Thereās no sugarcoating it, one more loss likely ends the New York Giantsā playoff hopes in 2023, and superstar running back Saquon Barkley had a message for his teammates ahead of Monday Night Football versus the Green Bay Packers.
āWe in this m*****f*****,ā Barkley proclaimed while speaking with NYG media on Friday, December 8.
The unfiltered response came after a reporter asked Barkley what the locker room uses for motivation heading into Week 14 and beyond.
Weāre not looking at in the hunt or the playoff pictures but if we take care of what weāve got to take care of, everyone can say what they want about the season but itās week whatever and everything we want is still there.ā
āWe donāt need no extra motivation,ā Barkley added later, explaining: āEvery game is a critical game no matter what. Especially now, so Monday night weāve got a team whoās hot ā I think they won their last three or four games ā we won our last two games. No more excuses.ā
He expressed that the goal is still the playoffs and the Super Bowl until the Giants are mathematically eliminated.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley Urges Team on With Unwillingness to Surrender
After a follow-up question pondered if Barkley would have had the same response two weeks ago, the playmakerās leadership took over the moment.
āIāve been saying it,ā Barkley repeated a couple of times.
Continuing: āIāve been saying it and Iāve always believed itā¦ I know it sounds like Iām beating a dead horse but I truly, truly believe that. Iām one of those guys, if Iām in a fight and I got my a** kicked for 11 rounds, the 12th round ā in my head ā if I can knock you out and get the win, then thatās how itās going [to] happen.ā
Barkleyās unwillingness to surrender is what makes him a tremendous leader. Itās also one of the reasons the Giants elected not to trade him at the midseason deadline despite an uncertain future.
General manager Joe Schoen talked about it during the bye week. Sometimes you have to consider how a trade will impact the locker room, not just the on-field product.
With Barkley, Big Blue must consider the person as well as the player when they discuss an extension in 2024. The first-round running back has turned into the face of the franchise and heās never shied away from that responsibility ā whether thatās showing maturity during a playoff run or fortitude during a 4-8 start
Speaking of high character and leadership, Barkley was nominated as the NYG representative for the NFLās Walter Payton Man of the Year Award ā which has been referred to as the leagueās most prestigious honor.
The ball-carrier called the nomination āawesomeā and āan honorā on December 8, noting that itās ātruly a blessingā to be one of the 32 players considered for the award.
This is the second time that Barkley has been up for the Walter Payton Man of the Year. In 2023, his community impact includes working with and speaking to the at-risk and homeless youth population in the New York City area
Especially with the homeless, I kind of can relate to that a little bit more,ā Barkley said. āDefinitely battling that when I was a child. My parents did a really good job of making sure I never really noticed it when I was a kid, but growing up and just hearing the stories ā especially what my father [has] been through living in abandoned houses and jumping around here and there.ā
Barkley concluded that if thereās any way he can āgive back and make a changeā either here in NYC or in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania where he went to high school, he will. Thatās the New York Giantsā Man of the Year.
Michael Obermuller covers the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals for Heavy.com, where he began working in 2021. An NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate, his previous bylines include FanDuelās The Duel, King Fantasy Sports and Pro Football Mania. More about Michael Obermuller
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