Thursday Media Transcript: RB Saquon Barkley

RB Saquon Barkley -- July 25, 2019

Q: What did you think when you’re out there and you hear people cheering “MVP” for you?
A: That’s a first. I have never really heard that chant before. I’m just grateful for the fans who come out and show support. It’s just fun being out there and playing football again. Obviously, you get to interact with the fans and sign stuff for them, especially the little kids. The MVP chants, that’s cool and all, but I was just more happy to be out there with my teammates and kick the season off.

Q: Do you think that’s a possibility?
A: MVP? Yeah, I think anything is possible. I am a big believer in that, but my mindset is not just that trophy. Obviously, I am not going to sit here and say “I don’t want to win the MVP,” or “I don’t want to win this or win that.” But I am a big believer. I take care of the little things and focus on (the) team first. It’s a team first mentality and all of the individual awards will take care of themselves.

Q: You talked last year about getting through the mesh quicker in the second half. Is there a goal you have, whether it’s a little thing or an individual goal, that you have for this year?
A: Yeah. Right now, my main goal is to take care of little things. Right now, I am trying to understand the blocking scheme, obviously with the shifts and movements. Before we say “hike” I am trying to be able to read the defense and know exactly where we’re going to block and who is my most dangerous man, before watching film on the team and understanding that. It’s a lot easier when you have a grasp of what’s actually going to happen than when you go out here you don’t really know what to expect. I’m trying to do that, figure out the defense real quick and figure out what my lineman’s are going to do, and “boom” who’s my guy and trying to make the play work, instead of reacting.

Q: How do you feel about the possibility of 300 carries and 400 touches? Is there a point where you think it might be counter-productive at all?
A: No. I am open to as many that come. Like I have said before, I am willing to take as many touches to help the team win. That’s why I train, that’s why I try to take care of my body, that’s why I take the mindset I take in the off season, and that’s why I train with guys like (Speed Coach) Ryan Flaherty, that’s why (I’m) with the amazing strength staff here with (Strength and Conditioning) Coach Wellman and all of those guys. I understand that and the wear and tear of football. That’s my job and that’s the sport that I chose to fall in love with. I know it comes with the territory, so I have to be better and be better as a person and take care of my body to be more of a professional in that area.

Q: Did you feel it at the end of last year?
A: No, I was chilling to be honest. I felt good, I felt pretty good. If we were in the position to be in playoffs and play more games, I know I was more than capable. Like I said, I train now and I train in the offseason knowing what the possibility is, and not just talking about touches but just in football. Playing a 16-game season, if you want to add preseason on top of that and add playoffs in the future too. It’s something I know that comes with the game and that’s why I take the responsibilities I have now and try to treat myself like a pro.

Q: When did you decided to train with Shep (Sterling Shepard) and how did it go?
A: We started training together because we lived together in LA. We were both trying to look for houses in LA. I found one first and he was still trying to find one, and I was like “well I have a room for you and your family” so we just went in all together with me and my manager. He was training with his trainer at first but then he was coming and training with me and my trainer. It’s good to train with your teammates. Obviously, you have respect for each another, but it’s a different respect when you’re actually living with each other, playing video games, and going from fighting each other to chilling to competing to this and that, basically like a brother. It makes you grow and respect each other and the game so much more. Not only as a player but as a person, to respect each other. I definitely think it was a benefit, not only for us but for the team.

Q: He said you cheated in some of your races?
A: Come on man. He came up here and said that? That’s Sterling Shepard for you. One, if you’re not cheating you’re not trying (laughter). Not in races, especially not in races. He got me in tier two sports like ping pong and handball. For some reason, I blame my parents, I’m not a really good tier two athlete. So, he got my number there. If we count our reps through the summer with hill reps, sprints, all that good stuff, I know 100 percent I’m up. He can take that to the bank.

Q: He said you stuck your arm out?
A: That’s what he says all the time. He says if you are running a race, what are they going to count, your chest or this (sticks out arm) and I don’t do that, why would I do that (sticks his arm out) during a race? If anything, I was the one who was running through because I know (pauses) I’m sorry, you can see how passionate I’m getting about that (laughter). It’s great to have that love for each other but also that competitive nature. We do that in the locker room but it brings out everybody. When everyone is playing ping pong or we are playing card games or when we come out here. We didn’t have that last year, we didn’t have that competitive nature that we have. That’s why I think we can have a really special year. If we continue to build, continue to build on that with the long hard days, and put in the work and focus on details I believe we can have a great season.

Q: Do you like this environment with the fans being able to watch practice?
A: I think it’s cool actually. I like the signing at the end. I like the interaction with the kids. To be honest, I don’t really care about grownups (laughter). I know when I was a kid I would have loved to able to visit my favorite team or meet one of my favorite players or a person I look up to. I think that’s a neat thing that we do here, that we are able to interact with the fans. I’m all for it, I love it, and I’m happy they come and show support and you also get to put on a show for them during practice.

Q: It took Daniel Jones a little bit to get his first completion, then he completed four in a row. As a team leader do you go over and say something to him or are you not paying attention to him because you are with the running backs?
A: I pay attention to everything. Personally, I think Daniel did more than fine. I think we all did well for the first day. Obviously, there are things to grow. I didn’t know that he went a long time without a completion then had four in a row. I think that shows he is going through adversity, he’s maybe not having the day he wants at the beginning but to be able to pick it up and continue to go strong. That’s what you want in a quarterback, that’s what you want in all your teammates and players. That’s what I continue to work on. There’s been times when I’ve had a bad run, I had a screen today where I didn’t set up and kind of put us in a bad position. Its practice, that’s when you learn from it and get better. That’s why it’s called practice so you can learn and when the games come you can be more than ready to compete at a high level.

Q: Was that the screen that Lorenzo Carter picked off?
A: That was a heck of a play. You have to give credit to Zo. The defense gave me crap for that too because we go back and forth. It was a zero blitz, he was responsible for the running back and I kind of tried to sneak him and dip outside him on the screen. He did a great job of playing it and then made an unbelievable play. Two or three plays before that we had a little reverse and he ran down one of our wide receivers. I’m really happy for that guy, you can see the work he put in. I think he is going to have a tremendous impact for us this year.