The behavior of wide receiver Odell Beckham has been a steady topic of conversation around the Giants over the last two weeks with the general message from the team being that they want to see Beckham do a better job of keeping his cool.
One of the reasons coach Ben McAdoo cited for that on Wednesday was the possibility that Giants opponents would try to bait Beckham into blowing his top “like it’s hockey.” While that’s a concern for McAdoo, he also seems to be aware of Beckham’s complaint that he’s not having any fun these days and that turning down the emotions all the way would make for a different player than the one the Giants were celebrating a few weeks ago.
“I think he has great passion for the game and a great desire to be one heck of a player,” McAdoo said, via the New York Post. “One thing I’d hate to see him lose is that drive and that passion. I like him as a salty, competitive player. That’s when he plays at his best. We just need to be productive when we’re doing it. You have to stay within the rules. I want him to play with a salty, physical, attacking mindset.”
For all the other noise about Beckham’s behavior, the need to be productive may be the most significant. Beckham wasn’t a quiet little mouse his first two seasons with the team, but he was putting up huge numbers that overshadowed some of the things that are bothering the Giants now. Based on that, it seems unlikely that these conversations would be taking place if Beckham had a few touchdowns this season or that they’ll continue if he draws a penalty while scoring twice this weekend.