N.Y. Giants: Odell Beckham's Dog Day Afternoon

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

"I'm a dog, so I acted like a dog."- Odell Beckham Jr.

New York Giants: Owner Speaks Out; John Mara Pissed Off.

Tuesday's New York Post reported Giants owner John Mara said he's very unhappy with Odell's behavior on Sunday.  He also said the team will handle the matter internally.

I guess that takes the pressure off Jerry Reese and Coach McAdoo to speak out against their best player.

Coach McAdoo refuses to criticize his offensive line, refuses to take exception with Odell Beckham over Sunday's behavior, yet Eli Manning is fair game?  Funny how Coach's big blue marble spins, if not curiously.

For someone who is only three games into his fourth NFL season, OBJ's shameless acts of self-promotion are many.  Topping the list of incidences is a full blown feud with cornerback Josh Norman; his initial assault and subsequent love affair with a kicking net; another meltdown against Minnesota which included bumping a referee; taking the Giants receivers corp on an ill-timed trip to South Beach just before last year's playoff game against the Packers; then putting forth one of his worst ever performances in said playoff game.

The Giants have enabled it all, including Sunday's episode.  The only (person) people who can stop such antics are other players.  Winning locker rooms police themselves.  That being said, Landon Collins was recently on New York City radio condoning Odell's celebration antic.

So there's that ...

Here's the thing - prior to Sunday's game against the Eagles, I believed Odell Beckham's conduct and level of professionalism left himself wide open for public criticism.

What he did Sunday, however, is different.  If we are to take Odell at his word in believing he acted out with a personal protest directed at POTUS, then that's fine by me because protest is the American way.  We The People will settle these issues on our own - thank you - because when the establishment and their conventional wisdom continually fail its citizens; when promises of change and improvement never come; protest is in order.  In turn, protest comes in many and sometimes creative forms.  Sometimes protest even occurs on a football field.

Odell is a smart guy.  He knows exactly what he's doing, and doesn't seemed burdened by potential consequences.  He makes no apologies, and will continue marching to his own beat.  But at the end of the day, we're still talking about football, aren't we?  At least I am.  And as a Giants fan, I do not appreciate the things Odell does.

In all fairness to OBJ, though, I grew up dealing with Lawrence Taylor's issues.  I remember Bill Parcells and George Young cringing whenever their best player did something wrong, forcing them into damage control mode.  Like Taylor, Odell is presently one of the highest profile stars in the NFL There's no denying he's a superior talent, but his self-promotion is increasingly becoming a detriment to the team.  Unfortunately, all those highlight catches have not yet served as a catalyst for elevating Giants success.  Taylor at least helped lead the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl victories.

Odell is a game changing talent, and in the very near future this organization must decide whether committing a king's ransom in order to retain him will be in their best interest.

On that note, there are reasons why Odell Beckham became the fasted receiver to reach 300 receptions in NFL history this past Sunday.  The talent/skill level of the Giants offensive line has been far below par during Odell's three first three seasons with the team.  They've had no tight end to speak of.  In turn, the running game has been futile at best.  Therefore, the Eli/Odell connection continues being the lone extent of recent Giants offensive capabilities.

Knuckleheads abound in life.

In a game they once led against the Vikings, I watched the 1997 Giants defense breakout into a fight against each other while on the field, then lose in ponderous fashion.

Jeremy Shockey was just as problematic as Odell, if not more so because he often worked against a younger Eli Manning instead of with him.  Can't say that about Odell.  He never lambasted his coach to the media either like Tiki Barber did with Tom Coughlin.

It is what it is ...

Some things never change, like older fans wrangling with and against younger sensibilities; debating levels of tolerance or lack thereof; or arguing over personal accountability.