Washington coach Jay Gruden is preparing to face a 2-8 Giants team on Thanksgiving, and he thinks he knows why that Giants team is having such a disappointing season: Odell Beckham.
Specifically, Gruden says Beckham is the best receiver in football, and when he went down, the Giants were bound to have a rough go of it.
Asked to name the difference between the Giants this year and last year, Gruden answered, “Odell Beckham.”
“Without Odell Beckham, it’s a huge difference. He’s the best receiver in the league,” Gruden said, via Art Stapleton of USA Today.
Losing Beckham certainly hurts, but there’s a huge flaw in Gruden’s line of thinking: Beckham played in four games this season, and the Giants were 0-4 in those games. There must be more to the Giants losing than just Beckham’s injury, because the Giants were losing before Beckham’s injury.