Less than a week after Odell Beckham, Sterling Shepard, Victor Cruz and Roger Lewis took a boat trip in Miami, the Giants lost their Wild Card playoff matchup to the Packers. Before the game, the Giants steadfastly refused to make the trip into a controversy, but Beckham played poorly on Sunday, and threw a temper tantrum after the loss, punching a hole in a wall in Lambeau Field. At the end of it all, Giants GM Jerry Reese says it’s time for it all to stop.
“I see a guy who needs to think about some of the things that he does,” Reese said. “Everybody knows that he’s a gifted player, but there have been some things that he’s done that he needs to look himself in the mirror and be honest with himself about some of the things that he’s done. […]
“We all have had to grow up in different times in our lives,” he said. “I think it’s time for him to do that. He’s been here for three years now. He’s a little bit of a lightning rod because of what he does on the football field, but the things he does off the football field, he has to be responsible for those things. We’ll talk through it and I believe — I know — he’s a smart guy. I believe he understands he has a responsibility being one of the faces of this franchise. I think he’ll accept that responsibility.”
Reese avoided explaining exactly which behavior Beckham needs to clean up, which is good — Joe Buck tried to blame the loss on the boat trip, and he got hammered for it. As the Giants said a week ago, an off day is an off day, but not being able to control your emotional response to defeat is, in fact, a concern. It’s not far-fetched that punching a wall could cause a broken hand or similar injury, which would be catastrophic for Beckham and the Giants.
In general, having a loss hit you that hard can be an encouraging sign to fans — It hurts the players just like it hurts us! — but if Beckham is able to control his emotions and his energy a bit better, maybe he stays a little looser and doesn’t drop all those passes. If he matures, he could be even better — which is a scary thought, considering how good he is already.
(Via The Sporting News)
