I don’t care who you are, there are going to be ups and downs and this game will get you sometimes, but we really feel confident that the person that he is will allow him to deal with everything that comes his way.
Bell can also play left guard. He looms as sub-starter material, notoriously filling in for Smith last season during a Week 10 tilt against the Falcons that saw Atlanta pass rusher explode for an extraordinary six sacks.
With David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga — mending from an ACL injury — penciled in at the tackle positions, Bell should see plenty of pine barring disaster.
Barkley and second-year running back Wayne Gallman worked on one-handed catches during a few minutes of downtime within the Giants’ first organized team activity. He also caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Eli Manning during team periods of practice.
Hurdling defenders — as became his calling card at Penn State — likely will have to wait until tackling resumes in training camp, but what did Barkley have in store for Week 2 of OTAs?
The way you get fast on the football field is by the stuff you do in the weight room, Barkley said. Obviously you have to work on your running form, but you have to continue to get your legs stronger and work on your explosiveness.
Or more validation of his hands out of the backfield.
You really don’t think about it, Barkley said. I think actually when you start to think about it is when you actually drop the ball. It’s with repetition and catching the ball every single day and using your eyes (that it) just comes naturally.