PRIME TARGET
Giants need Beckham to remain major star as critics take their aim
THE FIRST 16 games of his NFL career were behind him when Odell Beckham Jr. swaggered into MetLife Stadium on Sunday night to face the 49ers, his first chance to make a mockery of Antonio Cromartie’s claim he is a oneyear wonder.
All eyes were on Beckham — Eli Manning’s eyes, the eyes of the 49ers secondary, and the eyes of the zebras.
Such is life as the marked man, The Straw That Stirs Manning’s Drink with Victor Cruz still sidelined, a young man whose fire was both a source of admiration for Giants coach Tom Coughlin and a potential powder keg capable of exploding at the wrong time.
There were two books on Beckham at the end of his first 16 games: Don’t let him beat us deep. Use his raging competitveness against him and bait him. On the field and off.
“I need to see it on an every-game basis,” Cromartie said, “not him getting penalties or sucker punching somebody.”
Beckham said he would appeal his $8,681 fine for punching Bills safety Duke Williams in Buffalo, but he can’t afford to risk a faux pas that would penalize his team. He needs to learn to turn the other cheek, the same way Cruz did when he salsaed his way to fame and fortune and became a household name.
When you make a onehanded catch for the ages on national television, when you befriend LeBron James, when you become a Madden cover boy, when you have your own sports drink, when you play in New York, you better adapt to a new reality, or you run the risk of being a onehit wonder.
Beckham’s rookie season — 12 games as a rookie, the first four games of this season — concluded with 115 catches for 1,612 yards and 14 TDs.
But wearing a bull’seye on his No. 13 means the ugly spectre of the sophomore jinx looms over him.
Beckham had 24 catches for 307 yards with two touchdowns in 2015 entering Sunday night. Good for a 12.8 average, down from 14.3 in 2014, when he caught 12 TD passes.
“I think, in general, we haven’t been as clean outside the numbers as we’ve liked to be,” offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo said. “It’s not the quarterback, it’s not Odell, it’s not Rueben [Randle], it’s just a combination of everything, and that’s something we’re working at right now to get better at. We’re going to keep targeting Odell and we feel his production will come as long as he’s dialed in. He’s doing a nice job blocking and being physical out there, and we expect the numbers to be there. What those numbers will be, I don’t know, but he’s going to have plenty opportunity.”
It’s McAdoo’s job to move Beckham around in the face of Me and My Shadow defensive game plans. Beckham was targeted 12 times in Buffalo and was limited to 5 catches for 38 yards receiving. Randle raised his play in Weeks 3 and 4, but Cruz was the one who was going to play Robin to Beckham’s Batman.
“If I can draw two guys on one play, if I can draw seven guys on a fake reverse and we have a big play,
I did my job. You know what I mean?” Beckham said. The Bills might think Beckham is a prima donna, but his quarterback and head coach certainly do not. He is a kid who loves football and loves winning, every bit as much as Manning and Coughlin do.
Beckham thought he did a good job of controlling his emotions against the Bills. Coughlin disagreed. It isn’t only his hands and his athleticism that makes Beckham special. It’s his competitive spirit, the same competitive spirit Lawrence Taylor brought to Sundays.
“All you can do is what’s between snap and whistle,” Beckham said.
That is the challenge for him as be began his second season, Game 17. He knows defenders were looking to make a name for themselves at his expense. It is the price you pay for superstardom. He should have expected all the 49ers defensive backs to show up as intense as Ronnie Lott always did. He tells us he is here to play football. All well and good. The message from Coughlin: Play football as only you can. But please, play smart football. All eyes on Odell Beckham Jr.