Giants’ Barkley presents dual threat to Niners’ defense
Giants running back is a threat on the run and in the passing game
Five things we learned Thursday as the 49ers began full-speed practices for Monday night’s visit by the New York Giants: 1. BRACING FOR BARKLEY » It has been 33 years since Roger Craig ( No. 33) became the first player to total 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving, and New York Giants rookie Saquon Barkley is threatening to reach those totals, a feat only also accomplished by Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.
“Shoot, the tape speaks for itself,” linebacker Fred Warner said Thursday. “He’s, for sure, one of the most talented backs in the league already as a rookie.”
Barkley, drafted No. 3 overall, has 519 rushing yards and 497 receiving yards for the Giants (1-7). Craig’s 1985 historical efforts produced 1,050 rushing yards and 1,016 receiving; Faulk, in 1999, had 1,381 rushing, 1,048 receiving.
“He’s got the dual threat, of course, with his Godgiven talent, he can do a lot of different things to hurt us,” Warner said. “Not only is he strong in his lower body, he’s quick and fast with breakaway speed, and he can run through tackles.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan said he knew Barkley wouldn’t be available when the 49ers drafted ninth overall, and this season is showing why.
“It’s evident that he is as hard of a guy to tackle as I’ve seen,” Shanahan said. “So, whether that’s handing the ball off to him or throwing it to him, if that guy has the ball in his hands in space there’s not many people in the world who can get him down very consistently.”
Barkley’s 58 receptions would lead the 49ers, who instead are paced by tight end George Kittle’s 41 receptions. 2. KITTLE CAUTION » Tight end George Kittle practiced in a blue jersey, but not as an ode to former Giants tight end Mark Bavaro. Kittle wore the non-contact jersey because of a chest contusion that temporarily forced him from last Thursday’s win over the Raiders.
Kittle showed no significant hindrance in Thursday’s warmups and looked as upbeat as usual. He has four games of at least 90 receiving yards, one shy of Vernon Davis’ 2009 record by a tight end. His 692 receiving yards are 13th in the NFL and second-most among tight ends behind Kansas City’s Travis Kelce (51 catches, 741 yards).
Getting followed by Kelce on Twitter, by the way, ranks as “the coolest thing” Kittle said of his breakout season. 3. MULLENS’ RADIO » Shanahan acknowledged there’s a balancing act when it comes to relaying calls into quarterbacks’ helmet radios. In Mullens’ debut, he tried telling Shanahan to stop talking so he could share the play in the huddle, to which teammates laughed because it’s not a two-way radio.
“It’s funny because I know if I was a quarterback and someone was yelling in my ears, I would handle it much worse than those guys would,” Shanahan said.
“… Sometimes I think they didn’t hear it and I start repeating it again, and they’re just trying to call it, and I’m yelling it again in their ear, and I’m driving them crazy, as I should. So, I wish there was a two-way talk on it. It’d be a lot easier.” 4. RICHBURG’S ‘REUNION’ » Center Weston Richburg has good reason not to be extra emotional at who he’ll oppose this week, even though he played the past four years for the Giants. “Out of the whole defense, I counted maybe five guys I was there with,” Richburg said. “The whole O-line is different, so I don’t know anybody there and it’s kind of crazy.”
Richburg and running back Jerick McKinnon were the 49ers’ most expensive additions in free agency, Richburg arriving on a five-year deal ($ 47.5 million with $16.5 million guaranteed).
Now snapping for his third different quarterback this season, Richburg said Mullens doesn’t feel like a new QB, adding: “He’s bright and knows what he’s doing. He’s very confident and that kind of feeds us. He didn’t seem like a kid playing in his first game.” 5. COUSINS COMPARISON » C. J. Beathard may be benched again, but Shanahan remains an ardent supporter, so much so that he’s relayed an encouraging comparison.
Said Shanahan: “Kirk Cousins in his first nine games, do you know what his record was? 1- 8. He had 19 picks and 18 touch- downs. C. J. is 1- 8. I think he has 13 picks. It doesn’t mean that’s on him … C. J. has the mental toughness to get through that and eventually, someday, I don’t know when, he will get his opportunity. Hopefully he’ll heal up, get fresher and learn from what he did good and what he did bad.”
Cousins, whose career started with Shanahan in Washington, is 5-3-1 as the Minnesota Vikings’ $84 million quarterback.
• Wide rec eiver Pierre Garçon ( knee), linebacker Reuben Foster ( hamstring), safety Jaquiski Tartt (shoulder) and left tackle Joe Staley (routine rest) did not practice.
• Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, a month after knee surgery, has downsized from two crutches to one.
• Greg Mabin returned to the active roster, having been waived after the 49ers’ Oct. 28 collapse at Arizona and moved to the practice squad. Prompting Mobin’s return was the fact cornerback Emmanuel Moseley suffered season- ending shoulder injury last game in his NFL debut.
• Mabin’s practice-squad spot was filled by Tarvarus McFadden, who spent the offseason and training camp with the 49ers, followed by a brief stint on the Indianapolis Colts practice squad.