On Monday, Giants quarterback Eli Manning was asked about wide receiver Odell Beckham’s excessive celebration penalty and sideline romance with a kicking net in Sunday’s win over the Ravens.
Manning referenced the discussions of Beckham’s behavior following losses in the previous three weeks, saying “you can get real sick of it” when Beckham isn’t scoring two long touchdowns as he did against Baltimore while adding that “you still want him to be smarter.” The vast majority of those who heard Manning say that on radio or read transcripts of his comments heard that as Manning sharing his opinions, but Manning said that wasn’t the case on Tuesday.
Manning explained that he was merely thinking about others who might feel that way because it’s all fine with him.
“I’m not tired of it. Thought y’all might get tired of it. That was my comment,” Manning said, via ESPN.com. “It’s up to you, and maybe thought it was me. But I’m talking about you. I’m fine with it. ... I want him to play well. I want him to make plays. I want him to have celebrations and dances, and I’m fine with that. I want the team to go out there and win games. It was a fun locker room after the game, exciting locker room. It should be all positive stuff.”
Manning lamented Beckham having to “deal with the side drama of it,” which would be a lot easier if there weren’t several examples of Beckham’s behavior affecting games or if coach Ben McAdoo hadn’t called the wideout’s antics a distraction a couple of weeks ago. It’s not hard to understand why a player like Manning might be tired of the “side drama” that comes with Beckham, but reversing course from one day to the next mixed with Beckham’s clear affinity for it is a pretty good way to guarantee more discussion about it in the future.