Odell Beckham Jr. is a really good player. And some day, he may even be great. And some day, he may even grow up. SU says there is a stronger probability that he becomes great than if he grows up. He came up small yesterday in the biggest game of the year and he had his chances.
Sure, it was cold but the same conditions existed for everyone out there. Of the 3 dropped passes, one was an easy catch and would have kept the opening drive going. Big play. The 2nd one was difficult but hey, that’s why you are paid the big bucks. SU says catch the ball. The 3rd one was also difficult but Eli put it right there and it would have been a long gain to keep things going. You give Shepherd a pass as he is a rookie and has played well all year. He dropped a TD pass but you can’t rely on rookies. OBJ likes the spotlight and this was his moment.
In terms of growing up, we don’t need to see you punch a hole in the wall or bang your head against a steel door to know that you care. Everyone in the locker room cares; they just don’t take it out on the room’s structure. SU says it reminds me of Cam Newton who also knows the camera is always on him and plays to it. Both a are great physical talents, and both still need to grow up.
For the record, Aaron Rodgers is great – plain and simple. The Giants did well blitzing him in the 1st half but in the 2nd, either they adjusted or the Giants stopped coming. The net result was no pass rush and allowing Rodgers way too much time to scan the field in the pocket. Combine that with the Giants’ punter unable to kick the ball with any height or distance in the cold and you had the Packers starting every drive in Giants’ territory from the late 2nd quarter on.
The Giants need an offensive lineman or two and a pass rusher this off season. They are not far away and there is a sense of urgency as Eli is not getting any younger. He was decent yesterday – especially in the 1st half. But you need at least some semblance of a running game to compete in the playoffs and they just didn’t have one this year.
Four blowouts in week 1 and all home team wins. SU had high hopes until late 2nd quarter but the Hail Mary was a back breaker. And if the Packers’ tight end had held on to the pass at the 10 yard line with 6 seconds left and no timeouts, the clock would have just run out. So it goes.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Odell did come up small. That hurt us big time in the first half and I’m sure had a psychological affect with the rest of the team. I do not give Sheppard any pass. You start out in the beginning of the season as a rookie. by the end of the season you are not a rookie. he dropped 1-2 plain and simple. Where was Vernon all game. i did not hear his name mentioned once. Besdeds the obvious dropped passes our receivers made there were a multitude of other issues that we had all contributing to the debacle.
1. Two very stupid punt and kick off returns in which the ball should have not been touched off the punt and not touched in order for the ball to go out of bounds… thus a 38 yard difference on where the ball would be placed.
2. The Packers got away with a blatant push in the back which gave Cobb the chance to make the Hail mary Catch. Everyone saw it and the Ref was right there.
3. A couple of pass interference calls went their way, but the hit on Jordy nelson washed made this a wash.
4. Handing the ball off to a lightweight running back on 3rd and one when you have Perkins or Jenkins available was a bad play call.
5. Too many 3 and outs probably exhausted our defense to rush Rodgers more effectively in the 2nd half.
6. Adjustments – Not being a McAdoo fan I feel the Packers coaching staff made the right adjustments to play more effectively on both sides of the ball while we did nothing. If Odell is double teamed all day then Sheppard and Cruz had one on one coverage and should have run routes to get open. That is on the offensive coordinator not calling the right routes to take. 6 games in a row being held under 20 points. He should be fired. COACHING IN FOOTBALL IS SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO MAKE THE RIGHT ADJUSTMENTS THAN IN ANY OTHER AMERICAN SPORT. THE GREAT COACHED USUALLY HAVE CONSISTENCY ON MAKING IT TO THE PLAYOFFS.
7. Our special teams in kickoff/punt coverage was terrible and often gave the Packers very good field position.
8. Rodgers might be the greatest out of the pocket QB of all time.
Great points about the special teams. There were a couple punt returns that were downright scary. Under those conditions if there’s any doubt you call for a fair catch or get out of the area. They got lucky that Green Bay didn’t get a couple recoveries on punts. Then falling out of bounds on the kickoff reception was boneheaded. (I was at the Giants-Lions game a few weeks ago and the Lions managed to turn a similar kick-off into a penalty on the Giants because of a stupid loophole in the rules http://www.sbnation.com/2016/12/18/13999736/lions-kickoff-penalty-trick-giants-packers)
Obviously, anything can happen in a football game and many factors (including luck) can make you look good or ugly. But there were enough plays that indicated lack of discipline, concentration or preparation to make you think that some of these guys spent a valuable off day boating in Miami.
The no call on the push in the back by cobb during the hail mary changed the entire game. I thought Eli played great in the first half. He made some great throws, but his receivers didn’t help him out.
Josh, I thought the push in the back was subtle and you never see that called on a Hail Mary pass as there is so much pushing and shoving. If the offensive player tackles the defender, you might see it. The shove was like 2 NBA players going for a rebound where the offensive player clears some space with a subtle nudge in the back of the defender. It was a penalty but like many other plays in the NFL, it’s a non-call. Bottom line: don’t let the receiver get behind you and that is pretty basic in defending that play.