To me, his steel-trap hands, blocking ability and toughness are as advertised. He can definitely play slot in the NFL.
But I have to say, his YAC ability is not as good as I thought it was. There have now been several times where he is tackled in the open field. He was billed as a Steve Smith Sr. type player but I do not see that fight after the catch. (Nobody is Steve Smith Sr.)
I look around the NFL at the top slot WR's - I do not see Shepard having the speed + quickness of a Crowder, Doug Baldwin, etc. and I was under the impression his selection in the 2nd round indicated a top notch slot WR and a realistic OROY candidate.
I am happy with his overall play and he's definitely a legit NFL player but I have to admit, I was hoping for a higher skill level that I haven't seen on display, thus far. That play last week where he dropped the corner route in the end zone (yes, a contested catch but the same one he made @DAL) was disappointing as well.
What are Giants fans impressions thus far? As advertised? Better or worse than you expected?
Seems like most of his catches have been contested and don't really allow for some good YAC.
That, and Eli is one of the worst QBs in the league at hitting his WRs in stride on short passes - far too often the WR has to adjust his stride to make up for an off target throw
I think once they get that ironed out you'll be able to evaluate him fairly. Right now - unless it's OBJ, nobody is getting YAC, hell, or even open most of the time. Can't put all of that on Shepard.
Seems like most of his catches have been contested and don't really allow for some good YAC.
That, and Eli is one of the worst QBs in the league at hitting his WRs in stride on short passes - far too often the WR has to adjust his stride to make up for an off target throw
Joe, a little hyperbole my friend? One of the WORST QBs in the league re hitting people in stride? Perhaps earlier in his career, but he's made his living hitting people like Cruz, OBJ in stride, imo..He's certainly not one of the best, but far from one of the worst, imo
OK, I know there's a joke here.... what did I miss? lol
McAdoo hasn't helped with his pathetic game planning
Crowder doesn't have an Odell Beckham on his team, isn't a rookie, and the Giants don't have nearly as good an OL as Washington. Trent Williams has really developed into a premier LT if he wasn't already.
For the record, Shepard is projected to far surpass both Crowder and Baldwin rookie year production.
Shepard even has a chance to surpass Crowder's production this year with a good second half.
He's also still just a rookie.
Look at the Collins threads from last year. He was considered a bust after his rookie year by some after playing out of position and on a historically bad defense. Similarly, this offense has no pace and isn't clicking and Shepard is still making a lot of big catches in traffic, for 1st downs. That's more important right now than his YAC, which will come in time. Can't teach getting hit hard and holding on to the ball.
OK, I know there's a joke here.... what did I miss? lol
Goes back to area "Thomas" junk's summer thread about the imminent trade of Anthony Davis, which he then claimed was scotched by the dastardly Baalke.
Part of it for me is that Victor Cruz looks more explosive NOW, still and Shepard is playing his position. Of course, we couldnt've known this but we also had Harris backing up Cruz in the slot.
I am happy with Shep but was expecting more raw talent, and now, with 20/20 hindsight, it looks like we just should've kept Cruz in the slot and taken Cody Whitehair or Jarran Reed (2 studs on the LOS).
The only way this offense scores right now is on tough/contested catches, great throws, or OBJ making something out of nothing. Its really sad to watch and needs to change starting Nov. 6th vs Philly. There is no chance we win that game with the offense in its current state.
Part of it for me is that Victor Cruz looks more explosive NOW, still and Shepard is playing his position. Of course, we couldnt've known this but we also had Harris backing up Cruz in the slot.
I am happy with Shep but was expecting more raw talent, and now, with 20/20 hindsight, it looks like we just should've kept Cruz in the slot and taken Cody Whitehair or Jarran Reed (2 studs on the LOS).
Seriously? After seeing what the Giants went through last year with Preston Parker and Harris in the slot, you wanted to roll the dice on Cruz who would have gone almost 2 years without playing a meaningful down of football?
