Eagles vs. Chiefs Rematch: The Impact of Saquan Barkley

Watch Eagles vs. Chiefs Rematch: The Impact of Saquan Barkley - SportsGrid on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00How do you feel about the rematch between the Eagles and Chiefs that we saw a couple of years ago?

00:06How much do you think has changed as we go into this showdown between Mahomes and Hertz?

00:12Well, in a lot of ways, I think that the addition of Saquon Barkley makes this not even really a rematch.

00:19I mean, it's still the Chiefs and still the Eagles, but it's as if you have Donovan McNabb going up against Alex Smith.

00:27It's just two totally different teams because of Saquon.

00:31Does he change the game is the question.

00:34And that's up to the Eagles' line and the play calling and, of course, Saquon himself and how the Chiefs handle it.

00:40But Saquon has been an absolute phenomenon in his first year with the Eagles and has redefined the position of running back in a lot of ways.

00:49The idea that running backs can't be tremendous difference makers in the NFL and that they're all kind of a dime a dozen.

00:57He's blown that up. Obviously, he's not the only one.

01:01Derrick Henry did as well. But they are showing that the the identity of the person carrying the football matters.

01:08And Saquon, I'm very fascinated to see whether he can be the difference maker in this game or he can be a difference maker.

01:16Patrick Mahomes still makes all kinds of ridiculous plays and wins the game for the Chiefs.

01:22So, you know, Spagnuolo's defense has been notorious in these Super Bowls.

01:28He's I mean, I think the greatest assistant coach ever.

01:32I mean, we've seen him be a head coach. He went back to being an assistant as an assistant.

01:36He's won all these rings. He's got four rings now.

01:40And what do you think? He's drawing up to stop Barkley because that's the key to this football game.

01:48Well, I think part of it is just making sure that the initial gaps aren't there at the line.

01:53And that's because remember, most of the most of the damage that Saquon does is interior.

01:59It's not that he can't get outside the edge, but what makes him great is the ability to get through the middle.

02:05It's one of the gaps or the other, but to get through the interior of the line and then start taking on defensive backs.

02:13That's what makes him great. And so they did a wonderful job of stacking Josh Allen in the AFC championship game.

02:20It's not really the same thing, but it has similar concepts, similar principles.

02:25Being aware of who the danger is and making sure that it's accounted for and making sure that the offensive line that you're coping with

02:33can't get the blocks made that they want. The difference is that Buffalo's offensive line is very good.

02:40Philadelphia's to this point has been elite. And can they deliver that performance on the biggest stage is the question.