Saquon Barkley and our Philadelphia Eagles wrapped up two days of joint practices with the Patriots this week, getting some valuable work against an unfamiliar opponent in the Patriots ahead of Saturday’s preseason matchup.
While there’s clear value in that, Saquon Barkley made it known he’s not exactly a fan of the whole exercise. I watched him comment, and honestly, agree with the man completely.
Saquon Barkley Hates Join Practices
Saquon Barkley Gets It, and He’s Not Wrong
Now, to be fair, Saquon Barkley isn’t torching the whole concept. He sees the value. He gave Nick Sirianni credit for his ability to “create chaos in practice during drills” and admitted that at some point in camp you need fresh competition instead of running it back against the same teammates you’ve stared at since July.
Different offense, different defense, expose some weaknesses, test the communication.
All fair. All useful. Preach, my good brother.
“I’m the wrong guy to ask because I hate joint practices, to be honest. I think one day is good, but we play in an ego-filled sport with a lot of men.”
“More times than not, nothing good comes out of it. When you have the work, it’s good, but then you get the pushing and the shoving and someone says this about you,” and off it goes.
According to reports, Saquon Barkley proved his point on Thursday
The best part is the second practice turned into a live-action demonstration of everything Saquon Barkley just complained about.
The Eagles and Patriots spent the day shoving, scrumming, and running their mouths at each other. Coaches reportedly had to peel Barkley himself off during one heated exchange, and Lane Johnson wasn’t having it when a Patriots defender dumped Saquon to the ground, which kicked off a skirmish.
Tensions simmered all afternoon with guys jawing after every whistle.
Never turned into a full brawl, sure, but it kept blowing up the practice, which is EXACTLY the point. You’re supposed to be stacking quality reps and instead half the day is spent breaking up shoving matches between grown men who forgot it’s August.
Gotta give Saquon Barkley credit, he didn’t play innocent.
“It’s immature when we get to that level. I have to do a better job too because I’m a little troublemaker sometimes.”
Love that. No finger-pointing, just a guy who’s been through enough of these circuses to know exactly how they go every single time.
The NFL Machine Won’t Get Me Either, Saquon
I do everything in my power to stay far away from the entire NFL machine while they try to cram these joint practices and meaningless preseason games down our throats. It’s filler. It’s content for the sake of content, manufactured to keep us hooked in the dead of summer when there’s no actual football to watch. I’m not falling for it.
Wake me up when the games count.
The SECOND the real season kicks off, I am all the way locked in. I’m at a ton of home games. I’m tailgating every Sunday down in South Philly with the rest of you degenerates.
I’m on the road with the GOATs in travel with Phans of Philly two or three times a year, soaking up so much Birds football that by the time January rolls around, I’m limping to the playoffs trying to stay healthy right alongside the actual roster.
THAT’S the good stuff. The scrums in Foxborough in August? Hard pass.
Bottom line, joint practices have their uses, and the Eagles will keep running them under Sirianni because the football benefits are legit.
Even Saquon cosigns that part but like he said, they’re at their best RIGHT UP UNTIL the emotions hijack the whole thing and become the main event, which two days in New England put on full display.
Point made, Saquon. Point made.
Either way, none of that matters, because Week 1 is right around the corner and I could not be more fired up to get this thing going for real and listen, there’s still time to book a trip with Phans of Philly and hit the road with us this season, so check out what’s still open and come ride with the crew.
Real football is almost here, and the summer nonsense is almost behind us.
