OUT OF THE SHADOWS
Shepard proving he's one of the Giants' playmakers
Sterling Shepard was in a good mood, anticipating the Mayweather-McGregor fight — he believed there was no way Mayweather could lose — pleased the Giants’ offense finally scored a touchdown this summer, satisfied he made a few plays to help the cause.
Shepard also took notice that two defensive players, Landon Collins and Donte Deayon, turned interceptions into touchdowns in a preseason victory over the Jets with a final score (32-31) that misrepresented what actually went down (the Giants led 29-3 at halftime with both teams’ starters on the field).
“When you can pick-six it, you have two pick-sixes in a night that’s definitely going to help,’’ Shepard said.
On the first, Collins had such a clear path to the end zone that he high-stepped the last 20 yards of his 23-yard return. Playing the role of a critic, Shepard said, “We accept that but he’s got some work to do.’’ Then, with a wink, he added, “That’s DBs for you.’’
Heck, the Giants will take points any way they can get them, but they realize the heavy lifting must be done by their quarterback and receivers in the passing game. They are not built to be a movethe-chains running team and any unit that includes Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, Shepard and impressive rookie tight end Evan Engram should expect to do damage through the air.
When he took the field for preseason game No. 3, Shepard admitted it was strange not to see Beckham (out with a sprained ankle) on one side or Marshall (sore shoulder) on the other. Instead, second-year player Roger Lewis and undrafted rookie Travis Rudolph were on the field.
“I knew I had some ballplayers with me,’’ Shepard said. “Rudolph did a great job picking up the slack and Roger did a great job, too. We got playmakers, man, that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about.’’
With the aura of Beckham so omnipresent, the arrival of Marshall and the excitement surrounding the addition of Engram, in some ways it was natural Shepard was not front-and-center this summer. He drifted further into the background when he sprained an ankle early in training camp.
“It was actually going really good in camp and over the summer, I feel like I had made some really big improvements and it was unfortunate I got the ankle injury,’’ Shepard said. “It was just kind of trying to get back in the groove of things.’’
Shepard missed the preseason opener and was not at all pleased with his 23 snaps in Cleveland, where he had three receptions for just 9 yards.
“After the Browns game, I was pretty upset with myself,’’ he said. “I definitely needed to get stuff going for myself. I don’t use excuses, but you haven’t been out there and going live contact in a game setting you kind of have to get back in your groove. Last game I feel like I didn’t do me.’’
Shepard finally showed signs of the form he flashed as a rookie last season, when he caught 65 passes for 683 yards, eight touchdowns and emerged as an intriguing slot target. He caught two passes for 47 yards against the Jets. His best moment came as he got behind Jets cornerback Buster Skrine to haul in a 31-yard completion from Eli Manning. Earlier, Shepard thought he had a chance to turn a 16-yard gain into a touchdown.
“There’s probably a fine for me for not cribbing that slant,’’ Shepard said, smiling.
Early in the game, the Giants wanted to see Shepard as a punt returner and he was given the first opportunity, which did not go well. He had some room to maneuver but did not gain a yard.
“They told me at the beginning of the week I was gonna go back there just to see what it’s like,’’ Shepard said. “I haven’t been back there since college, as you can see, I didn’t go the right way.’’
He will leave that special-teams chore to others as he takes his place within what should be a high-powered passing attack.
“We have so many playmakers,’’ he said. “That makes the job a lot easier.’’