To old time or long time Giants fans (sorry, over 30 years)

He's a game-changing talent the other team has to game plan against, and nothing's worked against him yet. I am trying to remember any Giants' rookie from LT to OBJ who had that kind of impact. Nobody comes to mind.

I don't have the same kind of feeling i had as Perkins turned the team around because the Giants aren't that far from being good. But the last few games have been fun because the kids -- OBJ, Kennard, Donnell, Wynn and others -- have been playing well, and that bodes well for the future.

The Giants won two Super Bowls in the last 10 years. By 1981, the Giants had been crappy for so long people had begun to take their crappiness for granted.

time. OBJ like LT is a player the opposing team must devote a great deal of attention to in game planning. However, I worry about OBJ more since he has been getting a lot of punishment where as LT inflicted the punishment

..could you imagine OBJ with a healthy Cruz and in-his-prime Plaxico and rookie-year Shockey all on the field together?

Wow.

have lofty expectations at the start of 1981. Remember, we watched many, many terrible seasons always thinking the latest move would make the difference. Teams can figure a way to take any single guy out of a game which leads to your OBJ thoughts. DCs in the division and elsewhere will be watching hours of tape on OBJ this off season and create new schemes to neutralize him. Let's see him do all this again. The Giants better not depend on OBJ too much or it will be a long 2015 autumn again.

less work to be done with this group. But I am referring more to the excitement around the franchise with that type of player.

I think if we can get a beast at guard to help our running game or a big time tackle and move Pugh inside then we may be set. Another receiver for depth or if Randle goes back in the tank would also be great.

Add a little more depth and nastiness to the D-line (get rid of Patterson and probably Kuhn) and perhaps a LB or safety, re-sign JPP...and we could be set. Eli has shown he is still a franchise QB (he has had a great year), get Jennings healthy, Williams experience and we may not be as far off as many think.

..we finally draft a kick-ass LB high instead of going through yet another season of project guys and average "OK but never will be anything special" players

healthy. He seems to take dangerous chances.

He will always be targeted by opponents.

Remember that it took 6 years to get to the SB. The current team is closer, thank God.

In 1981, LT came into a defense with some good talent and made it elite. I think they also switched to a 3-4 at that time to match the star player. The offense was struggling to find an identity and a QB. The offense developed with the addition of Rob Carpenter and then Joe Morris, and with the development of Phil Simms. Also, there was a head coaching change.

is correct.
You get the feeling that a healthy Cruz, at 85-90% of what he was, a head out of his butt RR, and 2 good OLs, and they can rack up points w/OBJ and gang.
At this point the 2 more good OLs will let the run game open up the passing game.
Some speed on D at the back 7 and power at DT will help stop opponents 3rd down conversions, get them off the field and let the O do its thing.

I don't know if it's quite the level of LT in that LT could just literally wreck a game by himself. It's so demoralizing to a team when they can't throw because their QB fears for his life. Especially in that era when scoring was more at a premium. I will say that OBJ really has lit the fan base up in a similar fashion.

so there was not that feeling of optimism that next year would be "great." It took us, and LT, until 1986 to become great.

Nowadays, team quality fluctuates from year to year far more than it did in the 60s-80s.

As many have mentioned, at that point they hadn't even been in the playoffs in 18 years. The culture was losing, losing, losing. They could never even imagine winning the East, Dallas was always going to win it.

So, LT was a revelation, but no one was hanging banners yet. I went to that last Dallas game in 1981. After winning that one, you could see the attitude of the fans turning around. There was a lot of optimism. Even after the SF loss in the playoffs, the bad old days of Arnsberger seemed to be behind them.

the team had sucked for 15/20 years or more and that they made the playoffs was new and exciting.
This team is 3 years from its last SB victory, so we expect more.
What is exciting is just Beckham. What will he do today???

and then went backwards for 2 years.

you can only partially stop a guy like OBJ. Remember how the Eagles were terrified of us because of Burress. They always kept a safety over the top which helped our running game and helped other players. But, even then, there was only so much they could do.

