You're making straw-man arguments and patting yourself on the back for "solving" them. Watching self-congratulatory celebrations is a hobby of mine.
#CarryOn
What I said was, "check out how bad Barkley's vision and/or instincts are"
on a specific play; and then drew a logical correlation between that kind of performance to suggest that "plays like that" might be why he averaged barely over
3 yards-per-carry on
94% of his 2018 touches.
I was using the highlight-video to support the factual conclusion of the stats, not "prove" anything. The stats prove my premise. The video gives insight into why and/or how the stats wound up as they did.
I never suggested that Saquon Barkley has bad vision, full-stop. I offered video of a play in which he demonstrates bad vision and suggest that this weakness in his game is displayed by a less-than-NFL-caliber level of production @ 3 YPC.
If you go back to his college days, these instincts that many analysts suggested would hinder him at the NFL level if not fixed can be clearly seen over three years of Penn State film. He is a big-play hunter, and with that kind of athleticism, is capable of hitting it more than others. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have weaknesses; and an in-depth look at his stats clearly highlights those weakness from his only pro-campaign.
Some of you seem offended at that.
"I feel like it's my job to find a way to get that ball in the end zone on every play." --Saquon Barkley, 2018
Which might seem noble, but that's the Barry Sanders-syndrome that often leaves your offense in a less-than-stellar situation if you fail to "find a way" to get the ball into the end-zone with some uber-athletic, but ill-advised cutback jaunt.
Which is very likely what prompted Saquon's coach, Pat Shurmur, to call out his star running back in the media & explicitly state that he needs more "dirty" runs from Barkley --not just the big-plays:
https://www.sny.tv/giants/news/pat-shurmur-wants-dirty-runs-from-giants-saquon-barkley/300867312/
'The rookie running back has dazzled everyone with his knack for big-play gains through nine games this season but the Giants head coach said there is plenty more to learn for Barkley.
"He's had success bouncing runs in the past and gotten big gains out of them, but there also is what I call a dirty 4-, 5-, 6-yard run that he has the be willing to take as well," Shurmur told reporters earlier this week.
Barkley has accumulated 1,116 yards from scrimmage -- third most in the league -- but has done so with boom-or-bust type plays.
He has rushed for 20 yards or more on seven carries and 40 yards or more on three carries this season but only has 22 carries between four and six yards while 19 carries for negative yards and 15 for no gain.
"It's the judgment and the vision of the ball carrier," Shurmur added. "He's a rookie, and he's certainly done a great job for us, but there's still a lot to be learned. As he runs the ball more and more and more, he'll get a feel for when it's right to bounce it and right to stick it up in there."
Meanwhile, Barkley says he is not trying to overthink things.
"It is tempting (to make an extra cut)," he said.'
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His own coach publicly called him out for the kind of performance that the stats I've broken down here demonstrate, and a bunch of y'all are hootin' & hollerin' like a bunch of Howler Monkeys that I'm some homer hating on Saquon.
Once again for those in the cheap-seats: Barkley averaged barely over
3 YPC on
94% of his 2018 touches. If not for his uncanny ability to hit literally just 16 big-to-biggish plays, Barkley would have had a positively disappointing season for the Giants as a rookie.
For these factual reasons, despite being a more explosive player overall, I don't think he's in the same class of "running back" as Ezekiel Elliott just yet, if he ever will be. My study of his collegiate stats likewise reveal that he never has been.
Hope you didn't sprain an elbow patting yourself on the back.
Neither you nor your elbow deserved it...
