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Evaluating the good and bad with Barkley

Steelerfan81

Steelerfan81

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There probably isn’t an easier player to love in the 2018 NFL Draft class than Penn State running back Saquon Barkley. He plays a position that tends to dominate college football, he’s been kicking tail with the Nittany Lions for three years and he’s reportedly a terrific human being with an elite work ethic.

On top of meeting those criteria in overwhelming fashion, Barkley has the three abilities that draft analysts fall in love with more than anything: he’s big (5-11, 230), he’s a ridiculous athlete and he makes tons and tons of highlight reel splash plays in a bunch of different roles. Whew, just reading that probably made a couple of analysts fan themselves.

Barkley’s ability to hit splash plays as a runner, receiver or return man is definitely special. Few backs his size have the ridiculous agility, long speed and body control that Barkley possesses, and he showcased those traits by running for over 1,000 yards three straight years and scoring 53 touchdowns. He’s a freak of nature athletically, and his game is well-rounded enough for him to make an impact in a multitude of ways.

Full article

https://www.ndtscouting.com/ledyard...ignoring-warts/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
 
wonder if there is a trade available for Cleveland's first pick?
 
Read the story. Jon doesn't think he's God like some think. Points out his bad traits.
 
Maybe............naw, can't go there. I think the soon to be rookie will make more of an impact than our 5yr back did when he was a rookie.........



Salute the nation
 
Drink IRON City said:
Maybe............naw, can't go there. I think the soon to be rookie will make more of an impact than our 5yr back did when he was a rookie.........



Salute the nation
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We'll see. If he gets behind a ****** O-line, that might not be the case as he might second guess himself too much.
 
slashsteel said:
We'll see. If he gets behind a ****** O-line, that might not be the case as he might second guess himself too much.
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You're right slash, for some reason I though Bell was injured thius the bold prediction. I now know Bell missed 1st - 3 games but still managed 1256 yards from scrimmage (840+ ground, 399ish air). Could be hard to match or exceed Allthough Barkely would be more rushing dominant yards than receiving (just my take).




Salute the nation
 
Jon's been consistent with Barkley from the start and some take it as he thinks he's a bad prospect.

I really don't know what to make of Barkley. He has every physical tool anyone could dream of when it comes to a running back. You have to love his ability to break open the big play on the ground, through the air or on special teams. Yet, and I hate to be that guy, but if you take his top run from each game, his production on the ground is pedestrian and there were some games he was flat out shut down. You can talk about the defense keying in on the ground game all you want, but I watch teams try to shut down backs every week and they put up their yards with an impressive average yards per carry. I think he should be a good back, but I don't see the all-time great that many make him out to be.
 
SteelerFan448 said:
Jon's been consistent with Barkley from the start and some take it as he thinks he's a bad prospect.

I really don't know what to make of Barkley. He has every physical tool anyone could dream of when it comes to a running back. You have to love his ability to break open the big play on the ground, through the air or on special teams. Yet, and I hate to be that guy, but if you take his top run from each game, his production on the ground is pedestrian and there were some games he was flat out shut down. You can talk about the defense keying in on the ground game all you want, but I watch teams try to shut down backs every week and they put up their yards with an impressive average yards per carry. I think he should be a good back, but I don't see the all-time great that many make him out to be.
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And it isn't impossible that he would bust out. If he isn't coached up to minimize those weaknesses. Who knows.

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The article is fair. Barkley does have the bad habit of not trusting his blocking and looking for the big play outsides. But it’s because his blocking was not very good the past few years.

if you put together a film of all the run plays where there was no crease or a defender was already in the backfield when Barkley got the ball, then you put together another film where Barkley gets the ball with a clear hole or crease, i guarantee you the first film would be 3 times as long.

PFF tracks the stat Yards Before Contact. Basically it means how far does the runner usually get before he is touched by the first defender. For Barkley, that number was Negative half a yard. That means on average, he had to break a tackle behind the line just to make a gain.

Also factor in that PSU only does RPO plays. Every play is shotgun. 1st and goal from the 1 is a shotgun. Victory formation to take a knee is shotgun.

Running from shotgun limits the runner’s options. Another huge factor is that Barkley doesn’t even know if he’s getting the ball on most plays. Each play, the QB sticks it in his belly but he has to hesitate to see if the QB pulls it back or lets him take it.

You can see how that may make a runner a bit more hesitant.

I don’t think it’s a fair comparison to compare waiting in the shotgun to see if you get the ball to a RB in an I formation with a FB in front of him and a set run play. Of course the RB is more decisive when he knows where he’s running pre snap.

