(Neil Miller/Sportsday Wire)
The Giants and Jets may not be the best teams entering the 2015 season, but they have two players that are unquestioned among the elite at their positions.
Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., met up with Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis for the first time on Saturday night in the Jets’ 28-18 win, and it was a matchup that left you wanting more.
The highlight of the battle between them, and the game as a whole, was when Beckham, Jr., went full extension and made a one-handed catch over Revis at midfield. Even though he landed out of bounds, the play was a statement that the sophomore wide receiver is not scared of anybody in this league that tries to defend him.
On if he though he could haul that in while staying inbounds, Beckham, Jr. said, “I knew I was close to out-of-bounds, and I was just trying to make sure that I caught the ball first. By the time I looked down, I couldn’t get my other foot in, but there was another ball down the sideline that I have to make the play— it’s just plays that we need made— we need big plays, and we all have to do it, so on my behalf, it’s just one of those balls that I’ll be thinking about.”
They will clash again when the Jets and Giants meet in Week 13, December 6th. This game will be as pivotal to the teams’ playoff hopes as the one they played on Christmas Eve 2011, when the Giants won it and that began their march to a Super Bowl championship.
Beckham said of how did he felt about the matchup Saturday night with Revis, “I think it’s going to be a very good matchup during the season. He’s one of the best out there. I think it’ll be better once we all watch film and we really see how he’s going to play and reach our game plan for a team. It was great to be able to just get out there, get into the offense a little bit, and have fun.”
On if he feels Revis lives up to his pedigree and everything that’s been said about him, Beckham said, “He does, yeah. He’s good, and that’s for sure. He’s been one of the best [cornerbacks] in the league and he’s a great player, so you have to tip your hat to him.”
Beckham, Jr., said of how exciting it is for him to go up against a guy like that in this kind of situation, “That’s what you play for— you play to go against those guys—Joe Haden, [Richard] Sherman, Pat Pete [Patrick Peterson]. All those corners who are known for being the best, that’s what you play for— to be able to go against them. So it was definitely a lot of fun, and much respect to him [Darrelle Revis].”
Beckham, Jr., finished with 5 catches for 31 yards on Saturday night.
Beckham, Jr., didn’t complete a catch in his first two preseason games, and he said of getting some balls thrown his way in this one, “It’s still preseason. None of those catches count for anything really, so it doesn’t really matter as much, but it’s still great to be able to come out here and run routes and get open in the game and be able to catch passes. But like I said, there’s still so much we need to improve on that it’s kind of irrelevant.”
With one week to go in the preseason, Beckham, Jr., said of where he would assess where he is individually and where the team is at this point, “I think we’re on the right path— there’s just a lot of corrections that need to be made. And they’re small things. We’ll be able to go in and watch the film and see how guys played, and the unfortunate side of this is that it’s all a business. After today, there’s only going to be 75 [players], and after next week, there’s going to be 53. The reality of it is that not everybody who’s here [now] is going to be here [for the regular season]— that’s hard to deal with, but at the same time, once you find those guys who are the 53, I think you can really see who comes together and how you come together. It’s kind of all hard to tell right now.
Beckham, Jr. said to the question of if he walked out of there Saturday night with any less confidence in this offense than maybe you had going in, “No. Same amount of confidence going in. We just have to work through it— it’s not going to be clicking from the get-go, and like I said, we were [5-0] in the preseason last year and we didn’t have the best of seasons, so I don’t think wins and losses right now are really as important as what we need to be doing.”