The New York Giants' Odell Beckham Jr. is among the best in the NFL
The New York Giants are 2-0 after starting off 0-2 a year ago. This is largely thanks to mercurial talents: Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Sheppard and Victor Cruz.
The defense looks great. Collectively, they have allowed a mere 35 points. Eli Manning looks great and the Giants receiving core looks better than ever. He may have the best wide receivers in the NFL even though no Giants wide receiver currently leads in the standings.
Odell Beckham Jr. is a top 5 wide receiver in the NFL and it’s not a debate. Through two seasons he has better stats than Randy Moss, Jerry Rice and Calvin Johnson. For Beckham you can say he is off too a slow start. Beckham has no touchdowns and no 100-yard games in two games. He dropped a touchdown late in the game and easily could have had one earlier in the game. Beckham has 12 catches and 159 yards in two games.
Good not great so far for Beckham.
Expect the numbers to go up. Last year Beckham had 96 catches and 13 touchdowns. He also had 1450 yards.
Beckham had little help last year with other receivers but this year is different. Beckham might not have as many yards and touchdowns with the new weapons but that’s no matter. When you look at the troika Beckham-Shepard-Cruz you think they can be the best in the league. Saints Coach Sean Payton even acknowledged this saying “That’s one of the best receiving corps in the league,” according to ESPN report.
This is no understatement.
How good can they be? Odell Beckham Jr.: a case in point
Not only do the Giants have Odell they have Victor Cruz back from injury. They also have Sterling Shepard who they drafted in the second round. Cruz is a former Pro Bowl player and is a former 1,000 yard receiver. Cruz has had his most effective seasons when lining up to Hakeem Nicks. Now he does it with Beckham and Shepard. I’m week one Cruz had 4 catches and a touchdown. In week two Cruz had 4 catches and 91 yards. Cruz continues to make strides and looks very healthy.
Sterling is a “steal”
Sterling Shepard showed Giants fans a lot yesterday. He showed that he has great hands, the concentration too make clutch catches in tightly covered situations, and precociousness as an NFL player just two games in. Shepard had 3 catches and a touchdown in week one. In week two he had 8 catches and his first 100 yard game. On a huge 3rd down and one in the fourth quarter Manning fit a pass into the hands of Shepard to keep the drive alive. In the biggest spot up to that point Manning had enough trust in Shepard to give him the ball.
The Giants have three receivers who all can catch the ball down field. All of them catch the ball short and get yardage after the catch. All three of them have the trust of Eli Manning. The Giants are going to throw the ball a lot all season and these guys are all going to have nice years. I expect Beckham to have the best season of the three but Shepard and Cruz will continue to make plays.
The Giants also have Dwayne Harris who is a player they used a lot as a receiver. He hasn’t been on the field for offense much this season but is important on special teams and is a productive fill in option at receiver Shane Vereen is also a good passing option for the Giants out of the backfield. When the season ends the Giants will have the best productoin at receiver in the NFL.
Manning also said that Odell wants to keep this about football and he wants to make plays and get in the endzone according to Newsday.com.You can read the full story here http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/giants/eli-manning-odell-beckham-focused-on-football-not-josh-norman-1.12344841
3-0 Could be on the Horizon
The Giants look to move to 3-0 next week and all focus will be on Odell Beckham Jr.. He looks for his first 100 yard game of the season. Beckham will see Josh Norman again after last years drama when they squared off. Eli Manning offered some simple advice to Odell before the matchup. “Just go play football” as ESPN’s Jordan Raanan humbly suggested.
The Redskins are 0-2 and have had trouble on both sides of the ball. This can be another big game for the dominant wide receiver trio and Quarterback Eli Manning. The Skins lost in blowout fashion to the Steelers and in a back in fourth battle with the Cowboys. The Giants are at home and always play good against Kirk Cousins. He has 4 touchdowns and 10 interceptions against them. The Giants defense has been clicking and the offense has been good not great. Which means the Giants are going to improve. The Giants could be another big win for them.
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