Saquon Barkley is everything the New York Giants expected Authentic Will Dissly Jersey , and then some.
The running back from Penn State who was the second overall pick in the draft is humble, immensely skilled, inquisitive and quite possibly the most popular guy on the team in terms of fan interest.
Forget that the Giants have Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. on the field. When Barkley touches the ball, there is a marked increase in the level of excitement, with "oohs" and "aahs" coming from the stands. And that was just at the opening of training camp practice.
If there is any doubt about the amount of hope the rookie has generated after a 3-13 season, look at the number of fans wearing his No. 26 jersey. It is already among the highest-selling NFL jerseys, and Barkley has not played a down as a pro.
Barkley smiled Friday when asked if he was starting to feel like a veteran heading into his second day of practice.
"Far from a veteran. Just excited, living the dream," he said. "I'm a New York Giant, playing football. I've been wanting to do this since I was a little kid, to play in the NFL. Just attacking every single day, trying to get better."
Barkley admitted playing in front of packed stands at the Giants' headquarters was an awesome, new experience.
"Like you said, saw a lot of 26 jerseys in the stands, saw my family Jeremy Kerley Color Rush Jersey ," he said. "I got to see my family after, I was able to sign for kids after also, and that becomes part of the game. You don't do it for the fans, but you play for the fans also, too, and you want to come out there and practice your heart out, and just for them being out there showing love and support, it means a lot to me."
On the field, Barkley is all business. Whenever he sees something he doesn't understand, he talks to Manning or fellow running back Jonathan Stewart.
"I've been like that since I was a little kid," Barkley said. "My mom and dad used to say I used to ask them questions like, 'Why this, why that, why this, why that?' That's just the approach that I take http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jeff-locke-jersey , and I'm always going to have, even when 鈥?God willing 鈥?I play 10 years in this league. Asking questions is how you figure it out."
Barkley said his ambition is simple. He wants to be the best player he can possibly be to help the team win.
If there is a concern about what he can do this season, it revolves around the offensive line. It was dreadful last season and has been rebuilt with the free-agent additions of tackle Nate Solder and guard Patrick Omameh, the drafting of rookie guard Will Hernandez in the second round and the shift of Ereck Flowers from left to right tackle. Jon Halapio has replaced Brett Jones at center.
"As a running back it's your job to set up the blocks, your job to hit the hole square, put your head down and make that guy miss," Barkley said, noting that much of his film study is centered on how the NFL's top backs help their linemen.
Barkley also adds the second option of being able to catch passes and use his breakaway speed to go long distances.
Giants co-owner John Mara said Thursday that Barkley has generated possibility even more interest than future Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor did when he joined the team in 1981.
"In speaking to him and watching how he conducts himself, I think he is able to handle that, so I feel good about that," Mara said. "But still, you know I've used this line a million times before 鈥?let's not get him ready for Canton just yet, let's let him play some games first."
It's been several years since Jason Garrett's future as coach of the Dallas Cowboys was a hot topic waiting for owner Jerry Jones at the start of training camp.
Jones doesn't seem too caught up in the issue now despite the Cowboys missing the playoffs for the fifth time in Garrett's seven full seasons last year.
The outspoken billionaire started with a flat "no" when asked if this was a playoffs-or-bust season for one of the backup quarterbacks from the Cowboys' Super Bowl-winning era of the 1990s.
"That's the best answer I can give," Jones said in his annual pre-camp news conference the day before Thursday's first practice. "And the fairest."
Among the 11 current NFL coaches with at least seven years of experience, Garrett has the fewest playoff appearances with two. The only coach with fewer than Garrett's one postseason win is Marvin Lewis Authentic Matt Duchene Jersey , who is 0-7 in the playoffs in 15 years with Cincinnati.
Seven of the 10 besides Garrett have won at least one Super Bowl, and two others (Kansas City's Andy Reid when he was in Philadelphia and Carolina's Ron Rivera) have reached the title game. None of those numbers faze the leadership of the Cowboys.
"I think you can always pull up stats on a lot of different things," executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said. "We're just big believers that, one, we really like Jason and what he's all about as a leader and as a coach. We've had some really good football teams that he's led."
Garrett's seat was the hottest going into 2014, when Dallas won the NFC East at 12-4 and just the franchise's second playoff game since the last of five Super Bowl titles during the 1995 season.
Before that, the Cowboys finished 8-8 with season-ending losses that kept them out of the postseason in each of the first three full seasons under Garrett. He coached half the 2010 season after Wade Phillips was fired with Dallas at 1-7.
The Cowboys went first to worst at 4-12 in 2015 in large part because of quarterback Tony Romo's twice-broken collarbone.
Then they were the top seed in the NFC a year later despite another Romo injury when Dak Prescott set an NFL rookie record for passer rating and fellow first-year sensation Ezekiel Elliott led the league in rushing.
There was another extenuating circumstance when Dallas missed the playoffs last year: Elliott's six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations halfway through the season. The issue hung over the team all season.
"I think it's as logical as watching my step as I walk off this stage that Jason is better and the right man for this job, even though he didn't get coach of the year last year," Jerry Jones said. "We see better than anybody in the world, Jason. Consequently, I'm excited about him being our head coach."
Garrett has steadfastly deflected talk about his job security with his "control what you can control" mantra. That's what he did as the last of three straight 8-8 seasons was ending in 2013, and again the next summer.
Then he had a season that earned him a five-year contract, and virtually guaranteed that Garrett would outlast all of Jones' previous hires, including Bill Parcells. Garrett has two years left on that deal.
"I would think that every aspect of what my responsibilities are as head coach, hopefully I've gotten better at those things http://www.philadelphiaeaglesteamonlines.com/markus-wheaton-jersey ," Garrett said. "Everyone of us is a work in progress. I put myself at the top of the list as a person, as a coach, in every aspect of my life."
Garrett is now second in tenure to Tom Landry, the franchise's only coach for its first 29 years before Jones bought the Cowboys and hired Jimmy Johnson, a two-time Super Bowl winner.
The 52-year-old Garrett is also second to Landry's 250 regular-season wins with 67. But his .558 winning percentage (67-53) trails Landry, Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey and Phillips.
After missing the playoffs at 9-7 last season, the Cowboys changed much of the coaching staff under Garrett, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. But Jones hasn't indicated that means the next overhaul starts at the top.
"If I may be so bold, I'd say he's a lot better coach today than he was last year or the year before that or the year before that," Jones said in response to the opening question, which didn't have a specific reference to Garrett. "That's the way it works when you are driven and motivated."
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