NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The New York Giants are still dealing with the outcome of not keeping Saquon Barkley this offseason. Instead, they balked at the price tag and watched him travel down I-95 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Barkley is in the top five in Rushing Yards and TDs while providing the Eagles with a home run threat in their offensive attack. The Giants on the other hand are still waiting for Devin Singletary to resemble the person whose number he’s wearing. But this is not about the shortcomings of Singletary as much as it’s about what the Giants’ offense could have been if they weren’t so stingy.
Daniel Jones has played well in 4 games. But the big hoopla surrounding the Giants is the play of rookie receiver Malik Nabers. This is where Barkley comes in. Imagine if Joe Schoen kept Barkley. Pairing him with Nabers would have this offense rolling. There is no telling what their record would be. But what we do know is that Barkley lacked help during his tenure with the Giants.
Having a receiver that forces a defense to respect their talent would have given Barkley better lanes to run. While Singletary is the Giants’ leading rusher, he has yet to crack 100 yards in a single game this season. Hell, he hasn’t carried the ball more than 17 times in a game yet.
The Giants with Barkley in the backfield would give them visions of what it was like to have a healthy and productive Odell Beckham Jr. Nabers is that good. Schoen thought he made up for his mistake of letting Barkley go by drafting Nabers, but in essence, he made things worse.
In all fairness, it was a gamble. Jones is not the most trustworthy of QBs. However, this season, he and the young receiver have developed great chemistry. All that’s missing is a reliable ground game. That’s where Barkley would have made a huge difference.
Can Singletary still rush for 1000 yards? Yes, if the offensive line can get their head out of their asses, the Giants could make some noise. Giants fans are still furious about losing Barkey and have found some solace in Nabers. However, it’s hard watching the Giants this season and not wonder what could have been.
Nabers, in 4 games has 35 receptions for 345 yards and 2 TDs. Jones has passed for 881 yards and 4 TDs. Singletary has carried the ball 56 times for 221 yards and 2 TDs. The Giants are ranked 21st in the NFL in Total Yards. As we’ve seen with Barkley and the Eagles missing receivers in the last two weeks, how well having weapons can help. One hand washes the other.
Teams are paying for talent. The Eagles paid for Barkley. The Ravens did what was necessary to land Derrick Henry. The Giants figured a plug-and-play would get them over the top. It’s still early but the New York Giants must be looking at the Eagles with a bit of disgust.
Barkley should be in their backfield. He should be paired with Jones and Nabers. Who knows what could happen this season or beyond. But what they do know is that if Singlearty doesn’t get his feet moving, we could never see the full potential of Malik Nabers.
