Former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber is taking shots at a current New York Giants running back.
The former Giants running back said Tuesday that Saquon Barkley “might not be an every down back” because “he cannot pass protect.”
“He’s a big back who wants to play small,” Barber said on ‘Tiki and Tierney’ on the CBS Sports Radio and TV Networks.
“It is starting to become glaring. It’s probably the only issue he had to deal with coming into the NFL because he wasn’t asked to do it at Penn State. And you see him diving on the ground, not sticking his head in people’s chests. It’s gonna be a liability. Because people see it now, it’s on tape, and it’s gonna come out.”
“If you’ve watched him for the last couple of years, he doesn’t want to block,” Barber said. “I learned this early on in my career. Because I was a third-down back before I was a star running back you know what I mean? If you can’t block, you can’t be on the field on third down. You just can’t. Because you know those are high blitz and dog downs, and someone’s coming from the safety (position). So you have to recognize what a defense is trying to do and how they’re going to dog and blitz you.
“So recognition is one, and then two, you’ve got to go hit a dude,” Barber added. “Saquon Barkley’s a big man. He doesn’t want to hit anybody. It’s frustrating to watch. He’s also a great back, but he’s frustrating to watch trying to pass protect.”
The internet quickly responded to Tiki’s hot take:
The New York media can be very tough on athletes, but Saquon needs to hear the criticism if he’s ever going to play up to his hype.
Props to Tiki Barber for his very honest take.
