[autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag] entered the NFL like a man possessed. Right out the gates of being the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, he had a total of 2,028 yards and was named the Rookie of the Year.
Since then, however, things have been rocky for Barkley and the New York Giants organization as a whole.
Barkley will be playing for his third head coach in just five seasons, and his third different offense in the same stretch of time as well. To give an extra wrinkle to this all, there quietly seems to be a quarterback competition going on as well. Despite all of that outside noise, Barkley is hearing the rumblings about his play style and he is not liking it.
When speaking to the media on Friday afternoon, Saquon Barkley was asked about getting more north to south as a runner and if that thought is with his this offseason. From there, Barkley gave a rarely seen firm response.
“No to be honest…I stay in the scheme,” Barley said. “Understanding what I gotta do like, this is probably going to be the last time I am going to speak on this.”
He would go on to discuss how people say he does too much “dancing” or that he doesn’t do enough of the north to south type of work.
“I am not going to run into any of my linemen’s back, that’s not how I play the game. This is how I have been playing since I was eight years old…I still have so much work to do but I know that is a conversation…” He also stated that he is overly tired of people “who have never played the game” being able to to knit pick plays “from the couch.”
Saquon Barkley gives a long answer on why he's fed up about people saying he's "dancing." pic.twitter.com/lSIcKriWoJ
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) August 18, 2022
He did allude to the fact that Brian Daboll, the team’s new head coach, is turning him into a more physical runner via a north-to-south running style. It appears Barkley knows that as he enters his fifth year expectations are high but seeing this type of raw emotion is new, it is unheard of. Perhaps the fire that is lit under him will push him to new heights during the 2022 season.
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