The New York Giants are in a delicate state right now, and the media has a ton of influence on the emotional balance of the team in the locker room. Letting the outside noise in is what helped cause a meltdown with former head coach Ben McAdoo leading the way in 2017.
Recently, reports have emergered detailing the frustration of various players, especially in regard to the play of Eli Manning and his ability to be successful in the NFL at this point in his career.
Wide receiver, Sterling Shepard, came to the aid of Manning, stating:
“I have total faith in Eli. I haven’t heard that once in this locker room. I haven’t heard that from an individual player. That’s just outside noise and stuff trying to break us apart.”
Well, maybe not in the locker room, but we have certainly heard it in the ESPN studios. Odell Beckham Jr.’s comments about Eli in his infamous interview with ESPN did not go unnoticed. He made it apparent that Manning isn’t going to be moving out of the pocket and that he hasn’t been getting the ball down field to the star receiver.
This could be taken several ways. Either, it’s Manning’s fault for not giving the offense a chance downfield, or it could land in the lap of HC Pat Shurmur and his play calling. No matter the blame, it’s still a negative shot at someone, and that’s unacceptable. Shepard said the right thing in defending his quarterback and ensuring that there’s no issue behind the scenes, but can we really believe him? A 1-5 start, a star’s wayward comments, and a clear lack of effort against the Eagles would indicate otherwise.