PLAYER NOTES
–CB Eli Apple (groin) was limited in Wednesday’s practice. Head coach Pat Shurmur sounded optimistic that Apple might return to the lineup this weekend after missing the last two games due to a groin strain.
–LB Olivier Vernon (ankle) was limited Wednesday. Head coach Pat Shurmur sounded more optimistic that there is a better chance Vernon will be ready for his 2018 season debut. However, with a short turnaround time in between games, it will be interesting to see if the Giants wait another week with their outside linebacker.
–DT Damon Harrison (knee) didn’t practice Wednesday. Harrison has been on a managed practice schedule of late and apparently will continue to be on such a schedule for the foreseeable future.
–WR Sterling Shepard (back) had a small cyst removed from his back that has left him sore, but head coach Pat Shurmur said that Shepard, who didn’t practice Wednesday, will be good to go for Sunday’s game.
–LB Connor Barwin (knee) didn’t practice Wednesday. Barwin, who was seen with a brace on his knee, is on a managed practice schedule for the foreseeable future.
–WR Cody Latimer (knee) was limited in Wednesday’s practice. Latimer’s status for Sunday is uncertain.
–WR Quandree Henderson who is also a return specialist, was signed to the Giants practice squad. Henderson, an undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh, was most recently in camp with the Steelers. In three years at Pitt, Henderson had 73 kickoff returns for 1,942 yards (26.6 per return) and four touchdowns. He also returned punts for two years, recording 37 returns for 495 yards (13.4 per return), and with 11 of those returns going for 15-plus yards.
–TE Evan Engram (knee) will not practice this week and continues to be week-to-week after suffering a sprained MCL in the team’s Week 3 win over the Texans. Engram is currently wearing a support brace on his injured knee but is otherwise able to move around without any additional aids.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: WR Odell Beckham Jr. Weeks after signing the richest contract in NFL history for a wide receiver, Beckham has recorded 331 yards on 31 receptions, his receiving yardage putting him 16th in the league behind an impressive list of names that includes Raiders tight end Jared Cook and Saints running back Alvin Kamara. And interestingly, only Julio Jones of the Falcons join Beckham from that top-16 list as the players without a receiving touchdown to date.
The problem is the Giants, whether intentional or how things evolved, have turned Beckham into a possession receiver who lately has specialized in shallow crossing routes and slants. But if the Giants are to turn their fortunes around, they’re going to have to find a way to get their most dynamic player on offense more involved.
“We’ve got to get him the ball in his hands, where he is on the move or some of it is just getting completions, as well,” said quarterback Eli Manning. “So it’s doing it all. It’s not just him, it’s Sterling (Shepard), it’s Saquon (Barkley), it’s getting the ball in all those guys’ hands with room to run and the ability to turn some things into big plays.”
This week, with their season on the line, look for the Giants to get back to doing more of what Beckham has done so well in the past. The key will be the pass protection, as always, but Manning acknowledged that there is a plan to bring back some of what Beckham does so well.
GAME PLAN: Defensively, the Giants can probably expect to see an uptick in the zone read options from quarterback Cam Newton, a big man who has shown the power of a running back when he takes off with the ball. In past weeks when facing the zone read, the Giants second-level players, most notably the outside linebackers, have been caught flat-footed, almost as though they were unsure what was unfolding in front of them. The Giants need to do a better job with reading those keys and committing one way or another sooner, lest Newton run amok against them.
Offensively, the Giants have frustrated their fan base by giving up on the run early and by checking down the ball all too often instead of taking some deep shots downfield. Head coach Pat Shurmur has mentioned that he’d like to call more running plays, but he’s also done that on at least two different occasions this season. It’s time to stop talking about it and start doing it by getting the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Saquon Barkley, more involved early on to help establish some tempo and to more important keep the Panthers offense off the field.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Giants RB Saquon Barkley vs. Panthers MLB Luke Kuechly. Kuechly is a tackling machine and still has enough quickness to fill holes and burst through protections to corral linebackers. Kuechly not only leads his team in tackles (25), he also leads the Panthers with 15 tackles-for-loss, according to Pro Football Focus. Thus far, Barkley has had very little resistance from opposing linebackers, but Kuechly is certainly the cream of the crop when it comes to defending the run and defending running backs in space, so theirs should be a key matchup.
–Giants run defense vs. Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey. The Giants run defense is currently ranked 29th against the run, a statistic that’s largely the result of two or three big-play runs that opponents have been able to rip off against them. The Giants have primarily been stout up the middle but have had some issues on the edges. The potential return of Olivier Vernon to the lineup this week could help with that as Vernon has historically been solid locking down his edge. McCaffrey is a tough customer who’s so quick and shifty that he’s able to find creases and slip through them before an opponent has a chance to react. If the Giants run defense is to win this battle, it will need to play solid gap control.
