FADE PATTERN
Shepard sure he’ll regain form after recent slide
THERE was nothing surprising about Sterling Shepard saying “I feel like after the third game I kind of got a little more comfortable.’’ After all, he is a rookie and it makes sense that the more he plays, the better he feels as he works his way into the NFL on and off the field.
Well, if this is the case, perhaps less comfortable works better for the Giants’ wide receiver. He embarked on his pro career showing t he g re at promise he displayed in training camp translated onto the field when it counted. He caught 16 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns in his first three games, averaging a robust 14.6 yards per catch. He looked like the best rookie receiver in the league.
The past four games have not been as kind to him. Shepard has 15 receptions, which is not terrible, but his dynamism has fallen by the wayside. He has just 101 receiving yards, averaging only 6.7 yards per catch, and no touchdowns in that span.
Unfazed, Shepard is looking onward and upward.
“I’m ready to go,’’ he told The Post. “I can see having a big second half of the season.’’
A big second half of the season would be helpful to an offense that needs an injection of something. The lack of yards after the catch is troubling — Victor Cruz and Odell Beckham Jr. (minus the breakout vs. the Ravens) have been similarly stifled — and Shepard sees it as a function of how the operation is working, and not working, around him.
“Could be a number of things, the way defenses are playing you,’’ Shepard said. “A lot of my plays have been bang-bang plays, as soon as I catch the ball I get hit. That could be because of a lot of different things.’’
One of the things is the com- plete lack of respect opposing defenses have for the Giants’ rushing attack. Safeties see no need to hover anywhere near the line of scrimmage, as the front group can handle the feeble running the Giants attempt without any extra help.
Return with us to the days of yesteryear — or a few months ago — to revisit the great expectations heaped on the rookies taken in the first (Eli Apple), second (Shepard) and third (Darian Thompson) rounds of the draft. All three flourished early and have limped to the bye week. Apple has missed time with hamstring and groin injuries and as a result has not gained much traction at cornerback. Thompson, the starting free safety, hurt his foot in the second game and has not played since. Shepard’s recent production has barely made a ripple in the offensive pond.
It just goes to show, you never know with newbies, which is why the term “rookie wall’’ was invented.
“I hear people talk about it all the time, but I don’t believe in stuff like that,’’ Shepard said. “It’s just like they said in college, people have sophomore slumps or whatever. I don’t really pay too much attention to it.’’
Ben McAdoo gave his players five days off, and Shepard headed home to Oklahoma, where he is looking forward to seeing his grandma and other family members as he gets away from the grind.
“We do this football stuff 24 hours, it’s all day,’’ he said. “It gives you a little break mentally and physically. I think it’s well needed for everybody.’’
Yes, everybody needs it, but sometimes rookies need it more than everyone else.
“Obviously this break comes at a great time for all of us to kinda recharge the batteries a little bit,’’ Cruz told The Post. “I don’t think [Shepard] has hit a wall. I think it’s how the offense is shaping out, we’re just taking what defenses are giving us and taking it from there. I don’t think he’s hit any type of wall, I think he’s as effective, still a great route-runner, watching film we still see all the good things he’s still doing. We just want to recharge the batteries, everyone come back fresh.’’
Shepard is 22 and actually looks younger, with a boyish face and easy smile. He did not celebrate himself during his quick start and does not appear to be sweating his dip in production, either.
“You’re gonna hit little slow patches in the year,’’ Shepard said. “You just got to fight through them. Things will come around. God has a plan for everything. I don’t stress about it.’’