The New York Giants have now lost eight consecutive games and are one loss away from tying an all-time record for futility, but don’t tell running back Saquon Barkley that the players aren’t giving it their all.
Despite the terrible record and the countless jobs that are likely to be lost if this continues, Barkley insists they practice like a 10-2 team as opposed to a 2-10 team.
“We’re 2-10, but you have to come in the building like you’re 10-2,” Barkley told reporters after the Week 13 loss. “That can’t change. We have to keep fighting. There’s going to be better days ahead.
“Ya’ll only get to come to practice for 10 minutes each day, if you guys are able to stay the whole time, we practice like we’re 10-2. If you’re able to watch how we are in the weight room, the attention to detail in the meetings, it’s all there. Obviously, I have a better point of view to see that and say that. It’s all there. It’s just, for some strange reason, not translating to the game right now. That’s what sucks.”
Barkley maintains that the translation will eventually come, perhaps even over the final four weeks of the season, at which point he would come off looking like a bit of a genius.
“I believe this thing is going to turn around. I know we have that in the locker room with this group of guys. That’s going to be helpful in the future. Like I said, things just aren’t going our way right now. I know we are frustrated, coaches are frustrated, fans are frustrated, everyone is frustrated,” Barkley said. “It starts there, you have to keep doing that, keep hammering the little things, keep paying attention to details and find a way to turn it on on Sundays and Mondays. Things aren’t going our way and it sucks but we have to stick with it and we are doing that right now. When we do figure it out, I do believe it’s going to be a great thing.
“It’s crazy, it’s upsetting, it’s frustrating, it sucks. I know I sound like a broken record, but I promise when this thing turns around, I’m going to sound like a genius. We have to continue to keep working.”
Who knows, maybe Barkley can come away looking like Nostradamus, but odds are, that’s not going to happen. For the time being, this is just a 2-10 team that’s sinking.
