...from Samuel Gold.
Very interesting analysis with some very good footage.
My bottom-line take-away: Saquon Barkley had a Hall of Fame rookie year. There's simply nothing like him in the NFL today.
Incidentally, Samuel Gold's bottom-line comparison between Barkley vs Gurley: While Gurley was the best "mistake-free" running back in 2018, Barkley made more plays on his own.
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If the kid can stay healthy, Marshall Faulk's single-season, all-purpose yardage record could easily be toast this coming season.
So glad he's a Giant. I wanted a QB, and as usual on such matters, I was wrong. :)
If the kid can stay healthy, Marshall Faulk's single-season, all-purpose yardage record could easily be toast this coming season.
So glad he's a Giant. I wanted a QB, and as usual on such matters, I was wrong. :)
Can you imagine if we took Darnold and Barkley was doing this for the Jets?
He elevated his performance when he got to the NFL.
What if he ISN'T DONE IMPROVING?
Think about THAT! :D
If the kid can stay healthy, Marshall Faulk's single-season, all-purpose yardage record could easily be toast this coming season.
So glad he's a Giant. I wanted a QB, and as usual on such matters, I was wrong. :)
You never saw Barry Sanders play?
Who knows? Sanders certainly had good hands though. A RB's primary responsibility is to run the ball. And no one has ever done that better than Barry Sanders. I love Saquon and take nothing away from his performance, but it seems a bit premature to start in with the "he's the best ever" stuff.
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Who knows? Sanders certainly had good hands though. A RB's primary responsibility is to run the ball. And no one has ever done that better than Barry Sanders. I love Saquon and take nothing away from his performance, but it seems a bit premature to start in with the "he's the best ever" stuff.
I agree it is too early to say he is the best ever. But it will be great watching him prove he is that player for many years to come. (baring injury of course)
I think if you were playing OJ's Bills, you would rather have OJ running a pattern than getting the ball in the backfield. But I don't remember him being like Earl Campbell, who was basically useless in the passing game and so would often come out of the game when the Oilers were trailing and had to pass.
If the kid can stay healthy, Marshall Faulk's single-season, all-purpose yardage record could easily be toast this coming season.
So glad he's a Giant. I wanted a QB, and as usual on such matters, I was wrong. :)
Chris Johnson owns that record now. It's a forgone conclusion Barkley breaks that as long as he stays healthy. The question is by how much? The only thing holding him back is touch management. We had idiots last year having a stroke every time Barkley got taken out of the game, like this is Madden and we can give him 50 touches a game with no repercussions.
Parcells 3-4 two gap was designed primarily to defend against the big slashy can break one anytime RBs that were around then, like the two OJs and Dickerson. It's a bend but don't break type run D. Seen teams returning to the 2 gap towards the end of the year against SB, he's similar.
Can you imagine if we took Darnold and Barkley was doing this for the Jets?
Yeah, it is like when I order the fish at a restaurant and someone else got the chicken parm... and I keep looking over at his plate.
Despite it being a "passing league", and it is, the run still sets up the pass better than vice versa. The run game still helps control the clock. It still wears down defenses more than the pass while resting their own defense. Every QB plays better off of play-action and Eli even more than most. Whether it's Eli or a rookie, having a solid run game works wonders for a QB. Goff is developing with Gurley and a solid OL and Dak is developing with Prescott and a solid OL.
Despite that, I'm still leaning towards a pass rusher in the draft. I'm hoping for OL help in FA and later rounds. The strength of this draft is on defense and Giants need to take advantage of that.
As to Barkley getting too many touches and shortening his career, for some reason I don't agree. Now I don't mean to get ridiculous with giving him the ball all the time but I most definitely think he's an every down back and can handle that load. Something tells me he can take it. He's always working on improving and staying healthy. It's one of the first things he talks to other past backs about, staying healthy. His head is on straight and is perfect for the NY media. I think he's going to be a high productive Giant for a very long time (at least for a RB). He will break more records along the way. I think he will be the 4th back to break 15K yards before it's done. Breaking Emmitt Smith's record would be a tall order (18,355) but I do think we will see Barkley play at a high level for the next decade and will remain a Giant his whole career.
Despite all the accolades we all give him, I still don't think we truly appreciate how perfect he is for this team now and for the future.
He's making NFL players look like his high school competition.
Barkley's versatility could work against him there. Ideally, you want to get him 5-7 receptions/game (at least) to give him some open field to work in. That probably leads to them trying to keep his rushing touches closer to 18-20 per game rather than 25+ that Emmitt saw.
Total yards is a different story. Barkley has almost as many receiving yards as Smith did in his first 3 seasons. Still a tall order but possible.
Give Barkley an average OL and a healthy Beckham drawing some of the D's attention for 16 games and I wouldn't be surprised to see him approach 6.0 ypc.
But it was a different time. We didn't see the 80 reception RB as a common thing until the past 15 years.