The key is getting everybody healthy and staying healthy. We definitely need another beast on the Oline. It may not be a 1st rounder if it is a guard we need but if a tackle falls into our lap then we can move Pugh inside. But we also need another high pick on an offensive lineman for depth. It will be interesting to see what they do with Walton. I don't know the complete implications, salary cap wise, of cutting him.

Also, we need to re-sign JPP and Rolle. I think that will be important especially Rolle's leadership. With Thurmond and Prince back healthy as well as Victor...all of a sudden the scenario changes.

Let's face it...Donnell has given us the best pass catching tight end we have had since Shockey. No question he needs to get better at blocking but he has shown that ability. He is just not consistent. Plus, I have been impressed by Fells and would like to see him back also.

All I want to point out, within reason, is that we are now, because of Beckham, a lot closer than we may have thought. Another beast to go with Hankins would be nice also. Moore going into his third year then add Wynn, Jenkins, Bromley for depth...Beason, McLain, Kennard at LB...the secondary back and healthy. All of a sudden, things look a lot different.

which definately dampened our spirits somewhat because the thought was that Perkins was the architect of the recent success. Then they hired Parcells, and he looked like he was over his head.

homer jones and actually a pretty good qb Fran Tarkington. they couldn't turn it around. LT certainly helped but the whole organization changed at the same time.

beckham is terrific but we'll need more than that particularly in the trenches to be really competitive again

1981 Giants had none of the optimism going in that season.

LT was great, and exciting - but the Giants of that era were a complete laughingstock, so optimism was much more guarded.

The arrival of ROB CARPENTER in late September via trade is what changed the team into an actual contender, and gave fans hope. They ripped 3 straight wins after Carpenter arrived, got to 5-3, and had a very strong finish, famously beating Dallas in the season finale.

but not LT great. LT changed the game the moment he stepped on the field, and had a long career playing at all- world levels. OBJ has raised the excitement level and feeling of hope for the future around the team, and he certainly has star quality. I'm excited to see him everytime he lines up. I worry for him because he is not the biggest guy in the world,and as we saw yesterday, idiots will be looking to take him out. We've had several WRs come in and light the place up (Ike, Steve Smith, and even Nicks and Cruz) whose careers were drastically altered by injury. OBJ certainly is the most talented of all of those. I pray he can fulfill his promise. Regardless, let's enjoy the ride!

.....3-12-1....and the one tie against the Cardinals may have been the worst game of all-time

Anyone who compares Beckham's impact with LT's obviously was not watching football in 1981.

I watched LT from day 1 and on every play he was on the field for you anticipated that he would do something great. Same thing with Beckham, every Offensive snap, I'm thinking he will get the ball and something great will happen

I'm taking nothing away from Beckham. Parallel conversations to me, not comparative.

Not really LT-only, but I went to college near Philadelphia in '79. That playoff win against the Eagles in 1981...it is one of my favorite memories as a Giants fan.

If you were in Giants Stadium for Week 10 of the 1979 season, you know what I mean. The Giants - unlikely winners of four straight since Phil took over from Pisarcik - had Staubach and Dallas on the ropes in the fourth quarter. They folded, and eventually finished 6-10, but the team suddenly looked like they belonged in the NFL.

Taylor was a whole different thing. He didn't just do things better than anyone else, like Beckham. He did things nobody had ever done before.

Carson, without him LT could not freelance.

The similarities:

He has raised the level of play for the entire team. I don't think any of his teammates want to be part of the reason any of his performances go wasted with a loss and they all play just that much harder.

He has energized the entire organization and fan base

He is dominating at his position from his first game played

He is a player you want to watch each play just to see what he does next.

The differences:

In addition to all of the above,

With LT everyone in the league quickly new he was something never ever seen before.

Teams went beyond just focusing on him, they changed their offences and eventually created new positions in attempts to try and find a way to just slow him up.

He dominated the entire league as no player had ever done prior to his entering the league. It was like there was the NFL before LT and the NFL after


Odell has lifted the Giants in similar fashion I just think fans are either to young to have truly appreciated or with time have forgotten what LT was like if they think he is an equivalent player

For us "old timers" who have seen the great, near great, and lousy, the thread will give good perspective for all those interested.

