The option pass from Odell Beckham Jr. to Russell Shepard tha

t went for a 49-yard touchdown early in the second half did not win Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears for the New York Giants. It did Doug Kotar Color Rush Jersey , give the Giants an early third-quarter lead after an awful offensive first half and alert everyone to the idea that maybe, just maybe, an upset was brewing in the Meadowlands.Beckham’s wrong-footed 50-yard throw was impressive.It was not, however, the most amazing thing about the momentum-changing play. What was?How about the fact that Shepard, the wide-open by 20 yards recipient of the pass from Beckham, wasn’t even supposed to be in the pass route. He said he “freelanced” the play.What was Shepard supposed to be doing?“Probably blocking Khalil Mack so he could throw the ball,” Shepard said.Shepard said he saw the Chicago defense all go to the right, where Beckham was moving around behind the line of scrimmage with the ball, and “kinda just snuck through the crease.”The only question was whether Beckham would find him. Shepard said he was screaming and waving and, just when it appeared Beckham would run with the ball, he pulled up and launched it to Shepard.“He did an amazing job of seeing me,” Shepard said. “For him to see me and not know I was supposed to be there is crazy.”“Sometimes you have to draw it up in the dirt,” said Giants quarterback Eli Manning.Beckham said the play was designed for Bennie Fowler.“I told Bennie (Fowler) I don’t care what happens, I’m going to throw it to you and they double covered him and this grown man (Shepard) from LSU who I’ve played with for a long time, I saw him down the middle of the field and I was like this can’t be real and I just launched it to him,” Beckham said. “It’s all good, he wasn’t supposed to do that, but he’s just playing football and he came up with a huge play for us. Very, very, very big play.”Beckham said he spoke to his teammates at halftime Curtis Riley Color Rush Jersey , with the Giants trailing 14-10.“I addressed the team at halftime and I told them there’s just something I had to get off my chest. I love these boys,” Beckham said. “Every time I put on a helmet, whether it’s practice or it’s a game, I’m going to give it my all and I feel like I owed them more, to give them all of me and whatever that entails.”Shepard said he waited so long for the ball to reach him that it was “like a punt.”“He’s (Beckham) the best person I’ve seen with a ball in his hands. He can hit a home run in an MLB stadium, he can kick a soccer ball. I’ve known him since he was 16, 17 and he’s probably one of the best people I’ve see with a ball in his hands. He kicked a 50-yard field goal a couple weeks ago.”Shepard’s freelancing, combined with Beckham’s vision and arm, didn’t win the game for the Giants on Sunday. It did, though, give them a chance. Other players will get a chance to step up on offense for the Giants, but history shows that they might not be able to produce in quite the same way. Let’s look at some numbers."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections New York Giants NewsGiants Training Camp 2016Giants vs. Eagles 2015, Week 17New York Giants NewsPat Shurmur looking for a village to contribute to Giants offense after Beckham tradeNew,69commentsOther players will get a chance to step up on offense for the Giants, but history shows that they might not be able to produce in quite the same way. Let’s look at some numbers.EDTShareTweetShareSharePat Shurmur looking for a village to contribute to Giants offense after Beckham tradeJames Lang-USA TODAY SportsGiants head coach Pat Shurmur tried very hard to take the high road when he spoke about Odell Beckham Jr. with reporters during the league meetings earlier this week, but in getting a look at the full context of what he had to say, it didn’t sound as though Shurmur was too concerned about having a guy who was arguably the best receiver in the NFL removed from the roster. “Odell is an outstanding player, but it is a business and Dave addressed that,” Shurmur said. “I really believe that we got good value in return. I am one of those that believes a trade can be good for both parties. We came to an agreement with Cleveland and we sent them an outstanding player. We got good value in return.”Shurmur, who early on in his press briefing said he reached out to Beckham after the trade was consummated but has yet to hear back from the receiver, did insist that the narrative that the team grew tired of Beckham’s antics was “not accurate” and that it “was business.”But in trying to explain the plan on how he intended to move on without Beckham Calvin Munson Color Rush Jersey , Shurmur’s comments might have raised more questions than answers. For example, he spoke about the opportunity there for the current set of skill position players to contribute to the cause, noting that it “takes a village to spread the ball around.”“I think when you play offense, you try and get the most out of the players you have,” Shurmur said. “You have to use their skill sets. We have a lot of fine players on offense. We will spread the ball.”He pointed to the last four weeks of the season, which Beckham missed due to a quad injury, and noted how the Giants offense was able to score their highest points of the year in those games in which they also went 1-3 and suffered one shutout. In reality, the average difference in points per game and touchdowns per game scored in games with and without Beckham isn’t that significant.With Beckham in the lineup last season, the Giants averaged 21.4 points per game and scored an average of 1.3 passing touchdowns. Without him, the Giants averaged 23.0 points and 1.5 touchdowns per game.To even contemplate that Beckham’s absence from the lineup in favor of spreading the ball around more had that much of an impact on the averages is misleading if one considers that once Beckham was forced from the lineup, the Giants also cut down on average sacks allowed per game, going from 3.4 in the games in which Beckham played to 1.5 in those final four games without him. The big question for the Giants is if they have the personnel to replace Beckham’s production. One such player who will probably see an increase in his pass targets is tight end Evan Engram, who got better once he was able to shake the injury bug last year.In his first seven games (with Beckham in the lineup), Engram was targeted 33 times, catching 23 balls for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns. Over the last four games (without Beckham in the lineup), Engram caught 22 of 31 passes for 320 yards and 1 touchdown.“When he got healthier, he was able to produce in a way we think he can,” Shurmur said of Engram, who is entering his third season this year. “He had production when he was in there, but then he got hurt a few times. By the end he was feeling good, running well and playing well.”The Giants are also hoping to get more production out of Sterling Shepard and newcomer Golden Tate.Tate and Shepard have very similar skill sets as both have functioned as slot receivers. But Shurmur also believes that both can function on the edges. “I am excited about (Tate) Michael Strahan Color Rush Jersey ,” he said. “His skill set is like Sterling’s. When we run the ball, they are gritty blockers and you can play them on the edge and in the slot. “Then, when you throw the ball, they have both done good work in the slot and have had production outside. You can play both guys wherever.”Perhaps, but in looking at the production, it’s debatable whether both players can excel from the slot and from the outside. Shepard, who in three seasons has played in 16 games both as a rookie in 2016 and in 2018, saw a career high 393 snaps playing outside last season.In terms of his production, Shepard managed to catch just one more pass in 2018 (66, a new career high) than he did during his rookie season, when he recorded 65 receptions. He also set a new career high in receiving yards with 872; however, he only caught four touchdown passes (all from the slot), which was half of what he caught in his rookie season.In fact, per Pro Football Focus, all of Shepard’s 14 touchdown passes have come from him working from the slot, a stat that would raise question about just how productive he could be working from both the slot and from the outside if scoring is your sole criteria.Tate played in a total of 15 games last season, losing a game due to a mid-year trade from Detroit to Philadelphia. He finished with 77 receptions for 795 yards and 4 touchdowns combined in 2018, his lowest receiving output since 2012 when he was with Seattle.And what about running back Saquon Barkley? Can he be a player the Giants might build the offense around?“I don’t look at it that way. We have an outstanding running back that is going to get his touches. We are going to build an offense to score more points,” Shurmur said. If they’re going to do that, they better still have more pieces to the puzzle they’re looking to add to replace Beckham’s production.