Is Odell Beckham losing his mind?
Maybe everything came too easy to him during his first two seasons in the NFL. Because things are not going as well for his Giants this season, he’s shown numerous signs of frustration that really only surfaced last season … when he tried to murder Josh Norman. Over the past two weeks — both New York Giants losses — Beckham has broken down in tears after beating up a kicking net, and on Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings he was flagged for taunting, although the call was softer than the receiver’s constitution these days.
Now he’s taken to Twitter to quote “Invictus,” a poem written by a man who lost his legs to tuberculosis, which is the same as being unable to keep one’s cool when sports get frustrating.
https://twitter.com/OBJ_3/status/783275753785942016
Through four games, the Giants are 2-2 and Beckham has yet to catch a touchdown after grabbing 25 in his first 27 games. The Vikings held him to three catches for 23 yards, ending a 28-game streak of Beckham having at least four catches in a game. He is on pace for an 88-catch, 1,212-yard, touchdown-less season, which, outside of the touchdowns, isn’t that far below what he posted in his first two seasons but is still a drop in production.
If Beckham is letting opponents under his skin, the Giants are doomed.
How did we get here? There are three obvious reasons.
• The presence of rookie Sterling Shepard, who has been very good, has sucked away opportunities from Beckham. As good as Beckham was in his first two seasons, he’s now in an offense with three competent wide receivers (Victor Cruz has been fine as well), and this is the adjustment period.
WATCH: Here is the video of Sterling Shepard's 4th q catch when Josh Norman gambled + left OBJ wide open.
Eli Manning never saw him. pic.twitter.com/bu3oH7c4DU— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) September 26, 2016
• The anger may still be lingering from the final drive of the Washington game, when Beckham was running free for a game-winning touchdown, but Eli Manning didn’t look his way because he was locked onto Shepard before the ball was even snapped and has seemingly become petrified of taking a hit. Follow that with the Vikings taking away everything deep and Beckham became a ticking time bomb.
• Lena Dunham did something to him. She claims they didn’t talk, but maybe she leaned into him and sad something that has messed with his head since before the season, like, “I’m making five more seasons of Girls.” That would mess me up for months, man.
