As long as Odell Beckham Jr. has been a member of the New York Giants we have heard this.

It’s difficult to get the ball down the field because opposing teams play soft zones. They use Cover 2 crowd the middle of the field. They run linebackers back into passing lanes. The Giants’ passing attack then is reduced to the underneath throws Kerry Wynn Jersey , the catch-and-run stuff, get the completion and hope Beckham or someone else could create magic.Sometimes that has worked. Too often is has not.The Giants drafted Evan Engram a year ago believing that a tight end who would threaten the seams vertically would require attention from defenses and open space for Beckham. Only, Engram was rarely used as a vertical threat.Well, another commonly accepted way of attacking the soft zones, the six- or seven-man fronts used by defenses bound and determined to prevent the big play, to keep everything in front and make opposing offenses go the long way is to run at them.To that end, new GM Dave Gettleman drafted spectacular running back Saquon Barkley No. 2 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. Only so far it’s not working out the way the Giants had hoped. Beckham has 30 receptions in four games, on pace for a career-best 120. Barkley has 456 yards from scrimmage, 114.0 per game, and has gotten to at least 100 in all four games.The problem, though, is that the Giants haven’t really been able to get both players performing at their spectacular bests at the same time. At least not often enough. The Giants have scored fewer than 20 points in three of their four games.Sunday, while Beckham and Manning were struggling to get on the same page and the Giants were unable, unwilling or both to challenge the weak New Orleans secondary down the field, Barkley and the running game languished as an afterthought.Barkley carried only 10 times, a season-low, for 44 yards. He caught six passes, but only a couple of those were designed plays. Most were check downs or dump offs with Manning under pressure or unable to find a downfield throw he liked.Sunday evening, with the emotion of Sunday’s loss still simmering, coach Pat Shurmur was asked if he regretted not running the ball more with Barkley.“No, I think there were times we tried to run the ball. I don’t regret it, he needs to touch the ball,” Shurmur said. “Certainly by the looks of things here http://www.giantscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-curtis-riley-jersey , him touching the ball more would be good.”Monday afternoon, having watched the film and had time to re-consider the way the game went, Shurmur had a somewhat different take.“Looking back on it, I think Barkley had 18 touches yesterday. I’d like to have a couple more probably, and those being runs certainly. We want to run the ball, we want to run the ball and when we want to throw it, we want to throw it, and we want to be explosive and efficient doing it. That’s the reality of it,” he said.“I wish I would’ve called more runs. That’s the reality of that, because I think the ball in Saquon’s hands is a good thing.”It’s a good thing because Barkley is a terrific player. He is averaging 4.6 yards per rushing attempt. It’s a good thing because when you feed him the ball that’s more opportunities for him to do things like break 28 yard runs, which he did Sunday. It’s a good thing thing because when he does that, and the defense knows they will be getting a steady dose of Barkley, they have to creep to the line of scrimmage. They have to load the box. They have to abandon that soft zone more often.Which should open more throwing lanes for Manning, lead to more opportunities to get the ball down the field and, ultimately, more big-play chances for Beckham.Barkley didn’t hesitate when asked what he thought the answer was to the soft zones played by the Dallas Cowboys and by the Saints.“Personally, run the ball. That’s something where I step in, where the offensive line steps in, and that’s something that we’ve got to take personal,” Barkley said When we see a team playing cover two and playing soft zone, that has to be disrespectful to us and that’s something we are really aware of and we hope to solve that problem really soon.”In both of those games, though, the Giants seemed to move away from their rookie running back. He carried just 11 times against the Cowboys and Manning threw a season-high 44 passes. In a game that wasn’t out of reach until the fourth quarter. Sunday Rhett Ellison Jersey , same thing. Only 10 runs for Barkley, a second 40-pass game (41 overall) for Manning. Again, New Orleans didn’t pull away until midway through the fourth quarter.Barkley referred to Beckham as “unstoppable,” which is really what the Giants were hoping the combination of Barkley, Beckham and their other play-makers would be.Manning passed the ball eight times in the red zone on Sunday vs. the Saints. Not a single one of those throws went toward Beckham. It looked as though he was the primary target on perhaps one of those throws but was covered.“What teams do in the red zone typically is they’ll double your star and then you move on,” Shurmur said. The Giants need to figure out a way to get Barkley and Beckham complementing each other, a way that forces defenses to have to make decisions. Too often so far this season each star has been a decoy, or an after thought, or a safety valve.What they haven’t been often enough, especially together, are weapons that used to attack defenses.Shurmur said Monday that the Giants have to “Keep looking for that right combination of things that gets us in the end zone.”Yes, they do. They need to find it before it’s too late. If it isn’t already too late for this season.Odell Beckham contract carries responsibilities with it One of the big reasons the New York Giants felt comfortable entering into negotiations that ended up making Odell Beckham Jr. the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history is that they were impressed by how Beckham handled the last few months. It made them believe that at age 25 and coming off the first serious injury of his life, that Beckham had finally found the maturity the Giants have been looking for him to display.