My answer is that LT gave me much more confidence than OBJ. And I love what OBJ brings but it is tempered with position. LT actually seemed like superman -- he was big, fast and quick, also mean and scary. And not scary to other teams because of just what he could do to their offense, but just scary physically, if they did not slow him own.

OBJ plays a position where you get hit, you don't hit; where time generally wears hard on the players, where longevity is generally not in the cards, and he is a relatively small guy. He is scary to defenses, but not in the physical way, just what he can to to their defense but ONLY if the QB gets solid blocking.

Love OBJ, but there he is not LT.

Don't forget, the G-Men also had Brad Van Pelt as the other outside LB and a new Nose Tackle in Jim Burt helping to clog the middle. Along with Harry Carson, they definitely helped LT run free and decimate the other team's offense.

You cannot compare the optimism of the late 70s early 80s with Beckhum's arrival this year. My earliest memories of the Giants go back to '68 or '69. My first feeling of optimism was when Rozelle forced the Maras to take George Young as GM. Optimism increased with the Simms pick in '79 and LT 2 years later. After many horrible years of football, you could see the team starting to make the turn in LT's rookie year.

But the reason I say they are not comparable, to me anyway, is because we've won 2 Super Bowls in the last 7 years. So I am not looking at OBJ as this significant turning point for the Giants because of their recent success. No doubt he is an exciting player and I would love to see Eli win another SB before he calls it quits, but the feeling of optimism is not the same as it was back in the early 80s.

Early on you knew that LT was a great. And that TD on the interception against Detroit was the exclamation point. But I also remember that he joined a linebacker crew that was already one of the best in the NFL. Besides Carson you had Van Pelt and Kelly. This was a solid unit that would get even better.

The other thing that caused excitement that year was the trade for Rob Carpenter. Damn! We have a running back. There was still work to do on the OL and at TE, and Simms had to emerge as the QB he would eventually become, but the O was out of the cellar.

OBJ is damn good but the Giants have won recently and some of those players are still around, remember and can do it again.

There is a big difference between the two eras.

In comment 12048900 I Love Clams Casino said:

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.....3-12-1....and the one tie against the Cardinals may have been the worst game of all-time

Was that tie 21-21 on Monday night? That game was a boring waste of 3 hours. It was almost enough to make you not watch another game ever again!

unbelievable so far, much like, and I hate to say it, The Kansas Comet Gale Sayres back in 65. He lasted what, 3 years?, at the top of his game. And so I've vowed to enjoy every minute that Beckham plays and is healthy, and not worry about the long-term implications.

LT was incredibly special. He was involved in almost every play, pass or run, against the other team. Even when he didn't get the sack, he forced the QB to throw too soon. One play he knocked the QB down as he released the ball, got up & tackled the running back that caught it!

As a receiver, ODJ is only involved in the passing plays that the ball is thrown to him. We might have seen a little more of what he's doing to defenses yesterday with Ruben Randell open more.

But it was still very different. The team wasn't showings signs of being good, and there was no reason to think that one outside LB could change things. So I didn't care. I just wanted to watch LT destroy the other team. And he was very reliable.

In comment 12048882 GA5 said:

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but not LT great. LT changed the game the moment he stepped on the field, and had a long career playing at all- world levels.

Agree. The similarity is in the excitement and optimism he brings to the team, along with his otherworldly talent.

Obviously, you can't expect a wide receiver to "change" the way people HAVE had to with L.T. Because of the nature of the positions themselves. The wide out basically does one thing -- run great routes and catch the ball. Sure, he can block downfield the way Plax did, but his dimension is ONE.

A linebacker, on the other hand, can be all over the place and do many different things to disrupt an offense.

Anyway, I'm thrilled we have him. .And yes, I remember watching the early L.T. Even then .... man ... even then you knew

on defense. Didn't matter if it was a run or a pass. OBJ can only impact the game (unless you count run-blocking, which isn't his game) when it is a passing play (and when Eli throws him the ball). Even if it was a run to the opposite side, LT could chase down the back and drag him down. QB's definitely feared him. And his athleticism and toughness gave us a swagger and aura we hadn't seen in over a decade.

