Saquon Barkley Is Learning From Todd Gurley III, and Now So Are You
OTAs have started, so Eagles practices are underway.
One note that may have gotten lost, especially with the constant AJ Brown news, is that Saquon Barkley has been studying Todd Gurley.
It also dawns on me that the younger generation may not be familiar with Gurley’s game.
Below, we’re going to break down why this is a great player for Saquon to study tape on.
During the offseason, many players will continue training, sometimes by studying players in the same position.
The whole idea reminds me a lot of summer reading for school as a kid.
Some people do it, while others just use the internet to make it look like they did (shout out Ben Simmons 3-point videos).
Sorry for traumatizing any Sixers fans (including myself), but some players do focus on tape. If Saquon wants to study Todd Gurley, I think that’s a great step. A lot of his snaps came from under center. We’ll talk more about that later.
As a former fullback (played it in high school when it was more important), you learn where the blocks are formed, kinda like Jenga, where you can see the pressure and plan accordingly.
That leads into our main topic. Todd Gurley and what Saquon should be learning from him.
But before that, let’s give an introduction to him for any younger fans.
In case you don’t think he’s that old, his first season was with the St. Louis Rams over 10 years ago… He was also a bit of a flash-in-the-pan type player. He only played for six years total, so a refresher never hurts.
Let’s take a look at some of his stats to justify Saquon’s approach. Didn’t take long for him to reach a 1000-yard season rushing. Did it in his rookie year, earning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. After a down sophomore season (that’s the season where teams start to game plan for you), he had over 2000 yards rushing and receiving with 19 touchdowns. What did he do the next year? Just a simple 1831 total yards and 21 touchdowns.
Oh, and I forgot to mention his games played were 15 and 14, respectively. Just an insane amount of production over a shortened season (especially compared to our 17-game season standard).
Lastly, we’ll look into his style of play and why it’s good for Saquon. For someone who only played six years, an hour worth of highlights from the dedicated NFL YouTube is impressive. I have the link below (oh, hey, look, Nick Foles is there), which will back up my points. The first thing you should notice is that most of the run plays start from under center.
This offseason, Sean Mannion has said the team will have more sets coming from there.
The other is the style of running. Gurley had a lot of “downhill/North South” runs. These are the terms that coaches and the older generation will always praise. You run to gain positive yards instead of gaining space. The other thing you’ll notice is that Gurley had a similar second gear in open space. Even when I watched the highlights, I noticed a Saquon-esque move. Once they get past the line and linebackers, they start to speed up.
The other thing you’ll notice is his pass catching out of the backfield. Saquon hasn’t always been sure-handed, but if he wants to emulate Gurley, he’ll start there. Unfortunately, Saquon and catching will always have the Eagles remember the Falcons drop that cost them the game. That said, if Saquon wants to improve that part of his game, I’ll welcome it.
When good players add new dynamics, it makes them and their team better #analysis. It also means more plays available to call for the offense.
There goes our walk down memory lane. I’m excited to watch Saquon over the next season if studying Gurley has been his approach. Makes sense, Saquon also chose Gurley.
When Saquon entered the league in 2018, it was off that 21 TD season Gurley posted. Stuff like that fires me up.
Feels like we have a little bit of juice brought back to the locker room and the franchise.
Excited for the season in general, but as always,
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Categorized:Eagles