“I think Odell personally is moving in the right direction,” co-owner John Mara said at the beginning training camp when he acknowledged that contract negotiations would be coming. “It certainly had an effect on our desire to start negotiating. So, he’s had the right attitude all along and we expect him to have a great season.”Now that Beckham has that mega-deal, one that puts him 10th in the NFL in terms of guaranteed money at $65 million, second among non-quarterback to Von Miller ($70 million) and just behind Eli Manning ($67 million) Beckham has responsibilities beyond being a great player.Beckham is the face of the Giants franchise. That used to be Manning, but in reality it’s been Beckham for a while. One day, that mantel will pass to Saquon Barkley. The historic commitment the Giants just made to one of the two most talented players to ever wear a Giants uniform — the other, of course, being Lawrence Taylor — places that responsibility officially on Beckham.And it is a responsibility.Mara said Tuesday that it was “important” for the Giants to see how well Beckham handled the last few months.“I think he’s matured quite a bit. I think that stuff [off the field distractions] hopefully is in the past,” Mara said. “I think he’s ready to go on and be the type of player and citizen that we expect him to be, and I think he will be.” The numbers show just how historically good Beckham has been Cheap Landon Collins Jersey , especially of course in his first three seasons. In those first three seasons, Beckham netted more than 1,300 receiving yards, 10+ touchdowns and 90+ receptions each year.His records include:Most receptions through the first 15 games of an NFL career (110)Fastest player to reach 100 career receptions (14 games)Youngest player in NFL history (22 years, 53 days) with multiple games having 10+ catches in a single season (4)First player since 1967 with 30 receiving touchdowns in his first 35 gamesOnly receiver with 3,000 receiving yards or more in his first 30 games (3,035)Only player in NFL history to reach 200 catches in 30 or less gamesSecond-most touchdowns by a wide receiver in his first two NFL seasons (since 1992)Second-most 60+ yard touchdowns (9) by a wide receiver in a three-year spanBeckham also holds Giants franchise records for most receptions (91) by a rookie, most rookie receiving yards (1,305) and touchdown catches (12) by a rookie and is already 10th on franchise’s all-time receptions list.He is a great player. He’s lightning, a guy turns the ordinary into the extraordinary in the blink of an eye.What Beckham needs to do now is keep the focus on those extraordinary talents. He needs to show that the last few months were a real sign of a maturing person and not just an orchestrated effort to be on his best behavior so that he would get paid.There can’t be any more boat trips. No more peeing in the end zone celebrations that embarrass the head coach, especially one like Pat Shurmur who has gone way above and beyond in an effort to forge a bond with Beckham. There can’t be any more on-field meltdowns that lead to suspensions.There has to be a Beckham who focuses solely on displaying those extraordinary gifts he has on the field. A Beckham who leads his teammates, teammates who love him and want him to lead them. A Beckham who represents the Giants, an iconic NFL franchise, the way such a franchise deserves to be represented.A Beckham who’s purpose is to help the Giants win football games, to win titls, and who doesn’t find ways to draw attention to himself for things that have nothing to do with how wonderfully gifted he is.Beckham’s legacyBeckham know what he wants his legacy to be.“This [contract] is kind of just something that you get out of the way,” Beckham said of the five-year contract extension he signed yesterday. “Honestly, it sounds crazy enough, but I don’t think I’ve done anything really since I’ve been here. I have goals for myself. I don’t think I have truly been able to achieve them, even with the success that I’ve had. It’s not really where I want to be. Like I said, before I was even in the NFL I wanted to be legendary. Yeah the money is great, you can take care of your family, you can take care of kids one day that you’ll possibly have. But my goal was always to be in the Hall of Fame Cheap B.J. Hill Jersey , to win trophies, to be able to leave a legacy that will be remembered way past any money that you make.”Some things will have to be different if he is to be remembered the way he wants to be.Beckham was asked directly if he felt he had matured. His answer?“Do you see this polo? I’m growing up,” he said. “Honestly, it just was something that, I won’t say proud of anything that’s ever happened, but I’m able to take everything that’s happened for me and make myself into a man and learn from those mistakes and be able to look myself in the mirror and have to deal with those things. It wasn’t the best thing to happen to me to date, but what I got to learn and take and grow from, was everything that I needed in my life and now I’m able to take that and keep going forward and just be the best me that I can be.”Does he feel added responsibility because of the money?“I don’t know if it puts any extra that I haven’t already put on myself. Coming in early in training camp, being able to be here and knowing where I’m at in life, and knowing that I do need to be a leader, and there are guys that are watching me and I need to be there on days that I need to be bringing energy somewhere else,” Beckham said. “I don’t know if it’s any extra responsibility that I didn’t already put on myself going into this year, year five, being a vet. I couldn’t say it was any extra, but I know that my goals are if not the same, higher. I just want to be able to be my very, very best.”Beckham’s “very, very best,” on and off the field is what the Giants are paying for. Right now, there is lots of optimism that they will get it.