WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Notes, Quotes

The Sports Xchange

December 20, 2018 at 1:01 pm.

–It’s often rare for a NFL rookie to step into a locker room in his first season and establish himself as a team leader.

But head coach Pat Shurmur has encouraged all his players to embrace that opportunity, which is something that running back Saquon Barkley has taken to heart.

Barkley might not have the official title or have been granted a “C” to wear on his chest, but there’s little question that it won’t be too long before such a move is made official.

The youngster has been all about doing everything right from the moment the Giants drafted him No. 2.

He made good on his promise to come in and earn his role and the trust of his teammates, he has remained an open book when it comes to seeking knowledge and ways to improve his craft, and he’s been a model citizen in and out of the locker room as he’s slowly become the face of the franchise.

Thus it was no surprise that Barkley believes that the biggest area he’s improved this year has been as a leader.

“Obviously, I was never shy to talk or be vocal, but just you know yourself when you’re speaking just how more comfortable you feel, and I felt more comfortable speaking and leading from this point before in the beginning of the year or preseason or camp,” he said Wednesday.

Barkley stressed that he still has a lot more room to grow before he comes anywhere close to hitting his ceiling, but he feels pretty good about the direction in which his arrow is pointed even though he’s not happy with the team’s record.

“I love the way that I’ve been able to grow as a player. I feel like a lot of people will always try to talk about the rookie wall or at this point in the year or you’re going to get banged up here, banged up there.

“Obviously, I’ve been able to be very healthy and that’s credit to the people I work with and God, but to be able to grow as a player, understanding the game more and also growing as a leader and obviously that’s probably my favorite part of this year is to be able to learn and be able to grow from the good things I’ve done this year and the mistakes that I’ve made.”

Barkley said he’s grown from his mistakes and as a result, he’s sensed that his teammates have greater trust in him.

“That’s just the nature of life: You have to prove yourself. Obviously I wanted to take on that role, but I had to prove it to my team that I’m a guy you can follow and I’m a guy that’s willing to lead and the way I did that, that’s what I thought I would say who I am – stay true to who I am, don’t come in here with a cocky attitude or you’re the second pick, you’re this, you’re that. That means nothing.

“Once you get to the organization, you’re just like everybody else and you got to work and prove yourself just like everyone else and that was a mindset that I had and that’s the mindset I’m going to continue to have.”

Over these next two games, Barkley hopes to take even bigger strides forward to becoming the player he believes he can be.

“We still got two games left to get better and hopefully these next two weeks I can grow in there and even prove to my teammates more that I’m willing to be here for them whether it’s on the field or off the field,” he said. “Just know that they got a competitor that’s going to go out there and compete at a high level for them.”

–Giants head coach Pat Shurmur generally doesn’t allow the media or public to see him get too high or low over a player.

When it comes to kicker Aldrick Rosas, however, Shurmur couldn’t help himself.

“You hate to say you have favorite players, but he’s one of my favorites,” he confessed about the Giants’ newly minted Pro Bowl kicker. “You’ve heard me talk about how he’s not just a kicker, he’s a football player. He’s a big guy, he’s got a presence, and he’s competitive. So I appreciate all the good in Aldrick.”

Exactly one year ago, the odds of Shurmur and Rosas being tougher and fighting for the same cause seemed unlikely. Rosas, the 23-year-old kicker, was in his first full NFL season after having a short stint with the Titans in the preseason.

With the Giants, he showed his strong leg, but he struggled to find accuracy, converting just 72 percent of his field-goal attempts, 31st in the NFL.

This year, Rosas has literally gone from worst to first. His 96.6 percent conversion rate is just shy of league leader Robbie Gould of the 49ers (96.7). and Rosas has become the first Giants player to score over 100 points in a season since kicker Josh Brown in 2015.

Rosas has always been thankful for the second chance to show he can be a NFL kicker, and has tried to take things bit by bit as they come.

“We’ve just been kind of in the special teams room, me, (long snapper) Zak (DeOssie), and (punter) Riley (Dixon), and the coaches just taking it one day at a time, one practice at a time, one game at a time,” he said Wednesday. “Just controlling what we can control and putting our best effort out there to contribute to getting some wins.”

Rosas flashed a shy smile when told of Shurmur’s praise of him being a football player.

“I don’t know, I guess just I’m a football player,” he said. “My teammates have my support on and off the field. On the field, whatever I got to do to help the team win games, and be my brother’s keeper, and stuff like that. We have a real special bond out there in the whole special teams room. It’s really fun.”

That fun and his hard work have paid off for Rosas, who this year will hit the Pro Bowl as the kicker.

“Yeah, I’m happy for the guys that are recognized and certainly in his case, he’s recognized for having a terrific year,” Shurmur said.

“He’s made some amazing kicks and he’s done a great job with his kickoffs. He had one that went out of bounds, he gets one in a career I told him, so that was his only one. But, no, I’ve been pleased with what he’s done this year.”

BY THE NUMBERS: 2 – Number of teams that the Giants have not beaten in the Eli Manning era. The two are the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts, the latter the Giants upcoming opponent.