While everyone discusses the possible contributors to our passing game for next year I still read people mentioning Beckum & Barden. I'm here to try to stop the INSANITY.

Much like the Loch Ness Monster - Travis Beckum does not exist. There have been many attempts to find solid evidence to the contrary but this is all that the Beckum hunters have come up with:

2011 13 games 5 catches 93 yards 1 TD (67 of those yards and the lone TD were on one play)

Career 44 games 26 catches 264 yards 3 TDs

So over a nice 3 year sample size he averages about 1/2 a catch and 6 yards a game. He averages 1 TD a season. This part is the most fun: 25% of his entire yardage in his three year Giant career came on one play. Adorable!!! Read that again!

Much like the Loch Ness Monster - not only does it not exist - but it CANNOT exist. Loch Ness is simply too small of a body of water to contain a breeding population of a creature purpoted to be that size. Travis Beckum's stats are too small to possibly come from a player purpoted to be that talented. They have scanned and scanned and scanned that Loch for any evidence of it's existence and we have waited and waited and waited to see existence of his talent. And please don't quote one weird play over a three career as proof of his existence - it's a fuzzy picture that upon further inspection turns out to be a floating log.

Please don't try to pin this on Coughlin, Gilbride or Eli. While Beckum has reportedly been in existence confirmed sightings of Boss and Ballard (both creatures compleley unknown to science beforehand) have been numerous. Those other B's (and Shockey's) numbers prove that a TE can produce under Gilbride so please stop with the "Gilbride doesn't use the TEs, doesn't know how to use the TEs, etc" He may not emphasize them but he certainly uses them and he's been getting by with duct tape and parachute cord for years now. Beckum has had ample opportunities - he wasn't stuck behind Antonio Gates, Jason Witten or Tony Gonzalez all these years - he had every chance to prove his existence. But it's been nothing but a hoax.

Beckum will likely be on PUP for the first 6 games of next season. After that we will hopefully have a nice rotation of Bennett, Ballard (if he is also off the PUP) and either Pascoe or a new draft pick, UDFA, etc. If you seriously think that after 3 years and then after missing training camp this year due to injury the Loch Ness Monster is seriously going to suddenly show up and supplant every other TE on the roster the 7th game of the season please put down the bottle. Beckum doesn't exist - he won't have a chance next year to do anything to dispell the lack of evidence due to being on PUP and the ACTUAL existence of other TEs. His contract will be over after next year anyway and there is no reason to invest any more time and money into the search for his existence. Do you seriously imagine he'll come off the PUP and in half a season prove he is worth a new contract after all this time? If so then you are already looking forward to Beckum's FIFTH season since he will miss about 1/2 of his fourth season??? Really? We didn't have the cap room to keep SS12 or Manningham. Big Blue View please!!!! We will find a TE this year - Benett, Ballard, Fleener (ooooh), etc. But we already know the Loch Ness Monster does not exist - let us PLEASE stop looking for it.

Now onto Ramses Barden

Much like the mythic Bigfoot- Ramses Barden is an extremely tall beast that likely does not exist - but that we all (myself included) really really really want to exist. There have been many attempts to find solid evidence to the contrary but this is all that the Barden hunters have come up with:

2011 8 games 9 catches 94 yards 0 TDs

Career 17 games 15 catches 174 yards 0 TDs

There is actually much less solid evidence of Bigfoot than there even was for the Loch Ness Monster. So over a nice 3 year sample size he averages 5 catches and 58 yards a SEASON. So per season he has averaged the equivalent of one HALFWAY DECENT GAME!!! Read that again - PATHETIC. He's only been active for 35% of the games that he's been on the roster. And whatever amount of that is due to injury is irrelevant - being injury prone ia just another blight on the record. If you produce but get hurt it's a conundrum - if you don't produce and get hurt you don't exist.

And don't argue that he hasn't been given an opportunity. While Barden has reportedly been in existence SS12, Hixon, Nicks and Manningham have all suffered injuries (in the case of SS12 and Hixon injuries that put them on IR). Given those injuries and the fact that the Giants use a lot of 3 WR sets there have been ample opportunities for him to produce. Cruz just appeared out of the ether and salsad right past him to take the opportunity himself.

Here is where there is a slight difference betwen the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. Whereas the Loch Ness Monster CANNOT exist - there is ample enough woodlands for a large primate to still roam with the opportunity to have a small breeding population. So while it's unlikely that Barden exists there are still places to search (training camp this year) and there is ample enough territory - our widespread aggressive downfield passing game.

But before you tout his purpoted mythical characteristics check yourself at the entrance to the forest. "He's immensely tall and a great end zone target." He is in fact very tall but he has precisely ZERO touchdowns in three seasons. ZERO. Read it over and over again. And for the Bardenites on here that sometimes quote a mythical game when he looked great - here are the two greatest games of his 3 year career:

Nov 14, 2010 DAL 3 catches for 34 yards

Nov 28, 2011 NO 3 catches for 38 yards

(To save you the trouble of searching through all of the crates of supposed evidence - in his entire career he only has one other game with multiple receptions: against NE this year 2 catches for 24 yards).

Like the non-existent Beckum this will be his fourth year also - after which he will be a free agent. We didn't have the cap room to keep SS12 or Manningham. He's not worthy to carry either of their jocks let alone get a new contract. Manningham had one of the greatest SBs catches of all time to help carry us to another Lombardi trophy. 38 yards of immortal greatness. Barden's best GAME of all time: 38 meaningless yards in our worst blowout loss in years.

Manningham had 18 TDs in 4 years. Barden 18 catches in 3 years. Don't mention them in the same discussion - it's blasphemy!

Big Blue View please!!!! Let it go. He will have his last chance this training camp. If he somehow figures it out - awesome - I have no ill will towards the young man - he's never said a bad word. But when you are listing possible 3rd WRs for this year mention Hixon (2 years on the IR - yeesh - but he actually has some numbers when he did play comparatively to Bigfoot), JJ12 or an as of yet undiscovered draft choice, UDFA or veteran minimum free agent signing or bless us please bring back SS12 on the super cheap if some cap room can be found by one more restructuring. But enough of Barden already. Enough. Let it go...

Bardenites please!!!!