Saquon Barkley faces obstacles in crucial return to Giants

Those tree-trunk quads are alive and well, and still massive in the most recent videos.

There is Saquon Barkley, stutter-stepping with those fast feet in the sand at the beach, with volleyball nets in the background. There is Barkley, working his legs and core muscles, splashing but certainly not frolicking in a pool. Any infiltration of doubt that might creep in about his return gets washed away with the sight of him working painstakingly to get right and get back. The fate of the Giants in 2021 does not hinge on one specific person, but honing in on Barkley is not an unwise place to start. Consider this: Joe Judge and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, in their first season with the Giants, were given five quarters with Barkley, the centerpiece of the entire attack and the new face of the franchise, before he went down with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament on the first play of the second quarter of a Sept. 20 loss at Chicago. That is it. That is almost nothing.