Football coaches will often praise running backs who run “north and south,” attacking the line of scrimmage rather than waiting too long for holes to develop and risking a loss in the backfield. Giants star Saquon Barkley was asked about that criticism of his game, and is clearly not happy with the notion that he “dances in the backfield.”
Asked if he’s been making a “conscious effort” to run more “north-south,” Barkley seemed to take exception to the entire line of questioning.
“This is probably the last time I’m going to speak on this. I know people want to say, ‘Dancing… He don’t get north-south,’ but I’m not going to just run into my linemen’s back. That’s not how I play the game, that’s not how I’ve been playing since I was eight years old. I’ve been playing the position for a very long time, and by no means am I the perfect running back, I’ve still got so much work to do...
