Giants owner embarrassed by start, wants more from Beckham
NEW YORK (AP) >> The coowner of the New York Giants is embarrassed by the team’s second straight 1-5 start and he wants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to make his highlights on the field instead of getting recognition from offthe-field comments.
Speaking before the fall meeting of the NFL owners Tuesday, John Mara was clearly miffed by the disappointments of a season he had hoped would make fans forget the 3-13 campaign a year ago that led to the firings of coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese.
New general manager Dave Gettleman and coach Pat Shurmur turned over more than half the roster, spent almost $80 million rebuilding the offense line, made Beckhamthe highest-paid receiver in the league with a $95 million deal and had high hopes heading into the season.
It hasn’t worked out and the biggest disappointment came Thursday when the struggling Super Bowl cham-
pion Philadelphia Eagles came to MetLife Stadium and embarrassed the Giants.
What made the loss even more disappointing was the Giants felt they were close to turning things around.
“I’m sick about it, particularly the way we’ve disap-
pointed our fans,” Mara said. “To start out like this is very disappointing. I don’t think you ever expect to go 1- 5 ... two years in a row. I’m still embarrassed being 1- 5. I can’t stand up here and make any excuses about that. We suffer as much as our fans, maybe more.”
Beckham had been on his best behavior this season, but the losing seemed to catch up to him in recent weeks. He did an in-
terview on ESPN more than a week ago where he complained that Eli Manning was not throwing the ball down the field. He also questioned the heart of his teammates.
That did not sit well with Mara, who had spoken to Beckham about getting his act together in the offseason.
“I think he needs to do a little more playing and a little less talking,” Mara said. “I wish he would cre-
ate the headlines by his play on the field, as opposed to what he says and does off the field.”