The 4-11 New York Giants were embarrassed again during Sunday’s 34-10 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles on December 26, and one former two-time Super Bowl Champion has a message for head coach Joe Judge in the wake of the team’s fourth straight loss.
“He needs to send a statement Sunday in Chicago, and sit Saquon Barkley on the bench,” said retired kicker and ex-Giant Lawrence Tynes on The New York Post’s Blue Rush podcast. “And I don’t even care if he doesn’t dress, but (Devontae) Booker needs to be your starting back. Any man with any acumen, woman, child knows that he is the better player and I really think that if Booker starts that game, It’s a different game.”
Blue Rush Podcast: @lt4kicks says it’s time for Joe Judge to bench Saquon Barkley and start Devontae Booker for the final 2 games. @NYPost_Schwartz @JakeBrownRadio
Barkley is coming off another underwhelming performance in Week 16, where he rushed for a mere total of 32 yards on 15 carries, with his longest run of the day going for six yards.
Barkley tore his ACL in September 2020, and although he was able to make it back to the field by Week 1 of the regular season this year, he has yet to look like the superstar tailback that he once was.
To be fair, Barkley, 24, scored five total touchdowns in the first four games of the season and was starting to resemble his old self a bit in the early part of the year. However, he suffered a sprained ankle on October 10 against the Dallas Cowboys, which knocked him off track and caused him to miss the next four games.
Since returning to the lineup, Barkley has rushed for just 266 yards on 76 carries with zero scores in six games. And in 11 total games this season, Barkley has rushed for an anemic 461 yards on 130 carries (3.5 yards per carry) and two rushing touchdowns.
As for Barkley’s backup, Booker has rushed for 533 yards on 119 carries with two rushing touchdowns this season. And although Booker’s numbers don’t jump off the page, the Giants went 2-2 with him as their starter and his style of running the football is why Tynes likes him over the underperforming Barkley.
“He sets the tone the way he gets through the holes and runs the ball hard,” said Tynes. “He is a really good receiver out of the backfield. He has got to be your guy, Saquon needs to be sent a message that this is not some nepotism.”
Although Booker gives the Giants the best chance to win in the final two games of the 2021 regular season when they take on the Bears and Washington Football Team, they will still hope that Barkley can stay fully healthy and regain his previous superstar form next year. New York also picked up his $7.2 million fifth-year option last offseason as well, so Barkley has two seasons left to right the ship with the Giants and prove he was worth a No. 2 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft.
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Roster Moves
The Giants made some roster moves on Tuesday, December 28.
The team announced that they released a pair of defensive backs from their practice squad in Sam Beal and Darqueze Dennard.
ROSTER MOVES 12/28
Released from Practice Squad:
DB Sam Beal
DB Darqueze Dennard
Practice Squad Signing:
TE Jake Hausmann
Back in 2018, the Giants selected Beal in the third-round of the supplemental draft, thus forfeiting a third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, Beal dealt with a number of injuries during his time in East Rutherford, appearing in just nine games across four seasons.
Beal was waived on November 9, but was eventually brought back to the Giants’ practice squad on December 18 as an emergency defensive back due to the team’s Covid-19 outbreak. Now, he is a free agent again after New York released him from the practice squad following their loss to Philadelphia.
Dennard saw time as a gunner against the Eagles in his lone game as a Giant, but was widely ridiculed for allowing a punt to bounce into the end zone for a touchback. Fortunately, it turns out that Dennard stepped out of bounds on his venture down the field, so it would have resulted in a penalty if he touched the ball. This means Dennard ultimately made the right decision, despite the initial negative reaction this play drew.
Darqueze Dennard #35 makes no effort to down the punt
After releasing these two defensive backs, the Giants added tight end Jake Hausmann to the practice squad.
Hanlon Claps Back
The Giants have certainly drawn a ton criticism as of late, especially from one of their former longtime scouts, Steve Verderosa, who now works for the Pro Football Network.
Verderosa was let go during the 2019-2020 offseason after spending 31 years with the organization. And over the past week, he hasn’t been shy on Twitter regarding the team’s previous blunders, among other things, such as why they should not promote assistant general manager Kevin Abrams to replace Dave Gettleman when the season ends.
@lt4kicks Kevin has been the one negotiating the bad signings ( Solder, Golladay,etc.) He is not a football guy,never played,coached or scouted. NEED A FOOTBALL GUY!
Fast forward to Tuesday evening and it sounds like the Giants have had enough of what Verderosa has been saying about them. This led to public relations head Pat Hanlon clapping back at Verderosa in a series of tweets.
Steve, @SteveV_PFN for somebody who has a track record that only we know about, you sure have a lot of thoughts about our operation. There is a reason you’re no longer here, and every one of your tweets to revise your/our history confirms why. Keep talking.
In the end, Hanlon’s response to Verderosa seems a bit harsh. Verderosa wasn’t too critical of the organization and actually had some positive things to say about Daniel Jones, who he scouted during his time with the Giants, while also suggesting a potential candidate who’d be an ideal fit to take over as GM.
Regardless, the Giants appear to be miffed by their ex-employee airing out family business in public. However, Verderosa is a member of the media now, and any knowledge or experience he may have garnered in 33 years as an NFL scout is fair game.
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2-Time Super Bowl Champ Calls for Giants to Bench Saquon Barkley