There's no doubt halfback Saquon Barkley is the most-hyped rookie

to join the New York Giants since future Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor donned the blue in 1981.Within weeks of being taken second overall in the draft http://www.giantscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-patrick-omameh-jersey , the likable 21-year-old from Penn State had the hottest-selling jersey in the NFL. Seemingly half the kids wearing jerseys at training camp had his No. 26 look.When he touched the ball in camp, there were 'oohs and aahs' from the fans, and visions of him going to the house in the regular season to help revive a franchise that went 3-13 last season, the second-worst record in the league.Dream time is over. With the season opener at home against 2017 AFC runner-up Jacksonville on Sunday, it's time for Barkley to live up to the hype, just as Taylor did after also being taken with the No. 2 overall pick."I just want to play," Barkley said after a short practice Monday. "It's finally here. The season is finally here. I didn't get to play as much as I would like in the preseason, but now it's here and it counts now, so I am just excited to get on the road. You can tell, the energy of the team is high and we're all just excited for this game and this season."Barkley had four carries in the preseason for 43 yards. The number was originally reported as five after the first preseason game against Cleveland, but an official review silently changed it.It stayed at four after Barkley slightly strained a hamstring on Aug. 13 and didn't play in the final three preseason games. It was a precautionary move."The one week I didn't get that much practice, but after that I was back on my normal schedule Aldrick Rosas Jersey ," he said. "I feel pretty confident and I feel pretty good. I just have to continue to attack practice and get better.For the next week, Barkley plans to immerse himself in watching videotapes of the Jaguars' defense, a group that last season was the best in franchise history and is loaded with Pro Bowl players.Barkley has set some personal goals, but he hopes to focus on his next play."I'm not a numbers type of guy who says I need this many yards, this many touchdowns," Barkley said. "My goal is to attack every single day and get better every single day. The rest of the stuff will take care of itself."Barkley isn't sure how many tickets he will need for his NFL debut. His parents and his family are coming to MetLife Stadium and, of course, there might be some surprise visitors he needs to accommodate.New coach Pat Shurmur caught Barkley off-guard when he talked about the return game Monday. The Giants waived returners Kalif Raymond and Hunter Sharp over the weekend and were awarded Kaelin Clay on waivers. Clay has handled return work in games and would seem to be the best option Sunday.If they are ready, Shurmur said that Odell Beckham Jr. and Barkley would be options. He did not mention Cody Latimer, who also has experience as a returner."I'll be eager to definitely be in the mix of kickoff return. I did it in college," said Barkley, who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns last season. "I was able to help my team out in college in that area. If they Youth Patrick Omameh Jersey , or if I show that I'm capable of doing that for the Giants, why not? It's definitely something I feel comfortable with."Don't count on it this early in the season.NOTES: LB Olivier Vernon (ankle) did not practice Monday. Shurmur hopes to have him back Wednesday. ... TE Evan Engram was on the field but remains in the concussion protocol. ... With Davis Webb being cut, Shurmur would not say who is No. 2 behind QB Eli Manning. He hinted it might be Alex Tanney instead of rookie Kyle Lauletta because he likes have a veteran behind the starter.Pat’s Perspectives: The calm before the storm as Giants brace for crucial game vs. Eagles I’ve covered the New York Giants for 20+ years so I’ve experienced a lot of different locker room swings over that time.So this week, I was particularly interested to see what the vibe would be after an emotional, hard-fought loss to the Panthers which in many ways was reminiscent of last year’s disappointing loss to the Eagles on a last-second long field goal.What I came away with is that unlike last year, where that loss pretty much sucked whatever life was left in the Giants season, this year’s loss has supercharged them. by that I mean I senses a quiet, yet steely like calm among the players and a focus that I don’t think I’ve seen from this team in quite some time.Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan probably said it best when describing what’s been missing from this Giants team but yet what’s been slowly creeping into the picture: cohesiveness. “It’s a new system, a new everything for everyone there,” Strahan said during a conference call with the Giants beat writers Wednesday. “I think we forget that. We look at the players on the team and go, ‘We should win now.’ In theory, it’s great. But when you have a new coach Aldrick Rosas Jersey , new system, new everything, it’s not that easy.”No it’s not. It’s a process which, as I’ve noted before on the LockedOn Giants podcasts is one that wasn’t exactly aided by the fact that the offensive and defensive units didn’t really play much together in the preseason to build up that cohesiveness.Lately, there have been signs of that gelling process starting to come along and that unity solidifying. Unfortunately, it had to take a few weeks of the regular season—and with it a few losses—to come together, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the arrow is pointed in the right direction.As for Thursday’s game, I have no idea if the Giants are going to beat the Eagles Thursday night—I do think they can pull it off and (spoiler alert) I’ve picked the Giants in my BBV weekly staff picks.I do believe in my heart this team is going to come out swinging not only because it’s the Eagles but because of what’s at stake, not just in terms of making up ground in the division but also in further solidifying the bonds that Pat Shurmur and his staff have laid the foundation for. Brad Mills-USA TODAY SportsWilted FlowersI usually don’t like to read too much into things,but I found the following response from head coach Pat Shurmur in his weekly “Shurmur Sez” column done with Giants.com writer Mike Eisen about now former offensive tackle Ereck Flowers, who was waived Tuesday, of interest:Based on Shurmur’s words Authentic Rhett Ellison Jersey , it sure does sound to me that Flowers resisted the efforts by the coaching staff to help him improve. I can’t help but wonder if that problem became worse once he was benched in favor of Chad Wheeler and simply checked out mentally. I say that because last week when Wheeler hurt his hand, one would have thought that Flowers would get ready to step in, yet it looked like Spencer Pulley was instead being readied.Whatever happened, Flowers becomes one of the most high-profiled examples to clearly not take full advantage of the clean slate that was afforded to all the players. It will be interesting to see if he catches on and finally flourishes elsewhere.Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY SportsFinal word on Odell and Lil WayneI’m not about to write a long, drawn-out editorial on why I think Odell Beckham Jr. made a judgement error by having rap star Lil Wayne by his side for his interview with ESPN. I get it that he was looking for support and who better to support you than your good friend,But part of being a leader is standing up independently and taking a stand. Odell did the second part and while I think parts of what he said should have stayed in house, I still admire him for having the moxie to go on national television to speak his mind.The first part—standing up independently is what continues to bother me. It wasn’t a good look—and that’s no offense to Lil Wayne. It’s just that if you’re going to own your words, which all good leaders do, do so without the cavalry there to back you up.