5 questions with Big Blue View This week I spoke with Ed Valentine of Big Blue View about the Carolina Panthers upcoming game against the New York Giants. Read on for his opinion on the demise of Eli Manning and the potential of Saquon Barkley. This game may not be as easy as some of us had hoped. You can find my answers to his questions here.Cat Scratch Reader: Barkley looks like he has had a successful start to his season. Is he living up to his draft position?Big Blue View: Saquon Barkley is a terrific player. He has hit the 100 yards from scrimmage mark in all 4 games and Sunday can become only the third player in NFL history to reach that mark in his first five games (Kareem Hunt Cheap Donte Jackson Jersey , 7 and Adrian Peterson, 5). So, yeah, no complaints. The Giants as a whole, though, haven’t been able to consistently strike the balance between running and passing, between giving the ball to Barkley and getting it to Beckham. That’s a work in progress.CSR: Be honest, how far past his prime is Eli Manning?SB Nation’s FanPulse is a survey of NFL fans across the league.BBV: I really don’t know. There are Giants fans who have been over Eli for years. Shoot, some were over him before he won a second Super Bowl. He’s completing a lot of passes Da'Norris Searcy Jersey , but the offense isn’t going anywhere. We’ve spent a lot of time and effort of the Eli topic at Big Blue View. There’s blame on him, Pat Shurmur and the offensive line for the offensive struggles thus far. I think we will find out the answer to that question over the course of the season. The Giants have banked their hopes on him being able to get the job done for another year or two. We’ll see if they were right.CSR: Olivier Vernon is back. How big is that for the Giants?BBV: Well, I can’t say with 100 percent certainty that Vernon will be back. It looks like that will be the case, but we thought that last week, too. Vernon is their best pass rusher, so getting him on the field would be a major plus. As Shurmur said “when you have a fresh body that has the talent, the skill, and abilities of a pass rusher, it helps your defense.”CSR: The Giants record in close games this year is eerily reminiscent of Panthers teams from years past. Is this because of a consistent and identifiable issue or are they just a comedy of errors like the Browns?BBV: The Giants have just struggled to play good offense. Period. They are averaging 18.25 points and have not reached the 20-point mark in all three of their losses. It’s really that simple.CSR: What is your score prediction for this week and how does it happen?BBV: I hate to do it but I’m going to hold my prediction for Sunday at Big Blue View. If the Giants are going to win they are going to have to play better offense Michael Palardy Jersey , generate more big plays. On defense, they are going to have to find a way to deal with the running of Cam Newton.Carolina Panthers place S Da’Norris Searcy on injured reserve The Carolina Panthers have placed veteran safety Da’Norris Searcy on injured reserve, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer.No corresponding roster move has been made yet, but the Panthers are expected to find a replacement for Searcy within the organization.It’s interesting that Cole Luke has been moved from cornerback to safety, but I’m not sure that’s the best answer to fill the void left by Searcy’s absence on the roster. It’s a shame there aren’t any high-quality safeties who happen to be free agents and would be willing to come to Carolina and play for a fair salary. I’ve looked at the free agent list and I can’t find a single name among the players who can be signed who fits this bill. It’s a tragedy that we can’t bring in a guy like Eric Reid who currently plays for...No one. Seriously, he’s available Marty. Go get him right now.Sign. Eric. Reid.Problem solved.