Giants must feed Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay to get offense going

Get me a damn headset already. 

It would be criminal of me not to offer my play-calling suggestions for Freddie Kitchens for his second game since replacing Jason Garrett. 

I’m not a Giants fan, and I’ve never coached at any level, but it’s painful for anyone with two eyes to watch Daniel Jones strain with every ounce of his fiber to get the ball in the end zone week after week. Or weak after weak. 

I’ll give Kitchens a mulligan on his first NYG whack at it for putting 13 points on the Eagles for the simple reason that he made more of an effort to listen to the players on the sideline. 

“It’s huge. You can come over to the sideline, and since you’re the one out there running, you can actually tell him what you’re seeing,” Kenny Golladay said on Thursday. 

“I’m not saying it wasn’t openness with Garrett, but Freddie did want to hear from us a little bit more,” Golladay added. 

That’s a start. 

My game plan is not complicated in the least, and it absolutely doesn’t require the collaborative effort that Joe Judge and Kitchens and the offensive coaches have been expending every waking hour. 

Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees, and if they’re not careful, coaches can and will fall victim to paralysis by analysis. 

Garrett was afflicted enough by the forest that he forgot that Golladay was a 6-foot-4 tree, and Judge finally said “No mas” when Golladay finished the game against Tampa Bay 10 days ago with two targets. 

Golladay got seven targets against the Eagles (three catches), so kudos to Kitchens there. 

It’s still not enough. 

Yes, the Dolphins cornerbacks are formidable, but Kadarius Toney will be out again, and maybe it’s just me, but Kitchens might want any and all throws to Pharoah Cooper and Chris Myarick to go Golladay’s way, no disrespect intended. 

That means no fewer than 10 targets for Golladay, and just because the end-zone fade didn’t work last week hardly means you don’t dial it up again. And again. 

You paid this guy $72 million over four years! 

“When you’re actually seeing the ball a little bit more, you don’t even start counting the targets, but you know if you get two targets, if that makes sense,” Golladay said. 

Oh boy, does it ever. Golladay (23 catches for 372 yards) has 0 TDs. Not a typo — 0 TDs. He had 21 in 39 starts in Detroit. 

“Of course that’s not what I wanted coming into the season,” Golladay said, “but I still have games left.” 

The other priority involves Saquon Barkley. 

Use him more as a weapon than as a running back. 

It’s evident that we are not seeing the vintage Barkley … and Kitchens wasn’t coaching for the Giants when Barkley caught 91 passes out of the backfield as a rookie — on 121 targets — for 721 yards and four touchdowns. Kitchens split him out wide on occasion last week, and Barkley did lead the Giants with four receptions. 

I’d get it to him six-eight times in Miami. 

Just Giving Him The Damn Ball out of the backfield would help Jones — if his neck makes it to the starting line — or Mike Glennon — beat the heavy Brian Flores blitz. 

“In previous years, put a lot of work in route-running and catching, kinda started in college when I was challenged by my running back coach to try to be more versatile,” Barkley said. “I like doing it. I gotta continue to grow, continue to get better at it, see coverages better the more I do it, and it’s an opportunity for me to be able to make a play for my team, so I enjoy doing it.” 

And RB coach Burton Burns enjoys him doing it. 

“He’s also got great running skills as well as a runner. That’s what makes him special. He can do both,” Burks said. 

Whatever it takes to allow the quarterback to get the ball out quicker behind that offensive line. 

In his second game back from his ankle injury, Barkley had double-digit rushing attempts last week for the first time since Oct. 3. “My legs were underneath me a little bit better,” Barkley said. 

He is lacking that elite burst and explosiveness, however. “I see him being explosive enough,” Burns said. 

Devontae Booker for now is better suited for the tough inside runs. The more you can keep Barkley fresh the better. 

“He’s a smart football player,” Burns said. “He understands his position. He’s been around the league so he’s crafty. He’s a vet. He knows how to play the game. And it’s not just pertaining primarily to running back. I think overall, he’s just a good football player.” 

Kitchens showed promise. Still didn’t score enough points. Target Golladay, especially in what has been the dead zone. Throw it to Barkley in space, early and often, and let Booker pound the rock inside. No way Kitchens sinks that way. If I must say so myself.