Former Giant Stephen Baker thinks offense will be 'a matchup nightmare'

Stephen Baker was a wide receiver with the New York Giants from 1987 through 1992. He won a Super Bowl with the team in 1990, and in that game he caught a 14-yard touchdown pass. This was a common occurrence for a player who would earn the nickname the 'touchdown maker'. Baker believes this new and improved Giants offense will be making a lot of touchdowns in 2015.

"I think [the Giants offense] will be a matchup nightmare, and I love the diversity of the receivers," Baker said before the New York Yankees Charity Golf Tournament at the Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township. "You've got little Cruz, who can shake and bake in the middle, then you've got Beckham on the outside, who's just explosive, and then you have Randle, I consider him a smooth receiver, when he catches a pass, he just looks smooth. I like him as a third down possession-type guy."

Of course, everyone wanted to hear Baker's take on 2014's Rookie of the Year Odell Beckham Jr. Baker is confident that the team has the right people in place to keep Beckham Jr.'s focus on becoming the best player he can be.

"I know back in the day Bill Parcells would have made sure you stay grounded," Baker said. "Knowing that Tom Coughlin is a throwback from us, I'm sure that it's been instilled in [Beckham], but ultimately he has to make those decisions. You have to remember what got you here, and sometimes that can get lost, and he's just got to stay grounded. For somebody like me and the old guys, it's easy. You understand, 'I've worked hard to get here, I'm gonna stay here.' But there are so many sidebars now, stuff going on, it's kind of tough to stay grounded."

Projected third wide receiver Rueben Randle finished the final two games of 2014 with 290 receiving yards and a touchdown on 12 receptions. He was a major benefactor of the added attention that defense began to show Beckham Jr. Baker believes that Randle is the X factor that could catapult the offense to the next level.

"[Randle's] got to come on strong this year so we can have that triple threat and that will be a matchup nightmare for defenses, trust me they won't know what to do," Baker said. "Eli's smart enough now, and been around long enough that he can pick up the single coverage, because they've got to double somebody and trust me we'll eat people alive if we can just stay healthy, that's the key."

As someone who has experienced and returned from his own injuries in the past, Baker believes that Victor Cruz's biggest hurdle in his recovery from a torn patella tendon is the mental aspect of returning from a serious injury.

"There always comes a time where, no matter how much training you've done, there comes that moment of truth, and when that moment of truth [comes], you're either gonna wipe [the injury] out of your mind, or it's gonna always be lingering," Baker said. "Mine came when I had to jump up for a pass and I knew what was happening, I said 'Ok, here we go, if this shoulder comes out, then I'm done.' I came down on it, the shoulder didn't come out and I never thought about it again. That's the biggest hurdle [for Cruz]."

If Cruz can rediscover his trademark lateral agility and explosion, the Giants offense has a chance to be one of the NFL's elite units in 2015. They added blocking up front with first-rounder Ereck Flowers and the return from injury of guard Geoff Schwartz. They also added a receiving threat out of the backfield in running back Shane Vereen. The final step is finding a wide receiver to take advantage of the defenses who focus on Beckham Jr. Baker's expectations are not too far off from becoming a reality.

(h/t True Jersey)

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports