Many have alluded to the style of football in the NFL becoming soft. Players complaining for flags after seemingly every play, penalties being assess for taunting, unnecessary roughness, and excessive celebration penalties. This takes it to a whole new level.
One of the goals in the hours and hours of watching film on an opponent is to recognize their weakness, and exploit it. Giants offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan is calling out defenders for doing just that to his wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
As opposing defensive players increasingly try to get under the skin of the hot head Giants receiver, Sullivan said Thursday that if a player has to try to get into Beckham’s head, that says more about the other players than it says about Beckham.
“The only reason a guy tries to get him off his game is because they’re not confident enough in their abilities,” Sullivan said. “They’re afraid to match-up against him 1-on-1, mano y mano. If that’s going to be the approach, you can put that when you’re ranking and say, ‘Obviously the guy is not courageous enough or brave enough or not man enough to go ahead and play it straight up.’ If they need those types of tricks, then so be it. We’re going to rise above that.”
Sullivan may be trying to get into the heads of opposing defensive players, hoping that they’ll stop baiting Beckham. But the only thing that’s going to stop opposing players from baiting Beckham is for Beckham to show it doesn’t work. As long as Beckham can be talked into getting 15-yard penalties, opposing players are going to keep talking to him. Whether Sullivan likes it or not.
