Saquon Barkley is taking the high road after getting called out by the greatest Giant to play his position.
Barkley was diplomatic on Thursday when asked about harsh comments by Tiki Barber earlier this week. Barber questioned his toughness and potential as an every down back after a poor performance to start the season.
The former Penn State star responded by saying he will look at it as a challenge.
"Obviously Tiki is a legend," Barkley said. "He did a lot of great things for this franchise. I'm not going to look at it as disrespect. I'm going to look at it as a challenge."
"I really don't care about outside opinions. I really only focus on the opinions in this building and trying to come to work every single day to get better."
Barkley has been in the spotlight after rushing for six yards on 15 carries in a loss Monday night. One of the turning points came with about 13 minutes left when Barkley missed an assignment in pass protection. Mike Hilton raced by him on third down and then dropped quarterback Daniel Jones for a loss.
Barber was critical of Barkley's blocking ability and even called him a big back who wants to play small.
"It is starting to become glaring," Barber said Tuesday during his CBS Sports Radio show. "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. You see him diving on the ground, not sticking his head in people's chest. It's going to be a liability because people see it now. It's on tape and it's going to come out."
