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New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has received the brunt of the criticism for the team's slow start to the 2018 NFL season. Part of the frustration has been his inability to get wide receiver ODell Beckham Jr. involved in the offense.
A player of Beckham's caliber often serves as the focal point for opposing defenses. However, Manning feels there are still ways to get him the ball.
“Yeah, teams do it, they leave guys one-on-one or they're playing zone… safeties usually going to favor his side or if a corner is one-on-one a lot of times, he will play off just to try not to give up the big stuff, so it's a mix,” Manning said. “We've got to mix it up, and hey, if they're playing off, we have to hit the 10-yard routes and hit some things just to move the chains and set up some things to get it down the field.”
Head coach Pat Shurmur acknowledged Manning's desire to get Beckham more involved, however, he still wants to rely on a more balanced attack.
“We've got to get him (Beckham) the ball in his hands, where he is on the move or some of it is just getting completions, as well,” Manning continued. “So it's doing it all. It's not just him, it's Sterling (Shepard), it's Saquon (Barkley), it's getting the ball in all those guys' hands with room to run and the ability to turn some things into big plays.”
Beckham looks every bit the star player he was since coming back from the ankle injury. Unfortunately, he has struggled to put up the kind of elite numbers he has enjoyed through most of his career.
Defenses are well aware of Beckham's presence and have seemingly taken every precaution they can to contain him. They have done a solid job of doing just that thus far in the season.
Beckham has registered 31 catches for 331 yards and zero touchdowns through the first four games of the season. His mediocre production is largely the result of him being keyed in on by defenses every week. Although the Giants have managed to fortify the offense with weapons like running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Evan Engram in recent years, there is still no question that Beckham is the one that puts this unit over the top.
