The Sports Xchange

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — One of the many things that drives New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin crazy is when key players have to go on managed practice schedules because of injuries.

Such has been the case for receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was dealing with hamstring strains the last two weeks.

Wide receiver Rueben Randle has since gotten his issue under control as he was not listed on the team’s injury report this week.

Beckham, however, is still dealing with his issue, but the good news is that it’s heading in the right direction, as the second-year receiver was able to make it through an entire practice Wednesday for the first time in two weeks.

“I think we’re back to the normal routine,” Beckham said. “I don’t really quite know yet, but I definitely do feel better.”

Coughlin is certainly happy about that, especially given how stagnant the Giants’ passing game has looked since the hamstring issues began two weeks ago. In that time frame, Beckham caught 11 of 14 passes for 96 yards and 1 touchdown, but has more importantly not looked to be on the same page with quarterback Eli Manning in some throws that the pair used to make with consistency.

“We’ve got some guys that are not able to practice full-time and it’s difficult when there’s not practice time to go ahead and just go out on the field Sunday afternoon and play as if you’ve had all those days and those opportunities that you normally get throughout the course of the week,” Coughlin said on Monday.

Beckham himself agreed with his head coach regarding practice time, but said that he didn’t think that was the primary issue behind the struggles he and Manning have had in terms of connecting these last two weeks.

“I definitely don’t feel like that, but I definitely think that practice helps. You get to see it before you see it and that’s just kind of one of those things, definitely understand as far as practicing and being on the same page, but I don’t think it was the difference.”

However, the numbers don’t lie, particularly on third down, where the Giants, despite owning the 11th best third-down completion percentage (40.6%) in the league, have converted seven of 24 third-down attempts (29.1%) over the last two weeks.

“On third down, sometimes we have new plays, new stuff, and when you don’t have a couple of your guys practicing, it’s just hard to be on the same page, especially when you’re doing new things or things you haven’t done in a few weeks,” Manning said.

“There’s no time to correct anything, so you hope that it’s perfect on game day.”