New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has insisted for well over a month that a high ankle sprain was not the reason for his lacking production this season, demanding that others stop using it as an excuse.
As it turns out however, the assumption that Barkley was hindered due to injury had some actual legs (no pun intended).
While meeting with reporters after practice on Thursday, Barkley finally acknowledged, for the first time this year, that injuries have taken their toll on him and led to some mental hiccups.
“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,” Barkley said. “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.”
After starting the season with back-to-back 100-yard games, Barkley went down with an ankle injury in Week 3 and has failed to eclipse 85 yards in a single game since. He also hasn’t managed 20 or more carries a single time this season.
Despite the very obvious slump and misuse, offensive coordinator Mike Shula feels the running game has improved in recent weeks and is now trending upward.
“I think that probably four or five weeks ago, we kind of struggled just with a few things, just with some moving parts. Saquon was just getting back from his injury. I think the last few weeks, though, we’ve been back heading in the direction where we want to go,” Shula said.
“We’re not quite there, but there are a lot of positive runs, a lot of efficient runs. You see our offensive line coming off the ball, you see them re-establishing the line of scrimmage, Saquon is hitting it up in there. We’ve had a few that have been really close, really in the last three games, from breakouts.”
The Giants and Barkley have just three more games this season to “breakout,” and fans sure would like to see it.
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