Martellus Bennett is looking at the NFL through a different lens this season now that he has retired, and the former star tight end feels one man is taking too much of the blame for an entire team’s horrendous effort.
During Thursday night’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants, Odell Beckham Jr. took a lot of heat for having another outburst on the sideline as his team was getting throttled yet again. Bennett took to Twitter to defend Beckham and said analysts and fans are pointing the finger at the wrong player.
“Man these commentators have taken 150 shots at Odell tonight. Shut the f— up. Talk about the game stop trying to vilify every single thing he does,” Bennett wrote. “The giants are a bad team and it’s not because of him. Criticize how bad eli is playing.”
Bennett later clarified that he likes Manning and is not saying he is the only person to blame for the Giants’ poor performance.
All I'm saying is that I believe as a commentator your job is to point all the things going on in the game. Highlighting how plays break down and why. Instead they pick a person and knit pick at one guys every move. They made the game harder to watch when they should make it more
— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) October 12, 2018
Criticize the play calling. Criticize the lack of effort on defense. Criticize how bad eli is playing. Criticize the coaches ability to get the team ready to play at a high level. Why criticize this guy the whole game?
— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) October 12, 2018
Bennett also said he believes what was described as Beckham having an outburst was actually the Pro Bowl receiver just getting himself amped up, which may have been the case. Beckham was also questioned for leaving the field before halftime, but Giants coach Pat Shurmur later provided an explanation for that.
The Giants are clearly a very bad team, but Beckham signed a massive contract extension this offseason and has not acted like much of a leader with some of the negative remarks he has made publicly. While you can certainly understand his frustration, he knows by now how his actions will be perceived.
