When two mediocre 5-7 teams face off in a ~pickem contest, one of them has to win. This was arguably the weakest of the 4 remaining opponents for the Giants. They did what they had to do to win.
Eli Manning 27/31 337yds 4 TDs 0 INTs.
Odell Beckham 7 Rec 166 TDs 2 TDs
Steve Young, in the postgame, says he doesn’t “mean to disparage” but… He disparages the quality of play once again on Monday night. Young refers to the mistakes of another “Hall of Fame game,” the first preseason game that typically gets played a week into training camp. So the point here is that this win by the Giants against NFL mediocrity is not going to change ANYTHING about what we see with this team. Good win. Business done. But we need to see the Giants tackle better, rush the passer better, run better vs teams other than MIA, get better LBers, not get beat so easily on routine plays, beat a team that doesn’t miss a wide open WR on a TD tying oppty, go a single game w/o an injury on the OL.
Carolina will be a dose of that reality. Next week will be a reminder of all we know. Just do me a single favor and watch Luke Kuechly play LBer. It’s why the Giants are not making any kind of noise, even if they make the playoffs (which I don’t think they will do).
Let’s take a moment to celebrate Odell Beckham. This team would be nowhere without him. We said last year that the hyperbole would not be overstated about what he would do as a pro. We dismissed the sophomore slump stuff. We waved away the Madden jinx. Odell has delivered. His stats (12 TDs, 1300 yds in 13 games) almost don’t do it justice. Beckham, after 25 starts, is first in the NFL (in Super Bowl era) for WRs in yards, catches, and TDs. He makes catches and makes plays routinely. All this, while each team is trying to stop him on every down. His TD overturned a ref because what he does is nearly impossible to imagine, let alone see. I love the PFF tweet which says that by the time OBJ’s career is over, he may have the top 5 catches of all time. We’ve seen a handful of insane catches just this season. If he gets some WR support and a modicum of OL protection, the Giants offense will be unstoppable. He can put Eli into the HOF if this keeps up. My kingdom for a healthy OL and Victor Cruz. My kingdom for a healthy team.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
