere this season.
The Giants need to spend the bye week trying to find ways to get Wayne Gallman Jr. more involved. The versatile running back has just 28 carries for 109 yards this year with two touchdowns. He can do more. Dalvin Cook, one of the NFL’s most productive running backs, has 203 carries for 991 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Vikings. He is often supplemented by backup Alexander Mattison, who has 79 carries for 389 yards and one touchdown.
Of course, Barkley doesn’t want to entertain any talk of limiting his touches or an even more drastic idea of sitting out the remainder of the year.
“The mindset of me sitting out and resting me for the rest season is beyond me,” he said. “I don’t agree with it and it won’t happen. I’m going to keep going until I can’t go anymore.”
That’s the point. You don’t want Barkley running until he “can’t go anymore.” He clearly wasn’t himself in Sunday’s 34-27 loss to the Jets when he rushed for 1 yard on 13 carries and caught five passes for 30 yards. He is healthy enough to play, but not healthy enough to be as good as he has been.
“To say that I’m not healthy, that’s just an excuse,” he said. “Everyone is banged up, everyone is going through something and I’m not going to let that be an excuse for why I’m not having a successful season. The reason I’m not having a successful season is because I’m not making enough plays for my team.”
Barkley has 101 carries for 402 yards and two touchdowns in seven games this year. He also has 33 receptions for 258 yards and one touchdown. It’s well off his pace of a year ago when he finished with 261 rushes for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns during his 16-game rookie season. He also had 91 catches for 721 yards and four scores in earning the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
With six games remaining in a season going nowhere, coach Pat Shurmur needs to utilize Gallman more during the course of a game. Barkley and the Giants will benefit in the long run.