As the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles get set to square off for the 167th time, this week on Monday Night Football, concern has swirled on the part of fans of Big Blue that top receiver and human highlight reel, Odell Beckham Jr., may not be able to suit up. Beckham suffered a hamstring injury late in the Giants' come-from-behind, last gasp victory over the San Francisco 49ers this past weekend and has yet to take part in practice for New York. Recent reports though have suggested that an MRI showed no serious damage to ODB's hamstring, just a bit of swelling. Beckham is also said to be "optimistic" he'll play. So, all the worry and hand-wringing for the Big Blue faithful may be all for naught despite his continued practice absence. Fortunately for Philly fans, it sounds like the Eagles aren't taking any chances and have been preparing as if the electrifying wideout will indeed suit up. And surprisingly, at least one member of the Philadelphia secondary believes the group has a blueprint for stopping the unstoppable.
"You need sound coverage," Eagles safety Walter Thurmond told Matt Lombardo of NJ.com. "There's multiple different things that teams can do. You can put an extra guy over the top to where you limit those deep throws down the field and make him play a shorter game, shorten his routes and really frustrate him at the line of scrimmage. A lot of receivers don't like getting touched at the line of scrimmage and since being a press team, we'll use that to our advantage. We'll try to press him and really get him out of his game. That's the thing, especially with speedy receivers it's all about going up there and rattling him."
Of course, not much seems to rattle ODB, the 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year and a guy who has the most reception yards of player in NFL history over the first 16 games of his career. Thus far this season, Beckham Jr. has 31 receptions, 428 yards and three touchdowns, despite dealing with a lingering hamstring injury throughout the preseason. While tendon and ligament issues are likely the only thing that can slow a player like Beckham, who relies on elite quickness out of his breaks and stop-and-start ability when running after the catch, there seems almost zero chance he sits out a matchup against an NFC East rival with first place in the division potentially on the line.
And there also seems beyond zero chance that the Eagles somehow possess a blueprint for stopping him. While Thurmond (27 tackles, four passes defensed, three interceptions) and fellow safety Malcolm Jenkins ( 37 tackles, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles) have combined to become one of the league's better safety tandems - Pro Football Focus recently released rankings of the top-five safeties in the league and Jenkins (90.5 grade) and Thurmand (88.1 grade) came in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Top Eagles corner and big-money free agent addition Byron Maxwell has been enjoying improved performances thanks to a more limited role and former slot corner Nolan Carroll has played well across from him. That being said, the Eagles defense is currently 26th in the league, allowing an average of 279.6 passing yards per game. They've also given up eight touchdowns while collecting six interceptions. Of course, considering the amount of snaps the Eagle 'D' is forced to take playing opposite Chip Kelly's shoot first, shoot second, shoot third, punt offense, it's really not fair to compare them to the rest of the league on a per game basis.
Still, with Beckham presumably playing and the Giants prone to high-volume passing numbers, Thurmond and Co. are likely to be tested time and again on Monday night. And if Beckham is anywhere close to healthy, it will be a tall order for the Eagles to contain him, meaning this game could turn into a shootout and quick.
