Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Week 3 (Redskins v. Giants) Game Ball: Sterling Shepard


Even in a loss as horrible as the Giants’ loss to the ‘Skins was, there can be a bright spot or two.  Now, in this game there may not have been two, but there was one man deserving of this week’s game ball: Sterling Shepard.


In a game where many of the Giants’ veterans behaved as if they had never touched NFL turf before, the ROOKIE showed composure.  Shepard had himself a nice day (5/7 rec., 73 yds., 1 TD), which started with a TD catch that had Giants fans leaping off their couches in the first quarter.


More importantly, Shepard didn’t follow the example of the Giants’ knucklehead, helmet-swinging star wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr.  He kept his head down and did his job, even scoring a smothering block at one point that would bring a tear to any receivers coach’s eye.

That’s not to say the kid was an emotionless receiver-bot.  On the opening drive of the fourth quarter – you know, the emotional climax of the game where Richburg got himself ejected and Will Tye decided to cut his route short in the endzone – Shepard took a serious hit from everyone’s favorite Redskin, Josh Norman, on a gutsy catch over the middle.  Though Norman was penalized for the hit, Sterling took the opportunity to reinforce the ref’s point with what I’m sure were some choice words.  The important fact here, though, is that he got the job done first – he made the catch and then got up to remind the vet that this rookie isn’t going to be intimidated.

It was Shep’s mental performance as much as his physical performance that earned him this week’s game ball.  He put Josh Norman and the rest of the league on notice – this rookie is ready to ball.

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