New look for Giants’ decimated WR corps
Sterling Shepard last saw Odell Beckham Jr. heading to get an MRI Sunday. He saw Brandon Marshall there, too. Shepard, who already underwent an MRI, found it funny he didn’t see Dwayne Harris, also, the fourth receiver injured in Sunday’s loss to the Chargers. Beckham underwent surgery Monday night on his fractured ankle, while Marshall (ankle) and Harris (foot) also both had season-ending surgery Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Seeing none of the receivers Tuesday at the team’s facility, Shepard found it difficult to pretend it was just another day of preparation, heading into this weekend’s game against the Broncos. “It is different. You don’t have guys cracking jokes like you usually do,” Shepard said Tuesday. “You don’t have three guys in the room that were big pieces to our puzzle. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Four guys from one group go down.” Shepard, whose left foot was heavily taped after suffering a sprained ankle, is the only starter still standing, or at least hobbling, in the locker room. He said he is unsure if he’ll be able to play in Denver, but if the second-year receiver suits up, he will be the most accomplished receiver Eli Manning can throw to. Joining Shepard on the first- team depth chart are Roger Lewis Jr., who has 15 catches in 18 career games, and newly re-signed Tavarres King, who has just four career regularseason catches. Travis Rudolph and Ed Eagan were promoted from the practice squad, and have never appeared in an NFL game.
Seeing such an inexperienced cast representing what was supposed to be one of the team’s greatest strengths is strange. Manning’s silver lining in an ever-darkening season is that they aren’t strangers.
“I think it’s different when you bring in a guy who is brand new to the system,” Manning said. “They’ll be ready. They’ll know the sys- tem. They’ll know what they’re doing. [I’ve] thrown the routes with them before, shouldn’t have to worry about guys not knowing their assignments. So, I’ll have confidence in them and we’ll go out there, have a good plan, and go execute it.”
King, who had three catches for 73 yards and a touchdown in last season’s playoff loss to the Packers, was watching Sunday’s game when each receiver went down, and received a call from the Giants shortly after the loss.
Since being released by the Giants in September, the 27-year-old had been working out locally, with a quarterback, King said, most people “wouldn’t know.”
“Under the circumstances, it kind of sucks,” King said. “I feel bad for my brothers, but it feels good to be back home.
“I’m very confident in myself. ... It’s extremely important to have the opportunity to showcase what I can do and not just that, but to help this team in any way that I can.”
Even with Beckham, the offense has lacked explosiveness all season, ranking 28th in the league with 16.4 points per game, while ranking 23rd with 6.6 yards per passing attempt.
Though it seems impossible that the attack could improve without the Giants’ most talented player, it can’t do worse than winless.
“I think we’ve done some good things,” Manning said. “Last week, under tough circumstances, having lost three receivers at the time, went down and scored 14 points. ... So, it’s not all bad. We just haven’t played well enough to win some games.”