New York Giants

5 reasons Week 6 will provide a clean slate for Gmen

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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As the New York Giants taste the bitterness of defeat after Week 5, there is a chance for the organization to remove some of the decay and rust that has built up over the past three weeks.

It is like recovering from a severe sickness and waking up refreshed. This is how head coach Ben McAdoo, Eli Manning and the offenses and defense position players will feel next Sunday. The worst was behind them. It can be a sign of overcoming adversity to defeat Baltimore after Weeks 3, 4 an 5 each with their own sordid plots involving indiscretions, poor discipline and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Here are five reasons for the Giants offering evidence to the contrary that they are the weakest team in the NFC East, as some would have it.

Oct 3, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) talks with Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes (29) during the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Giants 24-10. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

1. Odell Beckham has spent the first five weeks trying to remove the rust from last year’s brouhaha with Josh Norman

First, much diversion had taken place surrounding how Odell Beckham would tolerate criticism of his outlandish play last year. Now, especially after last week’s performance where Beckham’s receiving yardage was a record low 56 yards, Beckham can focus on taking a gradual approach toward improving his statistics each game, focusing less on becoming a media spectacle. Statistics can be sobering to the most talented players. This week will be a reflective moment in the season for Beckham where he will most likely be thinking per NJ.com last week “I have been authentic all season long and it is not helping the team win games. Tempering my personality and being mindful of the bigger picture of being on a team as Tom Coughlin and Tiki Barber have suggested, may be the best approach to take for the time being.” Meetings will take place involving film review and meetings with coaching staff and other consultants to the Giants, as have occurred in recent time. As echoed from the Vatican in New York sports media , John Mara has described Beckham as a highly deserving, very good young man. These words will be sure to rub off on Beckham for the better.

Oct 3, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) reacts after a failed fourth down conversion during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Giants 24-10. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

2. The offensive line deserves a clean slate after enduring much of the brunt of criticism by the New York media

Weston Richburg’s penalties that cost the Giants yardage against Washington stands out like a sore thumb. Ereck Flowers somewhat juvenile treatment of an ESPN reporter is regrettable but not the worst. Behind the problem of an offensive line that ranks toward the bottom overall in the NFL, is the person most knowledgeable, or Eli Manning. Manning knows given his 12 years of professional experience when the blitz is coming and when to stay in the pocket to throw to Sterling Sheppard or Beckham in the backfield. No one else on the field has as much experience as him. Next week, the offensive line will have a chance to make a new name for itself. It will be refreshing to see a rehabilitated Flowers, were he able to return on Sunday, among other position players do their job of buying time for Eli to make the most of his three person partnership of Sheppard, Cruz and Beckham.

Sep 18, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard (87) hauls in a third quarter pass against the New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

3. Underutilized offensive players will begin anew as league leaders

As the last three weeks indicate, the wide receivers could not be as effective as the statistics would indicate. The Giants gained 219 yards while allowing nearly twice that number which is a troubling ratio. With a week to engage in solemn contemplation of the planning of the team’s future for this season, there is room for optimism that Manning can sort out the problems of not being on the same page with his wide receivers. In a game where Manning passed for 199 yards and was 18 for 35 in attempts with a season low quarter back rating, a bounce back which includes touchdowns to each of his wide recievers together with a victory would bring smiles to everyone’s faces from the current expressions of glum brooding stares.

4. Fallibility is a sign that a time has potential it can realize in the final days of the season

Eli loses the football!@Packers cause the strip-sack. #NYGvsGB https://t.co/MUVSUru9je

— NFL (@NFL) October 10, 2016

Dec 27, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive end Brian Robison (96) sacks New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) in the second quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

5. Useful exercise to forget the past and take advantage of the present

If the Giants only thought about the worst-case scenario from this point onward, then other positive possibilities would have less of a chance of coming true. If Beckham thought that he would be baited he would not play with all of his effort and most likely not attain the production in receiving yardage that he had last season of 1,450 yards. The exception, oddly is Manning, whose body language under pressure situations indicates that he is constantly thinking of the past and worst case scenarios because of his pronounced “skittishness.” Unless one is Manning, it is useful to forget about the past and set to work on removing the grime of the past three weeks that has built up on the Giants bid for the playoffs this season.