STARLESS IN BIG D?
Minus Odell & Zeke, Blue-’Boys not same
Fans could be in for a letdown on Sunday night if Beckham, Elliott don’t play in Giants-Cowboys clash
The Giants’ Sunday night opener at Dallas with Odell Beckham Jr. and Ezekiel Elliott on the field would be the Week 1 spectacle everyone was hoping for when the NFL schedule came out in April. GiantsCowboys without OBJ and Zeke is the worst-case scenario for both teams and for NBC. But it could happen. Beckham (sprained left ankle) was only riding the stationary bike on Monday and hasn’t practiced since his Aug. 21 injury, while Elliott either needs NFL arbitrator Harold Henderson to vacate his six-game suspension for domestic violence by Tuesday at 4 p.m. or requires a judge to issue a stay if it’s upheld or reduced.
Beckham does seem upbeat and optimistic in social media posts at least, for what it’s worth, including while babysitting Damon Harrison’s baby son on Sunday night. Teammates are hopeful, too.
“You just approach every single day like (Beckham) is playing,” said veteran wideout Brandon Marshall, just six days away from his Giants debut. “And if he’s not, we’ll just have to try to do our jobs a little bit better … Who knows if he’s gonna play or not? Hopefully he does.”
Elliott’s legal team and the NFL Players’ Association, meanwhile, may be poking enough holes in the league’s disciplinary process to put a hold on the suspension and get the Cowboys’ star running back on the field.
They’ve already filed a request for an order that courts block any suspension, in part based on the appeal testimony of NFL director of investigations Kia Wright Roberts. Roberts said last week she would not have recommended a suspension after interviewing Elliott’s accuser but allegedly was not allowed to convey that opinion to commissioner Roger Goodell, a charge the NFL has denied vehemently.
But we still don’t know, which is unsettling because Beckham’s and Elliott’s statuses unquestionably will alter the on-field product and entertainment value of the upcoming game drastically either way.
These aren’t just controversial athletes, for different reasons, that draw viewers. These are two of the best players on their teams and in the entire game, and their absences to open the week would rob even this heated NFC East rivalry of some of its sizzle.
“I’m hoping that his appeal goes through,” Giants safety Landon Collins said Monday of Elliott, a personal friend. “He’s a great player, an exciting player. I love playing against the best players.”
In the meantime, the questions about Beckham and Elliott also provide an extra layer of drama. It even drew some borderline bulletin-board material from coach Ben McAdoo on Monday, when asked how Zeke’s presence or absence would change how the Giants game-planned for the Cowboys.
“All backs run the same when there’s nowhere to run,” McAdoo said confidently.
It was, more than anything, a challenge to his defense to snuff out whichever back lines up for Dallas behind quarterback Dak Prescott, whether it’s Elliott or Darren McFadden or Alfred Morris.
The Giants did stuff Elliott mostly in their 20-19 Week 1 win in Arlington, Texas, last season, holding Zeke to 51 yards and a TD on 20 carries (2.6 average). Still, Dallas gained 101 yards on 30 carries that afternoon, and then Elliott ripped off 107 yards on 24 carries in Week 14 (4.5) — though the Giants again won, 10-7.
“Coach Spags (defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) drives us on it every single week,” Collins said of run defense. “If some team gets over a certain amount of yardage, we can’t stand to hear his voice.”
Beckham, though, is Big Blue’s ultimate trump card, and his health therefore is the biggest story about this team until it’s clarified — bigger even than the running debate about when he’ll get that contract extension.
Having only moderate success (by his standards) last season against Dallas, Beckham still led the Giants in receiving in both wins: He had four catches for 74 yards in Week 1, stretching the field on one 45-yard catch down the left sideline; then he snagged four balls for 94 yards in Week 14, scoring the game’s only touchdown on an unforgettably blistering 61-yard catch and run. he big decision for McAdoo, really, is whether he would risk playing Beckham this Sunday night at 80 percent health, for example, or if the medical staff and McAdoo would exercise caution and rest him for his own good in that scenario.
“If he’s cleared to play medically, we’ll play him,” McAdoo said. “If he’s not, we won’t.”
So what will it be: No Odell or Zeke? OBJ plays, and Zeke sits suspended? Or they both hit the field?
The latest installment of this Giants-Cowboys rivalry depends on it.
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