10 times out of 10 in the same situation the Giants take Shepard there with the knowledge they had of the situation.
Now, if the Giants had signed a stop gap like Anquan Boldin or acquired another veteran legit slot receiver then maybe you adjust, but otherwise Shepard is the pick there every time.
Why? Simple, the offensive line stinks, they can not move anyone off the ball. They ate totally one dimensional and therefore can be defended pretty easily by even a mediocre defense.
Our defense would have no problem, with this offense, none at all. Eli getting older is also an issue, and I think he is hurting and therefore a little more skittish.
But the culprit is Eric Flowers, he is the big first round pick that was supposed to be our great left tackle, plain and simply he stinks and is a total bust. The rest of our Oline is not very good either, we don't have any offensive lineman on this team that is a really good player, Richburg and Pugh are average players, nothing more, hell even jerry has been average this season, but our right tackles are poor and our left tackle is poor, with an older immobile QB, that is a recipe for disaster.
This issue is totally on the GM first and the head coach, he agreed with Reese, how else did he get hired, and this simply has not worked at all, the good news is the defense is at least good enough to keep us in games, but unless this offensive line improves measurably, this team is going nowhere.
So Shepherd has been as good as he was supposed to be, why is Beckham's numbers not as good, has he forgot how to be dominant? No, Eli does not have enough time and does not trust this offensive line, that is the entire issue.
Oy vey.
But the hands have been as advertised and I've been really impressed by his toughness. He hasn't really had a chance to show his YAC ability so it's tough to judge that part of his game so far, he's usually getting drilled right after Eli gets it to him.
He's still a rookie on pace for roughly 65/800/5, he's actually had big games for us (Saints), he's shown some plus skills (hands/toughness). I do think the size/speed thing will limit him, but he can still be a valuable player for us and is only going to get better.
Part of it for me is that Victor Cruz looks more explosive NOW, still and Shepard is playing his position. Of course, we couldnt've known this but we also had Harris backing up Cruz in the slot.
I am happy with Shep but was expecting more raw talent, and now, with 20/20 hindsight, it looks like we just should've kept Cruz in the slot and taken Cody Whitehair or Jarran Reed (2 studs on the LOS).
How many is several? 2 or 3? If that's the case how can you tell anything from such a tiny sample size?
He came out of the gates pretty fast and I think paired with the rave reviews he got in camp it created semi-unrealistic expectations.. the talk about him being Beckham v2.0 seemed pretty crazy to me but I still think he's going to be an excellent player. It's been 7 games and it's not like he's struggling.. he's just on the heels of a few quiet weeks which is normal for most rookie WR's.
He came out of the gates pretty fast and I think paired with the rave reviews he got in camp it created semi-unrealistic expectations.. the talk about him being Beckham v2.0 seemed pretty crazy to me but I still think he's going to be an excellent player. It's been 7 games and it's not like he's struggling.. he's just on the heels of a few quiet weeks which is normal for most rookie WR's.
I think he might actually have "stronger" hands than Beckham. If he gets it, it's his. Beckham's body control, explosion, and hand-eye are ninja level; but I don't think his hands are as vice-grip as Shep's.
They have to play their top 3 WRs though and Shepard has to play the slot.
Not saying Shepard deserves to be benched I would just experiment with this line-up and see if it sparks something.
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YAC and he didn't?
Seems like most of his catches have been contested and don't really allow for some good YAC.
That, and Eli is one of the worst QBs in the league at hitting his WRs in stride on short passes - far too often the WR has to adjust his stride to make up for an off target throw
Joe, a little hyperbole my friend? One of the WORST QBs in the league re hitting people in stride? Perhaps earlier in his career, but he's made his living hitting people like Cruz, OBJ in stride, imo..He's certainly not one of the best, but far from one of the worst, imo
I stand by my comments. Deep ball is different, but Eli is TERRIBLE at leading his receivers on short passes.
