Cam Skattebo knows the flag he received for unnecessary roughness against the Houston Texans in Week 7 was a warning about his overtly physical playing style, but the New York Giants’ running back has sent his own warning to the league about how he plans to respond.
Skattebo was penalized for 15 yards after lowering his helmet and driving into the chest of Texans’ safety M.J. Stewart. The resulting flag left many bemused, including a Giants’ franchise great who built his career on punishing running backs.
As for Skattebo, he thinks the NFL needs to be checked about its double standard. He explained why after the Giants’ 27-21 overtime win at Reliant Stadium on Sunday, October 25.
Skattebo pointed out how “The NFL loves to post me when I do stuff like that but then also wants to take stuff from me. I’m going to run the ball like I want to run the ball. If I’m going to continue to get flags for it or fined for it, guess I’m going to play for free,” per Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic.
Those are strong words from a player who found his confidence again during a dominant display in Houston. Skattebo battered the Texans for 124 yards on the ground, gaining many of those yards on the type of runs that make great social media highlights, but look set to damage his wallet in the near future.
Cam Skattebo Has a Point
Skattebo’s not wrong to reference how the NFL hasn’t always had a problem with the way he runs. In fact, the league’s even highlighted his brutal style, including this run against the Philadelphia Eagles last season.
He was given the ‘Angry Runs’ sceptre by NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt. There was plenty of enthusiasm about the way Skattebo ran in these moments, so the league clamping down now is quite the about-turn.
Particularly when, as Brandt’s colleague Mike Garafolo noted, there’s been “A bunch of fines so far this season for ball carriers lowering their helmet, though we haven’t seen it flagged.”
Skattebo’s penalty was rare enough for Doug Farrar of Athlon Sports to think all the way back to 1970 and “The most famous (or infamous) roughness call against a running back in NFL history.” When all-time great Miami Dolphins’ fullback Larry Csonka was flagged for unnecessary roughness against the Buffalo Bills.
Veteran rules analyst Terry McAulay explained the context for Skattebo’s similar punishment. McAulay argued “A case can be made that he violated item (a) of the rule. The issue is whether there is a mitigating factor such as bracing for contact or turning his shoulder into the contact. I don’t think so, but others may see it differently. While this action is usually handled post-game by NFL Compliance as the degree of difficulty of accurately judging the play in real time is quite high, the Competition Committee in their off-season report did encourage officials to penalize obvious violations of the rule on the field this year.”
Skattebo may well be a victim of the league’s change of emphasis, but the Giants don’t need or want him to change.
Giants Don’t Need Workhorse to Change His Style
He rode the bench against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, so Skattebo had a lot to prove this week. The 24-year-old ran that way against the Texans.
Skattebo took the fight to every would-be tackler, not just Stewart. The straight-ahead brute force of the Giants’ No. 44 was perfectly personified when Skattebo barged his way into the end zone from 16 yards in the fourth quarter.
The run was trademark Skattebo. He’s a smash-mouth back who makes Big Blue’s rushing attack a powerful weapon.
Skattebo also sets a tone and establishes an attitude that transmits through the whole team. It’s an attitude based on rugged, throwback football played by a group strong enough to bully the opposition.
That’s what Harbaugh wants from the Giants on both sides of the ball. He reinstated Skattebo to the starting lineup to restore the nasty, ground-and-pound offense he prefers.
It worked when Skattebo and a loaded backfield “produced a 97th percentile rushing performance against the Houston Texans in Week 7 It was the best game by EPA/designed rush against the Texans since DeMeco Ryans took over as head coach,” according to Shawn Syed of SūmerSports.
Skattebo brought back the identity Harbaugh wants for the Giants’ offense. He won’t want his lead workhorse changing how he establishes that identity.
Giants’ Cam Skattebo Warns NFL About Double Standard