What they're saying: Barkley is a 'generational talent'
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saquon Barkley’s historic season has been the talk of Super Bowl week.
From Hall of Fame running backs Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk and Thurman Thomas to Falcons star back Bijan Robinson, everyone has been awed by Barkley’s spectacular performance.
Barkley has helped lead the Philadelphia Eagles back to the big game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday when they’ll try to prevent a three-peat.
Barkley won the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year award after rushing for 2,005 yards in the regular season, eighth-best in NFL history. He sat out Philadelphia’s final regular-season game when he was 101 yards away from breaking Dickerson’s single-season record.
He’s followed up with 442 rushing yards and five touchdowns in the playoffs. Overall, Barkley has 2,447 yards rushing and 18 TDs, including seven scores of 60-plus yards. He’s 30 yards away from passing Terrell Davis’ 26-year-old record for most in a season, including playoffs.
Here’s what they’re saying about Barkley.
Eric Dickerson
“Saquon and that offensive line, they’re awesome. I’m glad to see him go to a team like that. He deserves that. I heard him say it and it reminded me of myself: ‘I’m having fun again.’ He’s loving it again because it’s no fun when you’re getting hit in the backfield and you’re getting 30 yards. What happens is they start blaming you. But there’s nowhere to go, nowhere to run, they don’t have a quarterback, the offensive line is terrible. So for him, I’m really happy. I talked to him, I congratulated him. He seemed like a really nice young man.”
Marshall Faulk
“Just consistency. He’s been able to elevate his game in the biggest moments when they needed it most. Patience, attention to detail and really trusting the guys up front. The guy is a generational talent and, obviously, year one of the Giants, we got to see it. They didn’t put the right pieces around (him), which we need. We need that in this game. Philly had all the right components for him to show us and remind us of the generational talent he has.”
Thurman Thomas
“I’ve seen actual growth. He’s a captain on his team. He’s a leader on his team. He’s been in the spotlight just by being on the Giants. He knows how to handle everything. He’s been the perfect football player, the perfect person since he’s come into the league and even back when he was at Penn State. He’s brought a toughness to the City of Brotherly Love. I just like his overall game. He can do it all. He can block. He can run, catch passes. This could be a trend for the Philadelphia Eagles for the next three or four years depending on how they use him.”
“It’s been some of the most special stuff to watch not just for running backs but for all NFL fans. Just the things he’s been doing has been spectacular. You can just see last year people saying he was done, he was out, he was a bust, he doesn’t deserve money, all that type stuff. Then you can fast forward a year later and he’s the best running back in the league this year so it’s pretty special to watch. Me and him talk a lot. We’ll probably train together this offseason so having a guy like that and supporting a guy like that is pretty cool.”
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