I'm sure
1) he will break a few
2) not worried(I know he dropped the one against the Skins)that he will drop a punt

.

us fans. However, it is hard for a WR to have the same impact as a pass rushing OLB. After all, 90% of the time OBJ will rely on somebody else to get him the ball. LT could dominate a game without the help of any other players. Difficult comparison.

and I believe he is comparable to LT simply because of this.

We are a 6-9, sub .500 team and EVERY network is talking about Beckum every single week.

It's like he's put us back on the national stage.

next year doesn't give him the Tim Tebow, RGIII, Johnny Manziel wall to wall training camp coverage

I just hope his career is as successful for him and the organization. As everyone has already said, both have a significant impact to the team and have to be accounted for on every snap. I enjoyed the LT years and look equally forward to the OBJ years.

LT was such a freak, like a man playing against boys, could one fanbase be so lucky?

hope during a tough year. He has given fans a reason to watch the meaningless games. I have been a fan for over 50 years and he is the most dynamic offensive weapon this team has ever had. With a good draft and FA plus the young talent this team will compete for a division title next year. This team had a lot of injuries to key people and also lost a lot of close games, Beckham is a difference maker on offense.

hope during a tough year. He has given fans a reason to watch the meaningless games. I have been a fan for over 50 years and he is the most dynamic offensive weapon this team has ever had. With a good draft and FA plus the young talent this team will compete for a division title next year. This team had a lot of injuries to key people and also lost a lot of close games, Beckham is a difference maker on offense.

him. He's a money maker for the league.It's apparent he's become a target.The taunting call against him was a joke. No one gets hurt and it wasn't directed at anyone. Then the refs let players take cheap shots at him all game long.The missile shot just before the long 80 yard pass play could have been a career ender for him. The NFL better smartin' up.

you are so right. Like LT, you can not take your eyes off of Beckham when the Giants are on offense, and you hope he gets the ball on every play. However, I agree with everyone who wrote that this Giants team is much better than the 1981 team-- that was truly a bad era for Giants football and the team was not very good. All in all, Beckham is the best Giants rookie since LT, and, going back 60 years, he is the best offensive rookie I have ever seen on the Giants.

In comment 12048948 Big Blue Blogger said:

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If you were in Giants Stadium for Week 10 of the 1979 season, you know what I mean. The Giants - unlikely winners of four straight since Phil took over from Pisarcik - had Staubach and Dallas on the ropes in the fourth quarter. They folded, and eventually finished 6-10, but the team suddenly looked like they belonged in the NFL. Taylor was a whole different thing. He didn't just do things better than anyone else, like Beckham. He did things nobody had ever done before.

I was gonna respond harshly because the comparison to LT, the greatest NFL defender ever, is so blatantly over the top. The sense of root optimism Phil brought - a key player with HOF ability- is much more appropriate. Enough ridiculous comparisons for a guy that is not quite yet earning full time double coverage from the defense he's facing.

I was there at the Dallas game in 1981...one of the best games I ever attended. They made the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Joe Danelo made the kick in OT and the place went nuts.

I think the OBJ hype is very similar to the arrival of LT in 1981. Well deserved hype, the kid is having the same kind of impact as LT did. The play after the Ram tried to take his head off, he responded by burning the Rams deep for a huge TD. Very LT like...

As a great Giants coach once said, "let's not put him in Canton quite yet." That said, its obvious OBJ is special. He has the potential to be a great player.

He's the reason I watch the games, just to see what he does next...I hope he crushes Philly Sunday.

In comment 12050643 Ron From NYC said:

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I was there at the Dallas game in 1981...one of the best games I ever attended. They made the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Joe Danelo made the kick in OT and the place went nuts. I think the OBJ hype is very similar to the arrival of LT in 1981. Well deserved hype, the kid is having the same kind of impact as LT did. The play after the Ram tried to take his head off, he responded by burning the Rams deep for a huge TD. Very LT like... As a great Giants coach once said, "let's not put him in Canton quite yet." That said, its obvious OBJ is special. He has the potential to be a great player. He's the reason I watch the games, just to see what he does next...I hope he crushes Philly Sunday.

So Rob, what would you prefer? A 200 yard 3 TD performance in a beat down or a game ending PR for a walk off win?

TD I meant.