If there may be one query that can outline Sunday’s Tremendous Bowl it’s this – can the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs cease the Philadelphia Eagles’ explosive running-back Saquon Barkley?
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Signed from the New York Giants forward of this season, Barkley has reworked the Eagles offense along with his unimaginable energy, velocity and approach.
Barkley ran for two,005 yards and 13 touchdowns with a 5.8-yard common within the common season and he has continued his devastating type within the playoffs including 477 whole yards and 5 touchdowns.
The involvement of the running-back is the largest distinction for the reason that two groups met within the Tremendous Bowl two years in the past so do the Chiefs have a plan to cease him.
For Chiefs defensive sort out Chris Jones, a three-time Tremendous Bowl winner and six-time Professional Bowler, the thought of utterly neutralizing Barkley is not life like.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to slow Saquon down. I don’t think we can totally stop him,” Jones stated on Thursday.
“He’s such a special player that I don’t think stopping him is an option. I think more so slowing him down and getting physical specimens up for it. Our first step is going to definitely have to set the tone of this game, the physicality,” he added. – Two or three guys –
Linebacker Nick Bolton says it will require an intense effort to cease Barkley from delivering one in every of his game-changing performances.
“We’ve got to put pressure on the football, he can break tackles, you understand? He’s got home-run speed, so we are going to need two or three guys on the football at all times,” he stated.
For Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, thought to be one of many absolute best tactical minds within the recreation, limiting Barkley’s impression requires a multi-faceted strategy.
Within the NFC Championship recreation, the Eagles steamrolled the Washington Commanders with Barkley and cell quarterback Jalen Hurts speeding for 3 touchdowns every as Philadelphia put up 229 yards on the bottom of their 55-23 win.
The power of Hurts to run with the ball in addition to ship passes to receivers like A.J. Brown offers the Eagles offense actual selection.
“There’s a lot of teams now that we’ve faced with that, but this one’s elite in the fact that it’s the best running back in the league and probably the best running quarterback, or one of the best running quarterbacks,” stated Spagnuolo.
“I mean, if you let an offense in any football game control the game by running the football, it’s not good for your guys defensively and it’s not good for the offense because they’re sitting on the sideline and the clock’s chewing.
“So, it should start with us attempting to cease the operating recreation and hopefully if we are able to try this, then we are able to fear in regards to the subsequent factor,” he added.
Spagnuolo says that his normal approach when looking at film of opponents is to look at potential weak-points in players’ techniques or habits, as well as examining the offensive scheme.
“Proper now it begins with the scheme a part of it after which we take a look at the offensive line and the place we predict there might or might not be a weak point. This offensive line would not have a weak point. Proper.
“They play so well in unison, I think, with their offensive line. It’s going to come down to fundamentals defensively,” he stated.
These fundamentals have to be executed completely if the Chiefs are to restrict the impression of a person who has ripped aside lesser groups.
“We always talk about build the wall, set the edge, and track the hip. And we’re going to have to do that on every play in order to be successful against this guy,” Spagnuolo stated.
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