Saquon Barkley’s Former Coach Commends Eagles For Creating Ultimate Weapon 2.0

Saquon Barkley has always made the impossible look possible.  What’s truly impossible is to think that week in and week out he continues to embarrass his opponents whose number one goal every week is simply to prevent him from embarrassing them.  

In his first season in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform, and focal point of the offense, Barkley is an MVP finalist for the first time in his career and after rushing for 2,005 yards during the regular season, he’s now preparing for his first NFC Championship Game appearance, one victory shy of playing in his first Super Bowl. 

The Ultimate Weapon 2.0?

Getty Images22 DEC 1990: PHILADELPHIA EAGLES QUARTERBACK RANDALL CUNNINGHAM LOOKS TO PASS DOWNFIELD DURING THE EAGLES 23-21 VICTORY OVER THE PHOENIX CARDINALS AT SUN DEVIL STADIUM IN TEMPE, ARIZONA.

I’ve covered the Eagles in some form and various mediums since the early 90’s and hands down the greatest Eagle I’ve ever seen don the green uniform was Randall Cunningham.  Randall was truly the ultimate weapon and anyone who tells you that Donovan McNabb was the best quarterback in franchise history needs to turn in their fan card immediately, if not sooner.  But if someone came up to me and wanted to make an argument that Saquon Barkley is at least The Ultimate Weapon 2.0, there’s a good chance they could sell me on that.  It really wouldn’t be that hard of a sell as I’m sure anyone with two eyes would agree. (I suppose a cyclops would come to the same conclusion , not to discriminate against the single ocular community).

In his first two playoff games wearing green, Barkley has rushed for 324 yards on 51 carries.  He hit two bombs against the Rams for 62 and 78 yards and would have had a 76 yard TD burst against the Packers if he hadn’t given himself up to end the game.

As much as the 27 year old from Allentown, PA. appears to be the missing piece to an Eagles roster already built to make a serious run at Lord Lombardi, the Eagles appear to be the missing piece to a legacy that’s been waiting to be defined.

He’s not only succeeded but he’s dominated at every level. From his first carry at Whitehall-Coplay High in a district playoff game when he made a 70 yard house call through his three years at Penn State where he amazed onlookers by amassing 3,843 yards and 43 touchdowns, while averaging 5.7 yards per carry and catching 102 passes for 1,195 yards and eight touchdowns.  I don’t think it’s hard to see why the New York Giants selected him with the second pick in the 2018 draft when they, at the time, still had Eli Manning at the quarterback helm and a receiver by the name of Odell Beckham Jr. as the third member of a possible “triplets” triumvirate.

But when the Giants decided not meet his number after six seasons, he took his talents about 90 miles south as Philly offered not just a new team, but a second chance to realize his full potential in a system built for him to thrive.

Creating a Monster

Getty ImagesPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – AUGUST 24: Head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore of the Philadelphia Eagles look on Minnesota Vikings after the preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 24, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Vikings defeated the Eagles 26-3. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

His offensive coordinator while at Penn State, Joe Moorehead, is quite impressed at the job Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore have done with Barkley, as he told Matt Lombardo from Between the Hashmarks this past Wednesday.

“The cool thing for me as I watch it is a lot of the concepts that we were running [with Saquon at Penn State] in 2016 and 2017, are the things that Nick Sirianni and Kellen Moore are utilizing now to get him out in space and create one-on-one opportunities for him…Aside from what he’s doing personally, and what the Eagles are doing as a team, I’m like ‘alright, this staff really knows how to utilize his skill-set.” 

Unlike his time in New York, Saquon is now playing for a coaching staff that understands how to maximize his unparalleled ability to be one of the great game changers the NFL has ever seen, elevating a roster that was already a built to make their second run at the Super Bowl in the last three years.  That’s why Birds’ General Manager Howie Roseman couldn’t get his prize piece to put ink to paper on a three-year deal worth $37.5 million when free agency began last March fast enough.

“It’s hard to find difference-making players and people, and it’s hard to find them for a cost,” Roseman said, during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio shortly after the Eagles signed Barkley last off-season. “Those guys, they go for a lot of money, and we felt like there was an opportunity to get one of those guys in Saquon and bring him to the team. There’s risk in every decision you make, but we don’t think there’s any risk on the talent…we have a good situation here with us in Philly to kind of maximize him. I don’t think there’s anyone when he came out of the draft that didn’t think he wasn’t a Hall of Fame-caliber talent and person. He’s still young, and we’re really excited to have him.”

So is everybody else that drinks from the trough of the green Kool-aid around here.  

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