Monday Media Transcript: RB Saquon Barkley

RB Saquon Barkley -- December 3, 2018

Q: How does a game like yesterday change the mentality of this team even this late in the season?
A: It just put everything in perspective from all the hard work that we’ve been putting in all season to go out there and beat a really good team and who was playing lights out up to that game or even in that game, they played really well, too. Definitely gives you confidence and even though the season hasn’t been going how we want it to go, getting a win like that is big for your confidence and continuing to try to keep this thing going.

Q: You guys haven’t beaten a division team yet this year. Is the feeling kind of like we need to start winning those games?
A: Yeah, definitely. We definitely haven’t won a division game yet this year and those are critical. We haven’t been able to execute in those games and this is a big one just because it’s the next game and because it’s a divisional game. We got to get on the right path and that realm of the season with our division opponents.

Q: (Coach Shurmur) said yesterday he hoped that was the kind of win that could help build a winning culture around here. We saw you go out for a series and come back in and (Sterling Shepard) gets x-rays and comes back in, Landon (Collins) comes back in after getting hurt. What’s it say to you that within this locker room even though the season hasn’t gone how you wanted it to, guys are still trying to fight their way back in?
A: This is my first year being in the NFL, but I have heard on other teams just players that have been on other teams around the league that when the season’s not going your way, a lot of people call it quits and you don’t get that vibe when you come in this building, when you play in a game. For example, like you just said with those guys getting checked out and coming right back in, we’re playing for each other and we’re real competitors and we love going out there competing for each other every single day and we do that no matter what, win, lose or draw. Obviously it just hasn’t been in our favor most of this year, but that just shows and speaks to our character and speaks to the guys on this team and even though it hasn’t been clicking perfectly right now, when this thing does get going, it’s going to make all of this adversity we’ve been going through so much better.

Q: What has (Coach Shurmur's) message been to you guys? Because obviously a 1-7 start would’ve been easy for guys to start checking out, but with a game like yesterday...
A: He says play for each other together as a team and that’s going to get the job done. That’s kind what kind of has just been our motto and our mindset. Come out every single game, work your butt off, and play for each other.

Q: How’s that shoulder feel today?
A: Shoulder feels really good.

Q: You don’t feel anything?
A: I don’t feel (anything).

Q: When they make a shoulder pad adjustment, I guess they add more padding or what do they do?
A: Yeah, just kind of add more padding just for protection or for anything.

Q: How much of a difference has (Eli) Penny made? He’s played more the last couple of games.
A: He’s awesome. He’s been a tremendous help not just only for me, he was a running back in the past, so when he’s in there he sees things just like a running back and he played lights out. He plays very hard, he’s physical and he’s showed he can do a little something with the ball in his hands also too. He’s been a big help for us in these last couple of games and I look to see his role expand even more and as he continues to get more comfortable and we get a feel for each other, even better as this season continues to go on, we could have a great, great season in the run game.

Q: Do you feel a difference with the offensive line now now that they’ve been together for a while and you ran behind them more? Do you sense things are just more cohesive now with this whole group?
A: Yeah, we definitely do sense it being different just because of injuries and people moving and replacing here, replacing here. Now we got a solidified five and if you notice in the last, I guess, three out of the last four games, we rushed for over 100 yards and that speaks volumes on their part and the way they’re playing and the confidence that they’re having and continue to grow through every game we’ve played in so far this year. Definitely give a big thanks to those guys up front because at the end of the day, it starts up front on both sides of the ball, offense and defense, and if you’re winning games, that’s where it starts and they’ve been doing a tremendous job for us and that’s why we’ve been able to win some games.

Q: Does 1,000 yards mean anything special, rushing?
A: It would be special because obviously one, it’s the NFL and two, when you get 1,000 yards, it’s not just yourself getting 1,000 yards, it’s your team getting 1,000 yards, it’s the offense and especially the offensive line. I know – I don’t know how close we are, but I know we’re pretty close to it and that just speaks volumes to how the offensive line played all year, so definitely want to get that for those guys.

Q: Have you ever made a cut like that one where on the third and 23? You jumped back to the left, landed on your left foot, changed direction, and blasted off all the way back to the right. What does it take to kind of have the strength and instinct to make a move like that?
A: I don’t know. Some things you can’t explain and I give a lot of credit to God in a situation like that, my genetics, my mom and dad, but a lot of that is also hard work, training my body to when you’re put in those positions to be able to make those cuts and make those moves. I’ve been training my whole life on that so I've definitely got to credit that also to coaches I’ve worked with or trainers I’ve worked with. Just trying to be a versatile back and be able to make those moves and also be a power back, catch the ball out of the back field. I know I said that so many times and it probably sounds redundant to you guys, but I have made moves like that before. It started when I was in high school, but continue to get better in those moves too.

Q: Is the jump something you just sense in one second or a split second?
A: Yeah, that one was just sometimes your body just takes over. You just react and I know I said before sometimes you can pre-determine because you watch film, but in that situation, I just caught the ball and my body just for some reason told me to go up and I went up.

Q: In college, you don’t usually get to have rematches with teams, but in the NFL because you have a division, you will have a rematch. Does that change your preparation at all or how is it different?
A: It’s not really different. You've got to still treat every week like the same, but for example when we played the Eagles, now you have film you can watch on how you played or how they played against your guys. Obviously you can see what they do against different teams, but they may play you differently, so you have kind of a good idea of what they’re going to do to you. Obviously it’s never going to be the same because it’s the NFL and you know those guys get paid a lot of money over there to scheme you out and put their team in a position to win, too, so you go back and watch film and you see the plays you left out there and you see the things you did well also too. It helps you a lot that you have that film on them already or you got to play against them already and you don’t get to do that in college.