RB Saquon Barkley -- December 12, 2019
Q: Have you ever gone a stretch where you’ve gone seven games without rushing for 100 yards?
A: I mean, it’s only my second year in the NFL, so I don’t think so.
Q: But even in college or high school?
A: Definitely not high school. In college you only play like 11 games, so I don’t think I would’ve gotten drafted that high if I had gone seven games without going 100 yards. So yeah, I guess not.
Q: This is the week?
A: I don’t care about that, I just want to win, to be honest.
Q: What is it though? What do you look at and say this is kind of the reason we haven’t been able to put together that big run game?
A: I think you can look, and you can see a lot of the focal point of defenses is to stop the run. But I think we are doing a good job of taking what the defense is giving us. In these last couple of weeks, I think we’ve been getting those dirty runs, taking those four and those fives. But the game also has got to present you to continue to run the ball. The Eagles did a really good job, especially in the fourth quarter, in the second half, of holding the ball. I don’t really know the time of possession, but it definitely was in their favor. Green Bay, they got up on us. A lot of teams, the mindset is to go throw the ball to come back to try to win the game. In Chicago, they got up on us. So, I think in the last couple of games, we’ve been averaging 4 or 4.5, around there. But you’ve got to be able to continue to run the ball into the fourth quarter. Obviously, everyone wants those big 60-yard, 80-yard runs, but sometimes those come by just wearing defenses down. We haven’t really gotten the opportunity to do that. I don’t think we’ve been in a four-minute situation yet this season, or that I’ve been a part of.
Q: Have you had the chance yet to talk to (Los Angeles Rams Running Back) Todd Gurley at all about how his career trajectory went from his first year to his second?
A: No.
Q: Are you aware of that? His numbers certainly came down and then…
A: Yeah, he went, what? 1,000 yards, then 800 yards, then 1,000, then got banged up again. I just know that, just doing research on running backs and being a fan of running backs. But no, I didn’t reach out to him for that. I know I can, I know he’ll definitely give me great advice. I’m not really looking for it. I don’t care for the numbers, I don’t care for the stats, I don’t care if I finish the season with 1,000 yards or not. This season is a disappointment just because we’re not playoff contenders. That’s the whole mindset, that’s the whole focal point.
Q: Well, he sort of was in that boat, too. The Rams were not a very good team…
A: They turned it around, right? That’s why I keep preaching believing. Keep coming into work every single day, because I’ve got to keep preaching to you guys, keep preaching to the team, that this thing will turn around. Obviously, it’s not going the way we’d like it. But just because it’s not going the way you’d like it, and you’re facing adversity, doesn’t mean you’ve got to change your ways or should succumb to, I guess, the losing culture, that it’s supposed to be— we’re not having that, we’re not going to do that. When it does work, it’s going to work and it’s going to work for a very long time.
Q: Have you sought advice from anybody about how to handle the losing and how to stay optimistic?
A: No, the only people I seek advice from is my family, my parents. Obviously, I have talked to (former Giants linebacker) Jessie (Armstead), and other former players here—(former Giants wide receiver) David Tyree and those guys. Just everyone has a losing slump, has those seasons. But for my personal self, I talk to my family, talk to my parents. But I’m a grown man. You’ve got to deal with it yourself and you’ve got to come out and figure it out. Like I said, the greats figure it out and I want to be great. I want this team to be great and I’m going to help find a way, to do my job to help us turn this culture around and get back to a winning culture. That’s just by coming into work every single day and try to do the little things right.
Q: How much better do you feel, physically, with the ankle?
A: I feel really good, actually. I feel really good. Probably feel the best, to be honest, than a lot of people in the league. I was banged up earlier in the year so I’m getting better and better each week. It’s not so much it’s the injury that, I guess you could say, is holding me back. Even though physically you feel like you’re back, mentally you might be telling yourself that you’re back, but you watch yourself on film and you can see the way that you’re running and you’re protecting yourself. You don’t really think you’re doing it, but naturally it’s just happening. But I think I’m getting better and better each week. My body is getting healthier and healthier each week. Try to finish the season off strong.
Q: Do you even have to do anything with the ankle at this point? Wrap it heavily?
A: I do stuff all of the time. You can’t just stop doing it, because that’s when it gets hurt again.
Q: Is it maintenance?
A: Yeah, it’s maintenance. I just do a lot of maintenance on my body, just in general. So, I don’t just only focus on my ankle. It’s just on my body and trying to get my body better and stay strong throughout the season. I don’t want to just be a great running back for two to three years, I want to be a great running back for 10 years plus. It starts on focusing on the little things now.
Q: Is it important to you to get Daniel (Jones) back in the lineup so as you build something for the future you guys can put a win or two together with him as quarterback? Looking towards 2020, is that something that would be important for you guys?
A: No, the only thing that’s important to us right now is finishing the season off strong. We’ve got a chance to finish the season with three games in a row. I think a positive, even in our division, that would be a great way to finish off the season. It starts with Miami.
Q: You said after the game that this team, for whatever reason, finds ways to lose. What needs to be different to turn the page to find ways to win? What has to change?
A: That’s a great question, actually. That’s a question we’re trying to figure out. I don’t mean to come off like I’m coming at you or anything, but if we knew that answer, I promise you we wouldn’t be 2-11. The way I guess you could do it is just go back to your roots. A lot of people who come in this building and in this facility come from winning programs, have won a lot of games. When it comes back to it, the way you win games is by doing the little things right— on the field also. Just because you’re doing the little things right in here, obviously you can see the vibes and the mentality of the team in this locker room is still up and still high. We’re not going at each other, we’re not going downhill. I feel like we’re coming to practice, and we’re still grinding every single day. Just because you’re doing those little things right, you’ve still got to do the little things right on the field. That’s what we’ve got to do and that’s what we’re not doing. I know that’s a long answer, but to answer your question— just execute better on Sundays.
Q: When you look at this season and you compare it to the first year, do you see teams approaching you any differently? Like this guy is not going to beat us?
A: No, I don’t think that’s the case.
Q: When people struggle a lot of times you talk about trying to maintain consistency. But when things are going like this, do you revisit, either your regime or as a team, and make drastic changes to try to make drastic changes to the results?
A: No, I think when things are going like this, and you’re losing, you’re at the losing end of it, I think it’s important to remind yourself and remember this time. You do go back and you’re way more critical of yourself. That’s just natural, that’s what people do. Whether it’s in football, whether it’s in life, when things aren’t going right they are way more critical of themselves. I think that we’ve got to learn from this moment, learn from this time. Even though it’s a lot of adversity and things aren’t going our way. How critical we are of ourselves, when we do turn this thing around and we figure it out, we’ve got to keep that same criticism on ourselves because that’s going to be key to not just be able to turn it around and be decent, to turn it around and be great again.
