Odell Beckham is steadily approaching Terrell Owens status
Got your popcorn ready? No, please, no.
This is not going to come as good news for Giants Nation: Odell Beckham Jr. is beginning to have more in common with Terrell Owens than explosive plays and being known by his initials. If he starts doing sit-ups in his driveway and yells at Eli Manning, then the Giants are really in trouble.
OBJ is not a quarterback backstabber like T.O. was with Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo. He treats Manning with great respect. He is also not a locker room cancer — Owens never entered a locker room he couldn't destroy — which was the biggest issue preventing Owens from being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2016.
Beckham has become a look-at-me diva wide receiver who melts down on the sideline when things are not going his way. That's Owens. OBJ is an extraordinary talent, but he's becoming high maintenance. Again, that was the blueprint for Owens.
Even though Beckham is just 23 years old, he's at a crucial point in his career. He must decide if it's all about the team or all about him. Maybe his pal LeBron James can have a talk with him.
How many times will it take for Beckham to make himself the center of attention for things other than spectacular one-handed catches before his teammates resent his volatile outbursts?
Manning has his own issues to fix — two killer fourth quarter interceptions that lost the game against Washington — and does not have the time to babysit Beckham on the sidelines. After OBJ took a vicious swing at the kicking net and the net fought back Sunday by slamming him in the head, Manning had to go over to OBJ on the bench to calm him down. This came moments after Manning threw a crucial goal line interception and needed the time to regroup.
Manning is getting him the ball, just not in that spot, where the errant pass was intended for tight end Will Tye when Beckham surely thought it was time
for him to take over and make a play.
Giants rookie coach Ben McAdoo's goal is to get Beckham under control to get the best he's got and to make sure his antics don't overshadow the team.
McAdoo sent a strong message to Beckham through the media on Monday — a classic Bill Parcells maneuver — when he said, "He needs to control his emotions better and become less of a distraction to himself and to his teammates. It's our job to help him with that process and maturing."
Manning doesn't believe it's reached the point where Beckham has become a distraction.
"We don't want to create it," he said. "He's an emotional player. He plays hard, he wants to win. He wants to go out there. There's times where guys can get fired up on the sidelines. Stuff happens. It's all, hey, can we get back poise, go out there, produce and make the plays. Again, I'm not worried about it. I think he's making plays and doing a lot of good things. He'll continue to do that."
Manning said after Sunday's game that he went over to Beckham to find out why he was so frustrated. Did he find out what set off Beckham? He is sixth in
the NFC with 19 catches, but has yet to score a touchdown.
"No. I haven't talked about it," he said. "Haven't made an issue of it. It's not always to find out what's the problem. Just get him calmed down. Got him calmed. He was ready to go."
At least Beckham never shows up Manning on the field by throwing his arms in the air, a tactic which helped get Jeremy Shockey shipped out of town. Owens' sideline shouting match with McNabb has become NFL Films gold.
Perhaps it was just the sight of Josh Norman that set off Beckham after last year's embarrassing behavior. But Beckham also went into a rant on the sidelines during a preseason game against the Jets in August when he was not targeted for the first 16 plays. He gestured towards the huddle and later went and sat on the bench with his head in his hands and had to be pacified by Manning.
Beckham's decision to live the life of a celebrity — he spent part of the offseason living with rapper Drake, was pictured at a party with Khloe Kardashian, he might be second to Peyton Manning in commercials — has put a lot of pressure on him to live up not only to his own expectations but those he's created. The last couple of years, he was Manning's only reliable target, but now with the return of Victor Cruz and the emergence of rookie Sterling Shepard, there are more options.
For now, his teammates are not making an issue of OBJ's behavior.
"I don't care what the coach said. I don't care about that. I'm here to play football," Jason Pierre-Paul said. "That's not my problem. That's nobody's problem."
Manning was asked about dealing with his own frustrations when things are not going well. After saying it's "part of football and life," he added what could be a message for Beckham. "It's just about trying to figure out a way of not giving the defense or the people on the opposing team the satisfaction of seeing you frustrated."
Owens finished his career with 1,078 catches (sixth all-time), 15,034 yards (second) and 153 TDs (third). If Beckham puts up the same numbers as Owens, he will have had a great career. If what he is best known for is being out of control, then get your popcorn ready, it's going to be a wild and bumpy journey.
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