It’s been a remarkable three years for New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. He’s set record after record, earned honor after honor and has established himself as one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the NFL.
Unfortunately, with all of the positives come a slew of negatives.
Beckham Jr. has not only earned a reputation as a freakishly athletic superstar, but also an easy-to-manipulate headcase. And for every amazing catch or touchdown, there’s an on-field scuffle, a hole in the wall or a yacht party with Justin Bieber in Miami.
On Tuesday, only two days after Beckham Jr. and the Giants were eliminated from the playoffs following a 38-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, former LSU head coach Les Miles joined the Mike & Mike radio show and stated unequivocally that OBJ needs to work on removing the social pressures from his life.
“If he eliminates, especially for certain times, the social pressure — if you just focus on the job that you have to do and the route you have to run, even though it seems to be a, ‘Hey I can do that, I know how to do that,’ no, don’t take it for granted, because it’s so important,” Miles said during his Mike & Mike appearance. “It is like Tony Dungy would say, ‘We do the little things best,’ and that’s what Odell Beckham’s got to do when he comes to the game.”
Miles, who coached Beckham Jr. at LSU from 2011-2013, said he never experienced the sort of issues with Beckham Jr. the Giants currently have to endure. Rather, Beckham Jr. focused on mastering his craft and soaking up as much knowledge as possible.
“He was a joy,” Miles said. “He came to practice, he worked hard. There was never a time that we didn’t ask him to do something that he didn’t give us a best effort.”
Perhaps the bright lights of The Big Apple and his relatively newfound international fame have something to do with it, but at least in the motivation department, Beckham Jr. isn’t lacking. For all his shenanigans, he continues to show up on time, work hard and try to win. But he’s still got to cut out all of the extracurricular nonsense.
(h/t: Newsday)
