Beckham’s behavior is talk of game
‘What he did is on display,’ Panthers cornerback says of Giants wideout.
The Carolina Panthers were angry at themselves for allowing the New York Giants back in the game, but they saved most of their vitriol for Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
After a thrilling 38-35 victory against the Giants that raised the Panthers’ record to 14-0, the talk centered on Beckham, who amassed three personal fouls and had numerous skirmishes with Carolina cornerback Josh Norman and another with cornerback Cortland Finnegan.
“What he did is on display,” Norman said. “You see what kind of player he is, and you pull back the layers of skin and you really see what it is. “Film doesn’t lie.” What the film showed was Beckham dropping a sure touchdown on a long bomb from Eli Manning on the fourth play of the game, a route on which he soundly beat Norman.
After that misstep, the Panthers seemed to get in the talented second-year receiver’s head, with Beckham finishing the first half with no catches and two drops.
In the third quarter, Beckham
received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty after launching into Norman’s helmet away from the ball well after the play was over.
“We are out there playing football; we are competing,” Beckham said when asked about the play after the game, declining to address Norman specifically. “You are a competitor.”
While two fourth-quarter gains — a 40-yard reception and the tying 14-yard touchdown catch — obscured Beckham’s first three quarters on the stat sheet, the Carolina defenders had plenty to say about his performance.
“If you’re going to be Michael Jackson and go around and dance and play and do all the other stuff and not be a football player and not train the way you’re supposed to train, it goes to show,” said Norman, who later referred to Beckham as a ballerina for his dancing. “I hope I pulled back the mask.”
Finnegan went even further, channeling his own inner Ron Burgundy in the process.
“He may have something in his blood,” Finnegan said. “I don’t know, maybe it’s female-related. That’s the only thing I can think of.”
While the Panthers continued to return verbal shots at Beckham — as well as an Instagram post by Norman showing Beckham making a one-handed grab of a giant L — Carolina safety Roman Harper saw the extracurricular activities as part of the challenge of being 14-0.
“We’re getting everybody’s best punch,” he said. “That’s what happens when you’re on top of the mountain.”
Harper even decided he’d throw a question back at the reporters.
“Have you seen anybody smiling?” the 33-year-old asked as he looked around a locker room filled with 53 frowning players just two wins away from becoming the third 16-0 team in NFL history.
“We’re 14-0. We need to be happy because of that. Not many teams have made it this far. I’ve never done it. This is new for me and (expletive), man, we’re good and we’re going to be better.
“This is the most disappointed 14-0 team, and that’s a great thing.”