His worst may be the bubble screen - he always throws it high and behind the WR so the WR has to adjust rather than just snatching the ball while beginning to move downfield.
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In comment 13190033 jlukes said:
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YAC and he didn't?
Seems like most of his catches have been contested and don't really allow for some good YAC.
That, and Eli is one of the worst QBs in the league at hitting his WRs in stride on short passes - far too often the WR has to adjust his stride to make up for an off target throw
Joe, a little hyperbole my friend? One of the WORST QBs in the league re hitting people in stride? Perhaps earlier in his career, but he's made his living hitting people like Cruz, OBJ in stride, imo..He's certainly not one of the best, but far from one of the worst, imo
I stand by my comments. Deep ball is different, but Eli is TERRIBLE at leading his receivers on short passes.
His worst may be the bubble screen - he always throws it high and behind the WR so the WR has to adjust rather than just snatching the ball while beginning to move downfield.
I don't remember him throwing that pass high to Nicks. Am I just not remembering?
I thought the bubble screen to Nicks was one of the best plays of that era since Nicks was so smooth once he had the ball almost always made the first guy miss for a decent pick up.
Unless those were just straight WR screens and not bubble screens.
I always found Eli to struggle most with the RB screen, and the OL has always struggled with it, but I'm not sure where the blame lies, OL, Eli, RB - Tiki did fine with it, but that was a different OL and RB.
vereen caught a lot of screens last year that did well.
What plays last weekend did he fail to make YAC?? I don't recall any.......
I like our WRs, especially Shepard. HE's a long term solution. In the off-season i'd like to see the Giants bring in a bigger target at WR or TE.
I like our WRs, especially Shepard. HE's a long term solution. In the off-season i'd like to see the Giants bring in a bigger target at WR or TE.
Agreed. I would love for them to target Michael Floyd, even if it means getting rid of Cruz
Honestly, he's best suited to the slot and NYG should find an outside bigger possession receiver to compliment OBJ and him.
You hit a guy in stride, those are the plays that gain yardage.....
We all wanted SS to be a vet from the opening gate.....it hasn't happened....but at least you see a play here and there, that shows the talent.....it's just a matter of getting on the same page with Eli, and being more consistent....
But Eli does need that big possession WR, a Nicks Type, that he has confidence in, that can go up and fight for the ball....he basically has "small" receivers....
You hit a guy in stride, those are the plays that gain yardage.....
We all wanted SS to be a vet from the opening gate.....it hasn't happened....but at least you see a play here and there, that shows the talent.....it's just a matter of getting on the same page with Eli, and being more consistent....
But Eli does need that big possession WR, a Nicks Type, that he has confidence in, that can go up and fight for the ball....he basically has "small" receivers....
I like our WRs, especially Shepard. HE's a long term solution. In the off-season i'd like to see the Giants bring in a bigger target at WR or TE.
Unless they want to bring back the Black Unicorn, it's slim pickings in the TE FA market.
His short to intermediate accuracy is not very good (ironically more accurate downfield), so I'd agree with the yac.
Quite frankly Eli's really not a good fit for a pure wco. We worried if this was the right offense for him a few years ago but he had two very good years. But the move to a more straight up wco is now exposing his lack of fit for this type of scheme to some degree.
Mcadoo can adjust this of course.
They aren't attacking the same way, for various reasons, but the system hasn't changed.
You hit a guy in stride, those are the plays that gain yardage.....
We all wanted SS to be a vet from the opening gate.....it hasn't happened....but at least you see a play here and there, that shows the talent.....it's just a matter of getting on the same page with Eli, and being more consistent....
But Eli does need that big possession WR, a Nicks Type, that he has confidence in, that can go up and fight for the ball....he basically has "small" receivers....
I think Cruz is taller than Nicks. Nicks is the bigger body by a few pounds - stockier, but think Nicks was 5'11 and VC is 6'00.