Perhaps New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. Has Seen The Light
Oct 9, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) reacts after his touchdown catch was upheld in the fourth quarter during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

From “not having fun anymore” to apologizing to the kicking net, here’s the recap of the New York Giants-Odell Beckham Jr. saga.

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. enjoyed a hot start to his 2016 campaign. The third year pass catcher posted 70 plus yard games in three consecutive contests, including a seven catch, 121 yards outing against old rival Josh Norman. However, Beckham’s

However, Beckham’s on-field production this year has eventually been overshadowed by his personal frustrations, as you already know.

The Giants lost a very winnable game to Norman’s Washington Redskins, prompting a meltdown by OBJ on the sidelines that involved a losing fist fight with a kicking net. This led Giants’ head coach Ben McAdoo to say publicly he thought Beckham needed to be less of a distraction for his team.

The following week, Minnesota Vikings corner Xavier Rhodes promptly got into Beckham’s easily had head, holding him to a career-low 23 yards receiving while baiting him into an unsportsmanlike contact penalty.

This led to the “not having fun anymore” comment made by OBJ.

Rhodes got underneath Beckham’s skin by putting his arm around him between plays and also laid hits on Beckham after he stepped out of bounds on two separate occasions. None of these instances resulted in a penalty for Rhodes, while Beckham was flagged for his unsportsmanlike conduct after jawing with the defensive back following the first late hit.

Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning spoke about the incident, via Pat Leonard of New York Daily News:

“They’re going to call him. He’s brought that on himself, and he’s got to realize that.”

Fair or not, Manning hit the nail on the head.

Beckham embarrassed the NFL after his first brush up with Josh Norman during last year’s matchup against the Carolina Panthers. The constant fighting and multiple penalties involving Beckham and Norman without either player having been ejected placed the game’s officiating crew in a terrible light.

Referees are not going to allow themselves to look like they’re giving Beckham any leeway to pull something even close to last year’s antics. Officials will absolutely look to nip any bad behavior by him straight in the bud, no matter how minor the infraction may be.

New York’s matchup against Minnesota may have been the wake-up call Beckham and the Giants needed.

Though the team has stated they have no intention to discipline the receiver, despite earlier reports, they view Beckham as a leader, not a dramatic storyline requiring concern week in and week out.

As arguably the best football player in the city of New York, his actions will always be under a microscope. Beckham needs to realize this now and mature from it before the situation with the Giants becomes toxic. He is so critical to the success of this offense that a rift between Beckham and the team is something the Giants cannot afford to let happen.

Luckily for New York, Beckham may slowly be finding his footing in the media spotlight. He posted a video on his Instagram account following the Vikings game of himself dancing, making plays, snapping photos with fans, and hopefully having fun again. Beckham captioned the video “I luv my team.”

I luv my team.

A post shared by Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) on

 

In New York’s last game, a Sunday Night Football matchup against the Green Bay Packers, Beckham hauled in his first touchdown of the season seemingly quelling the media attention around him for now. Though he finally found the end zone, the Giants still lost the game, falling to last place in the NFC East.

He may have made amends with the kicking net, but with his team struggling the Giants’ will need a fully focused Beckham for the rest of the season if they have any hopes of making the playoffs.