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CRÊME PHILADELPHIA – All around Saquon Barkley, his teammates threw the coaches of the Giants under the bus to collapse in the second half against a 25-22 defeat against the Eagles, ending the faint hope of recovery of the 2018 season by this team.
"I do not call plays, I just do what I'm told to do," said recipient, Odell Beckham Jr., who looked like he wanted to call Lil Wayne and distribute more dirty laundry for an ESPN function. "I would have loved attacking them, but it was not in our game plan."
Sterling Shepard went one step further by claiming that the Eagles coaches had made better half-time adjustments than the Giants' side, while encouraging reporters to "go back and watch the movie". They wanted to see the proof.
Pointing fingers. Cracks are forming. The frustration of falling to 3-8 despite dominating the first half of this match was overflowing with an attack that would recognize that it should be a lot, a lot better than that.
But Barkley?
The rookie who presented himself was a diplomat as usual after the last defeat and, given his behavior in the career so far, this should not surprise anyone. But he was the only player who should have stood on the stool in front of the locker and demanded, in Keyshawn Johnson's words, that the Giants give him the damn balloon.
Again, he did not have to do it. He said that with his playing on the pitch, and yet, head coach Pat Shurmur had managed to marginalize his best player in a situation that begged him to put the game in his hands and let him lead the Giants to victory.
"When we come out with penalties, then with bags, and then with all these bad things, then you're falling behind trying to give the ball to Saquon and Odell and the guys who have to touch it," Shurmur said.
That sounded good, but the coach had a lot more to do with Barkley's disappearance than the Eagles, his team's sloppy play or any other factor. Here are the damning numbers from the afternoon of Barkley at the Lincoln Financial Field, which tell only part of the story:
First half:
Nine races, 94 yards, one touchdown
Six receptions, 37 yards, one touchdown
Second part:
Four races, seven meters
A reception, four meters
The Giants, remember, had a 19-3 lead in the first half thanks to a brilliant 51-yard pass by Barkley. It was his third run of 50 yards or more in his first 11 games, which is only the total of that franchise. the previous 10 years.
The questionable decisions of Shurmur condemn the giants
He is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, and the best bet that this team had to protect and / or strengthen on a lead against a wounded Philadelphia defensive. But after giving him the ball twice in the first half of the second half, Barkley had only two extra touches throughout the match.
"I know everyone wants to be a coach and thinks they know what to call, but he knows what he's doing and puts us in the right position to win," Barkley said. "If I carry the ball 20 times, if I carry the ball three times (no matter) as long as we win the match, we just have not finished this game." That's the difference.
Shurmur, meanwhile, seemed satisfied with the return of his star to the return match with 20 keys, pointing out that the substitute, Wayne Gallman, "went there and ran the ball well" and that the penalties that sabotaged the balloon were the same. Giants offensive "have nothing to do with running back."
But why did Gallman have a whole series at the beginning of the second half? Barkley is 21 years old. It's not as if Shurmur – who had said he wanted to "spell it a bit" – had to worry about keeping it fresh for a bigger match, as the next significant game for this franchise will run in next September. .
The Giants used No. 2 pick in the NFL draft on Barkley this spring because they thought he was a "generational gamer" and that they were delighted to have discovered in the first 10 games that he was all that they could have hoped for. rookie and more.
He had collected 27 runs for 142 yards in a win against Tampa Bay last week, and his ball success dramatically improved the Giants' offense, including quarterback Eli Manning. Barkley has carried the ball more than 17 times in four games. The giants have won three.
Coincidence? Do not believe.
Despite their lead in the second half against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Giants had a passing pass ratio of 18 to 37. They placed the match on Manning's shoulders and the quarterback went for just 61 yards in the second half.
Barkley should be the center of attack of this offense each game, but in one way or another, this is not the case. The rookie is not about to get up and demand that he get the damn bullet. This is not his style.
But given how well this team does better when it's in their hands, should they really do it?
You can contact Steve Politi at the following address: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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