What To Watch For, New York Giants Week 6: Saquon Barkley Is Ready

The New York Giants received a pair of encouraging signs on Thursday, ahead of Sunday’s showdown at 1 PM at home against the Baltimore Ravens.

For one thing, their punter, Jamie Gillian, was allowed back into the country. He’s got a strong leg, but he wouldn’t have been able to punt from England, where he stayed a few extra days following New York’s win over Green Bay this past weekend.

“To clear things up for you guys, there was no ‘stuck in London’ or anything like that,” Gillian said to the media on Thursday. “This is something that we knew we had to do for a while. I just had to get my passport, P1 Visa, extended to get back into the country. So, we did. Humongous thanks to the Giants’ organization and Laurie Tisch for allowing that to happen, talking to the right people and the people at the U.S. Embassy. Fantastic people there. They were really helpful because those people were quite involved. We had a goal to get me back in two days and we did. We did it, so I’m back here.”

But as important as Gillian is to New York’s special teams, it is the encouraging talk out of franchise running back Saquon Barkley, who missed some time against the Packers with a shoulder injury, but returned before the end of the game, that is most significant.

Though limited in practice both Wednesday and Thursday, Barkley does not sound like someone who intends to be limited once Sunday arrives — vital for the Giants, considering Barkley’s 533 yards rushing ranks second in the NFL.

“Shoulder feels pretty good,” Barkley said Thursday. “Obviously, I was able to go back out there and finish the game. I’ve just been rehabbing it, being smart. But I’m excited for us to get a chance to go against a really good football team.”

Asked whether it would hold him back at all, Barkley’s response was definitive: “Nope.”

He’s right, the Ravens are a good football team, off to a 3-2 start, following a 19-17 win over Cincinnati. Baltimore’s two losses have been by a combined seven points. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale knows all about the challenge ahead, having spent a decade in Baltimore, first as linebackers coach, then as defensive coordinator from 2018-2021. But to him, it isn’t about his coaching tenure, but rather how his defense can follow a solid showing against Aaron Rodgers with a very different challenge in Lamar Jackson.

“My relationship with Lamar, I love the guy,” Martindale said Thursday. “I think that it’s another great challenge. We went from (Quarterback) Aaron Rodgers, league MVP, to now we’re going to Lamar Jackson, league MVP back in ’19. I was with him when he did that, and he is an unbelievable player. For anybody that wants to say anything, that he’s not, ok. Because he’s unbelievable and he’s playing at an MVP caliber right now like he was back in ’19. It’s different sitting in the chair now instead of at practice when you’re watching it. It’s like I told (Outside Linebacker Coach) Drew Wilkins, all those times we were going against him, and a guy said, ‘oh, I got him’, because you’ve got to stay away from the quarterback, ‘oh I had him’. We’re going to find that out on Sunday, whether or not they got him or not. I know it’s different guys, but it’s the truth with him because not only could he beat you with his arm, which he’s throwing the ball really well, but he can beat you with his legs, his mind, and everything else. He’s playing at a high level.”

The Giants are playing at a high level, too, one New York hasn’t seen for quite a while. They started 5-0 in 2009, 4-1 in 2008. This team hopes to make the rest of the year look more like 2008 (finishing 12-4) than 2009 (8-8).

Of course, the real goal is 2007 — the Super Bowl — and they started that season 0-2.