It is fair to point out these issues with barkley but i’d consider it more of an unknown than something he can’t do. He’s certainly not shy about contact like Reggie Bush. Bush hated running inside so he broke everything out. Barkley breaks out so often because his line failed pretty often and there was penatration so he got in the habit of bouncing out.

As the article points out, the worst case scenario is that he’s still a big weapon as a receiver even if he lacking a bit as an inside power runner. And this weakness is very fixable. I can’t see him falling out of the top 5. I’d be surprised if he makes it past 3.
 
Barkley is the best RB prospect I've seen in a decade. Not since AP has there been a skilled athlete so NFL ready. I like the article and the warts are valid. But if you put this kid in a RPO offense with a good OL, look the **** out. He is going to make plays, and his high end speed is sick.

I've been watching player highlights for years. His is like a half hour long. You watch highlights on kids, you get 4-8min with a couple jaw dropping moments. Barkley's highlights are epic, and my jaw is on the floor the entire time. He is a sick, special athlete, and if Cleveland gets him, we are in for a world of hurt. Fournette dropped a 99yarder? Barkley's much faster, quicker, and a better pass catcher. I hope the Colts get him instead, I'd hate to see him twice a year...
 
If you take out Willie Parker's 75 harder in the SB, he had 9 carries for 18 yards. You can't take those plays out. That is what makes him so special. He is being shut down, and out of nowhere breaks a huge play. As mentioned above, PSU's oline was trash this year, especially the right side. I thought he did well to do what he did this year.
 
Superman said:
wonder if there is a trade available for Cleveland's first pick?
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Ha ha, yeah the Bell and a drafted QB with Franchise level ability could sell a lot of tickets by the lake and give the 1 for last 32 games Browns fans a reason for hope..

Barkley to me is the not the best back in the draft, he's the best back to enter the draft in years.
 
Y'all are drooling on this kids nuts. Its one thing to do it in college, which he did extremely well. Time will tell how he does in the pros.

Best back since AP? Y'all forgetting what Fournette did in college? Kid was a man among boys.

He had a rough second year because of the Rog but some kid named Zeke also had a fantastic rookie season right out of college.
 
There's not much to not like about him. As someone who's watched every carry of his, trust me when I say even his negative/no gain plays are usually due to being swarmed by several defenders immediately upon touching the ball and having no chance whatsoever. And many of his long plays are simply him making people miss and being faster and stronger than the competition. He is a once in a lifetime player. The *only* weakness I can think of is that sometimes he'll take a loss trying to bounce a big play rather than take what's there. But that's rare, and the big play potential is very worth it. That is literally the only flaw in his game and it's not a big one. Barring injury, he has the *potential* to be among the best players to ever play his position

Edit: Just read the article. We agree that a weakness is trying to make big plays rather than taking what's there. But I disagree that he lacks decisiveness or nuance as a runner - I've seen him explode through creases plenty of time. When you play behind a line that gets you killed on 2/3 of your carries, it's hard to trust small creases. I think he is GREATLY exaggerating the bruises in Barkley's game
 
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Coach said:
Ha ha, yeah the Bell and a drafted QB with Franchise level ability could sell a lot of tickets by the lake and give the 1 for last 32 games Browns fans a reason for hope..

Barkley to me is the not the best back in the draft, he's the best back to enter the draft in years.
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his ceiling is alvin kamara.
 
Evidently I must have lived two lifetimes...........I thought Bell was a once in a lifetime back????

NOT taking anything away from Barkley but before he is given the OUTSTANDING all everything award, let's have him play some downs in the NFL. ALSO there is as good a chance of us getting him as there is TESLA's space car orbiting Jupitor in our life time.

Good luck to both



Salute the nation
 
Drink IRON City said:
Evidently I must have lived two lifetimes...........I thought Bell was a once in a lifetime back????

NOT taking anything away from Barkley but before he is given the OUTSTANDING all everything award, let's have him play some downs in the NFL. ALSO there is as good a chance of us getting him as there is TESLA's space car orbiting Jupitor in our life time.

Good luck to both



Salute the nation
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Everyone here in fantasy land. They play too much Madden. All the GMs on the board would have this team 3-13 looking like **** and in salary cap hell
 
Coach said:
Ha ha, yeah the Bell and a drafted QB with Franchise level ability could sell a lot of tickets by the lake and give the 1 for last 32 games Browns fans a reason for hope..

Barkley to me is the not the best back in the draft, he's the best back to enter the draft in years.
Click to expand...

need any more proof he will suck???
 
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