Running Back Saquon Barkley
Q: How much do you have to manage with your shoulder?
A: It's annoying, but it's not something that's going to stop me from going out there and being able to produce. Just like anything throughout the season, it's every year – it's football, something is going to happen. Just got to stay with it. The trainers have been doing a really good job of setting up a program for me and also getting in the strength room, setting up a great program too. Just stick with it.
Q: It looked like it was bothering you a little more towards the end of the game last week. It looked like you were favoring it a little bit towards the end. Was that the case and if so, was it just a cue of the game?
A: No – landed on it pretty good and woke it up again, I guess you could say. It's really nothing that serious thankfully. Like I said, I've just got to keep trusting it, keep working.
Q: Is it a pain tolerance thing for you at this point? Is it something you can't hurt any worse? Like it's just a lot of pain to deal with?
A: Yeah, I guess. It's really, I wouldn't call it – it's not that crazy, you know? In my opinion. Like I said, something landed on it, woke it up for a little bit, but was able to finish the game.
Q: Is it something you have to have work on during the week a lot or is it just like, hey just give it time and don't land on it?
A: It just sucks that I play running back in the National Football League (laughs) and kind of every time I touch the ball I'm getting hit in my shoulder. Like I said, it's really nothing that I'm really concerned about. Do I get worked on? Yeah, not just only that, but all of my body. I'm big on rehab and big on trying to get my body right not just for the game but throughout this whole season and that's what I'm going to continue.
Q: The stat of the day is you're the only player in the NFL with 85 yards from scrimmage every game this season. That speaks to consistency so I'm assuming that's a stat you probably like?
A: Yeah, not just because I'm the only player but what you said – just being consistent. That's something that, kind of the word of the week for the team is just continue to be consistent, block out the noise, come in and work every single day, fall in love with the process and if you keep doing that, the consistency is going to continue to improve. That's the only thing I'm trying to do.
Q: It's a short group of people who have led their team in receiving yards and rushing yards. With the state of your receiving core, obviously there is a chance you are going to do that. What would that mean to you?
A: Like I've said multiple times, whatever I need to do to help the team win games I'm willing to do. I really don't get too caught up into the numbers. I know numbers are important, don't get me wrong. People fall in love with it, but I know I sound like a broken record, I just want to win football games. That's really it.
Q: How about the creativity this offense has shown? I think (Offensive Coordinator Mike) Kafka said today when he calls one of those in practice, guys are a little more extra attention, guys seem to enjoy it a little more.
A: Yeah, it definitely puts a smile on your face. It's been like this since OTAs. Since we first got together we were doing creative stuff. We knew what they were going to bring to the table throughout the season and they're doing a really good job. But at the end of the day as players, our responsibility is to go out there and execute and make the play work.
Q: You're a veteran on this team. When you see a player like (Wide Receiver) Kadarius (Toney) – you've been through the whole injury thing – what's your advice to a player like that at this point? When his body keeps letting him down.
A: Just got to keep going. Got to keep going. It's going to be tough; I know. For me, I had that. I had to deal with the adversity, and the sad thing is it's not the last adversity for any of us – knowing myself, KT, even you guys are going to deal with stuff that's going to go on in your life. You've just got to keep going, keep trusting it and all the work that you're putting in to get back, when you do come back it's going to pay off.
Q: Back to the creativity, can you tell defenses when you guys are putting in motion, can you hear across the line of scrimmage some confusion that you guys are creating?
A: Yeah, the one play we had where (Quarterback Daniel Jones) DJ kind of threw it, I forgot who it was but one of the Ravens defenders, he thought I had the ball. I was just like I must have done my job kind of right. I really wasn't trying to sell the fake; I was the one who pitched it. It keeps them on their heels. It's something that you can use to your advantage. I feel like we are going to continue to do that and like I said, it's up to us as players. They can get as creative as they want but we've got to go out there and make it work.
Q: I know I've asked you this before but – again this week, you guys are underdogs. Does that catch anyone's attention? How much does that catch your guys' attention in the locker room? You're 5-1, they're 2-4. You guys are still underdogs.
A: Can't really get too caught up in that. When you really go into the question – does it catch our attention? We're not blind to it. Obviously we see it, we see people talking about it and we get asked about it. This is the locker room right now and we're just having fun. We're just growing as a group every single day, every single week. Just trusting each other, playing the game that we love, having fun. Whether we're the underdog or the favorite – we come in with the same mindset of just coming in, falling in love with the process, trusting each other and we know if we can do that, it's going to put us in the best position on Sunday to win games. That's something we can focus on.
Q: What do you think you have to do to make the world realize you guys are for real?
A: It doesn't really matter to me. At the end of the day, we're winning games. We're 5-1 and we're just going to continue to fall in love with the process. Everyone else can say whatever they want to say, how they feel about us, but we know what we've got in this locker room, we know what we've got in this facility and we're just going to keep believing in each other.
Q: Do you see the results of in-game adjustments from your offensive coaching staff?
A: Yeah, I think they do a really good job of that. I mean, I think that kind of speaks to the numbers of us being a really well-rounded offense in the second half. I don't know the exact numbers, but I know we're doing pretty good in the second half. Whether we're scoring points and it comes to – first, it starts with the players. When we come into the locker room and the game's not going how we want it to go, not panicking, continue to trust the system, continue to trust the process and then the coaches go in there, talk it out and figure out how to come out with a gameplan and what we are going to do, and how we are going to attack them. The coaches trust in us to go out there and make the plays and execute it. That's what's happening. The adjustments are working. Obviously, we would like to start a little faster and that's something that we hope to start this coming week.
