Odell Beckham deserves a suspension for his deliberate helmet-on-helmet hit on Josh Norman. But he really should be better protected by the referees and it’s not right to overlook the incitement he had to endure from Panther players who took taunting and intimidation to a level rarely seen before. Carrying a bat around during pre-game warmups and threatening to end his career?
The homophobic slurs are nothing new, but also something folks ought to have moved beyond a long time ago. Grown men shouldn’t act like insecure teenagers.
In any case, Beckham has a short fuse and it’s too easy to get inside his head. He endangered the health of another player in a completely deliberate and reckless manner, and he has to be punished for it. But that doesn’t mean he should have to put up with this kind of crap week in and week out.
Also, he translated his anger into a remarkable performance as the Giants rallied from a 35-7 deficit to tie the game. Beckham made that happen by his desire to win and his ability to inspire his teammates to rise out of their stupor. He is perhaps the best new player in the league.
Beckham didn’t perform all that well against the Panthers. He had the touchdown catch and a long reception, but also fumbled once (the Giants kept it). Norman is a great cornerback and it’s no shame to have a subpar performance against him.
I agree that the league needs to tamp down on the between-the-lines bullshit, although that stuff is nowhere near as bad as it was in the olden days. The Panthers seem to have a bush league aspect about them. They remind me of a Rex Ryan-coached team, and that is not a compliment. That hit on Norman, though. Yikes. Reminded me of Warren Sapp blindsiding Chad Clifton.
I really dislike that helmet spearing stuff. I’m glad he was suspended. The NFL is going to have tons of problems about the concussions, as they should. Setting up more problems by “head-hunting” just makes it worse.
He’s going to see a whole lot more of that crap now that he’s shown he’s incapable of dealing with it.
Well, he had no receptions in the first half. After he got really pissed off, the Giants offense became completely unstoppable, even on a drive when Beckham racked up 30 yards of penalties.
So, yeah, you might get him kicked out of the game, but you better be careful or he’ll burn you.
“After he got really pissed off, the Giants offense became completely unstoppable”
I think you mean- after he gave his primary defender a concussion.
he should be protected from what by the refs? from trash talk?
there’s a big difference between threatening to end someone’s career and actually trying to do it. Beckham is the one who crossed that line.
Not only from being threatened but getting thrown to the turf repeatedly, head-slapped on numerous plays, and folks have been going after him like this all year and part of last year.
People are trying to injure him, which is part of why he is reacting so strongly. It’s not just a problem with the Panthers.
Baloney. Nobody was trying to injure him.
When it ceases to be a game as it has several times this year for the Panthers, it ceases to be fun.
Your comments are bias and have poisoned my opinions of you and your blog….alas another shill in our midst.
Loser.
I’m not following this very closely, why is he being targeted?
Because he’s good and he’s flamboyant and because he loses his head.
okay that makes sense, kind of like Dennis Rodman or Ron Santo hated because of their antics
Yeah, more like if Dennis Rodman was Michael Jordan.
wasn’t talking about talent level but yeah get your point
Yikes, giants fans have really lost all perspective with this guy. He’s a top 5 WR in the league MAYBE, though he has real problems with consistency and obviously has no composure. MJ was the greatest basketball player possibly ever. To even consider that comparison is just ludicrous.
Fine, he’s not a quarterback. Still…
Also, he’s made three catches already that I’ve never seen any player make, nor that I thought were humanly possible, and that’s what is really Jordanesque about him.
Beckham ain’t the Michael Jordan of football. First off, in terms of impact, the only player who can make that contribution is a quarterback. That aside, Beckham isn’t the best wide receiver in the game today — that honor belongs to Antonio Brown. However, I’d definitely consider Beckham a strong candidate for second best (along with A.J. Green).
Odell Beckham
2014
12 Games
91 Receptions
1,305 Yards
14.3 Yds/Reception
12 Touchdowns
2015
14 Games
91 Receptions
1,396 Yards
15.3 Yds/Reception
13 Touchdowns
A.J. Green
2014
13 Games
69 Receptions
1,041 Yards
15.1 Yds/Reception
6 Touchdowns
2015
14 Games
77 Receptions
1,206 Yards
15.7 Yds/Reception
8 Touchdowns
Other than being a little more of a deep threat (averaging more yards per reception), A.J. Green does not measure up to Beckham in any category.
DYAR: defense-adjusted yards over replacement (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/wr)
Brown: 475
Green: 354
Beckham: 290
Catch rate (catches/targets)
Brown: 70%
Green: 65%
Beckham: 60%
PFF grades
(https:/www.profootballfocus.com)
Brown: 98.3
Beckham: 94
Green: 91.9
A jive, sexist, racist, brutal league.
Kinda like the U.S.A. in miniature.
You get what you (
play)…errr, ahhh, pay…for.Turn it off.
You be bettah off.
Bet on it.
AG
Beckham isn’t great now….he’s so so from here on…that was his meager last hoorah….he can’t keep it up… move on folks and lets meet some new flavors of month and year.
Your post is precisely why I finally gave up watching football after 50+ years of fanship. (I was sitting in front of the TV in my family’s basement when NBC cut away from the Jets in the notorious “Heidi game” in 1968; I remember it like it was yesterday.)
I can no longer disentangle the parts of the game that are glorious and even transcendent from the far more numerous and central aspects of the game that are simply vicious and powerfully anti-social.
I wouldn’t tell anyone else what to do, but just for myself, I can no longer figure out how to be a fan consistent with my ethics. I can’t contribute to the institutions that are the NFL and NCAA Division I Football.
By coincidence, this in today’s Boston Globe from a former college player:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/12/22/former-player-says-goodbye-football/mmRYYLdkHMXBWOc2EF
U6EK/story.html?s_campaign=email_BG_TodaysHeadline&s_campaign=