Jay Gruden explains the difference between the Giants of 2016 and 2017
Gruden called Beckham the best receiver in the league
By
Jared Dubin
•
1 min read
The 2016 New York Giants were a playoff team. They won 11 games behind an utterly dominant defense, and were the only team to beat the No. 1 seeded Cowboys more than once.
The 2017 season has not gone the same way. New York has just two wins in 11 games. The defense has fallen back to the pack, and the offense has gotten even worse. Some of that is due to the terrible offensive line, and some of it is due to a series of injuries.
When Washington coach Jay Gruden (whose team is set to take on Big Blue on Thanksgiving night) looks at the 2016 and 2017 Giants, he sees one major difference -- one simple explanation for why this year's team is so much worse.
What does Jay Gruden see as the biggest difference from the 2017 Giants from the 2016 Giants? "Odell Beckham,'' Gruden said.
— Paul Schwartz (@NYPost_Schwartz) November 21, 2017
Difference between #Giants this year and last?
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) November 21, 2017
Jay Gruden: "Odell Beckham. Without Odell Beckham, it's a huge difference. He's the best receiver in the league."
Whether or not you agree that Beckham is the best receiver in the league, it's clear that he was the best player on the Giants, and one of the only reasons their offense wasn't the single worst in football in 2016. Beckham accounted for 26 percent of the Giants' total yards last season, and 10 of their 32 offensive touchdowns.
Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard have tried to carry the pass-catching load in his absence, but neither is nearly as consistent or explosive as Beckham, and both have missed time with injuries. Eli Manning is now throwing to the likes of Roger Lewis Jr., Tavarres King, and Travis Rudolph -- nobody's idea of an NFL-caliber receiving corps.
However, maybe Beckham would have been able to help the Giants stave off a drop into the nether regions of the NFL's offensive rankings, but he wouldn't have helped their sagging defense. The Giants ranked 10th in yards allowed and second in both points allowed and defensive DVOA last season; they're 31st, 21st, and 29th, respectively, in 2017.
