–The Giants offense has a new lifeline, according to quarterback Eli Manning, and that lifeline is their dynamic rookie running back Saquon Barkley.
“He’s a tremendous player,” Manning said after the Giants pounded Washington 40-16 Sunday.
“I think we’re starting to figure out that offense runs through him a little bit. When we run the ball well, it just sets up everything else, sets up the play-action, sets up so much. … Once he sees a little crease and gets an opening, he showed some speed.”
Barkley was very humbled to hear his quarterback’s praise but was also quick to deflect taking all the credit for the Giants offense having finally found its groove.
“The O-linemen dominating games, to be honest,” Barkley said when asked what’s been the biggest difference.
“They’ve been tremendous giving Eli time and making me look way better than I actually am.”
Actually that’s not true, though kudos to Barkley for trying to be modest. The rookie has done everything right since joining the Giants as the No. 2 overall draft pick, and last week became the first Giants running back to rush for 1,000 yards since Ahmad Bradshaw in 2012, and the first rookie in the franchise’s history to accomplish that feat.
“Yeah, getting 1,000 yards in the NFL is an amazing accomplishment and being the first rookie ever for the Giants to do that is even a bigger one,” Barkley said.
“It’s big because even though my name might go in the record book, it’s not just myself – it’s the offensive line play and the guys in the running back room, from active to practice squad to (injured reserve), all those guys have been a tremendous help for me throughout this year. We got that record as a whole.”
Barkley is also the first Giant since Eddie Price, who had 971 yards in 1951, to be in the hunt for the NFL rushing title.
If Barkley wins it, he would be the first Giants player to accomplish that goal since the 16-game format was introduced in 1978.
“What am I, fourth, third right now?” he asked (Note: he’s third, behind Zeke Elliott of Dallas and Todd Gurley II of the Rams).
“To be up there with the names of those guys, the (Ezekiel Elliott’s), the (Todd Gurley’s) of the world, the Philip Lindsay’s of the world … It’s an honor to be up there.”
For the 21-year-old Barkley, there’s no time to sit there and pat himself on the back.
“You’ve got to put that in the past and focus on the remainder of the season and focus on the next game that we have up and continue to get better,” he said.
And about that rushing title. If he gets it, great, but if he doesn’t, then he won’t sweat it.
“At the end of the day, that doesn’t really matter,” he said. “It only matters how many wins you get, and we’ve got to figure out how to continue to get those wins.”
–Receiver Sterling Shepard loves to be on the receiving end of a NFL pass.
But if things don’t work out to allow for that and he has to do some of the dirty work like blocking, well then that’s OK by him as well.
Such was the case last week in a 40-16 trouncing of Washington. Shepard only caught two passes, but he threw three huge blocks on big plays for his teammates, an effort that earned him a game ball.
“They put the stats up there and I was like, ‘OK, two receptions for 17 yards,’ but some of the downfield blocking was great,” Shepard said Monday.
“It sprung some big runs for Saquon, but I mean that’s what we take pride in in the wide receiving room is blocking, which a lot of receivers you see don’t really like to do that but (receivers) Coach Tyke (Tolbert) — he’s implanted that in us since he’s gotten here. That’s what we love doing.”
Head coach Pat Shurmur certainly took notice of the effort.
“I thought Sterling Shepard, he had some terrific blocks,” he said. “That’s his nature: He’s gritty, he’s tough, he understands the importance of being a good blocker and he found his way in the end zone as well.”
–When linebacker Alec Ogletree was traded to the Giants from the Rams last offseason, the last thing anyone probably expected to see happen was for the 27-year-old defensive co-captain to lead the team in interceptions.
Yet here he is, the Giants team leader with five interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. The five picks are a new career high, with three of those coming in his last two games.
Not bad for a guy who was said to be a disaster in coverage and who, at least in the beginning of the 2018 season, lived up to that reputation.
What changed for Ogletree that all of a sudden, he’s developed glue on his hands?
“The Good Lord is showing favoritism towards me,” he said. “I just continue to work, and just capitalize on the opportunities that come to me. When the ball is in the air, I always think I can catch it and you just have to go make those plays.”
It took time for Ogletree to find his groove. In training camp, he couldn’t catch a cold in a bucket, let alone a ball thrown right to him. And the missed opportunities began to bother him to the point where he resolved to do something about it, including blocking out the noise about how he was a liability in coverage.
“I know what I can do,” he said. “Like I said, definitely haven’t played the best early on in the season, but you just have to keep pushing, and keep staying focused, just working on your craft, and getting better every day.”
Besides finding his groove, the Giants defense is also starting to get into a rhythm. The Giants have 14 sacks in their last four games and are starting to play like a cohesive unit.
“Just as a team, as a whole, we put in a lot of work this offseason and during the season as well. Still doing it,” Ogletree said.
“And for us to go out there on Sunday and make those plays, and win those games, it definitely feels good, definitely well worth it.
Meanwhile Ogletree and head coach Pat Shurmur have been joking about possibly adding tight end to the linebacker’s game-day duties.
“Yeah, it’s been in the conversation, definitely been in the works,” Ogletree said with a laugh. “Coach (Shurmur) said he’s thinking about doing it, so, we’re going to see what we can do.”
If he does get the call at tight end, Ogletree has one request: Don’t ask him to block people or carry the ball.
“I don’t want to block nobody. I can do that on defense, run into people,” he said.
Instead, he envisions a scenario where he’s split out wide and gets to run a route, though he playfully added that if Giants tight ends Evan Engram, Rhett Ellison and Scott Simonson didn’t want him infringing on their turf, he’d respect their wishes.
“I’ll talk to them,” Ogletree said with a chuckle. “I’m sure they’ll be alright but if not, I’ll stay on my side of the ball.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 13 – Number of Giants players who were on team’s Week 15 roster at this time last year, a record for fewest holdovers. The list does not include players who were active last year and now on injured reserve, or players on injured reserve a year ago.
