The Giants won a game in Denver even though their wide receivers caught just two passes for 22 yards. They know that production must increase and are hoping Sterling Shepard can get on the field for Sunday’s game against the defensive-minded Seahawks.
Shepard sprained his ankle against the Chargers and did not play against the Broncos. He was able to practice Wednesday on a limited basis and liked the way he felt.
Shepard said he went full speed and was “cutting it loose a little bit’’ when he was involved in the drills and team work.
“Still limited in some of the stuff I was doing, but it felt good overall,’’ he said.
With Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall gone for the season, the Giants started Roger Lewis and Tavarres King in Denver. Shepard’s return would be a boost to an offense that managed to score just 16 points against the Broncos.
“I thought Sterling looked good today, and yeah, just to have a guy who’s been in the offense,’’ Eli Manning said. “I’ve thrown all the routes with him and just have confidence in his abilities and those reps that we’ve had over the last two years.’’
The Giants’ bye week comes after the game against the Seahawks, but Shepard is not looking to gain any extra healing time.“When I’m ready I want to play,’’ he said. “I’m not looking to take a rest game and then have a bye week just so I can have two weeks. When I’m ready I’m going.’’
Can he be ready this weekend?
“I mean, I went full speed today, felt pretty good, so I see no reason why not,’’ he said.
Co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said they were not involved in the decision by coach Ben McAdoo to cede the play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan. McAdoo, who has been tight-lipped about the move, finally expanded a bit.
“Early last week, I made a decision that I wasn’t going to call it,’’ McAdoo said. “So, the office next to mine is Mike Sullivan’s. I walked into Mike Sullivan’s office, I said, ‘You’re calling it this week.’ Jerry [Reese, general manager] is down the hall. I walked down to Jerry’s office. I said, ‘Jerry, I’m not calling it this week. Sully is calling it.’ Then I walked down to the quarterback room. I said, ‘Hey Eli [Manning], Sully is calling it this week.’ And, that was it.’’
The return of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from his suspension came on a day another cornerback, Eli Apple, was not on the field. Apple was excused from practice for personal reasons. McAdoo said he was alerted Apple would not be on the scene and he expects him to return Thursday. … DE Olivier Vernon (ankle), S Landon Collins (ankle) and RB Paul Perkins (ribs) were limited in practice. LB Jonathan Casillas (neck) and C Weston Richburg (concussion) remained out. OL John Jerry (tooth) and LB Calvin Munson (quad) also did not practice.