BECKHAM’S ABILITY, ANTICS IN PLAY
Rams focused on preventing big day by Giants wideout
B AGSHOT, ENGLAND Barring a hip injury, the Odell Beckham Jr. show will arrive in the United Kingdom this weekend, but the Los Angeles Rams are in no mood to play second fiddle to one of the NFL’s most intriguing one-man soap operas.
Beckham is a popular sports name in these parts, thanks primarily to soccer icon David, but the New York Giants wide receiver’s unique brand of sass and style is also keenly anticipated by the London audience ahead of Sunday’s game at Twickenham Stadium.
The Rams, however, are primed to walk the fine line Beckham’s current psyche seems to operate on, switching between episodes of moodiness and brilliance.
“The point of playing defense is to make the offense intimidated of getting hit by you,” Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “To get your hands on balls and cause turnovers and all those things together to make the team a lot better.
“(Beckham) has shown that he can be explosive and he can work off those emotions and have an awesome day. Our game plan is not really to try to get under his skin, but we will go out to make sure he doesn’t have a ( big) day against us.”
Ogletree and Beckham have a particularly physical history. When the teams met in December 2014 in St. Louis, Ogletree crushed Beckham into the ground out of bounds, then shoved him in the face when the Giants star tried to bolt upright. Beckham responded by hurling the ball at Ogletree’s face, with the incident sparking a ruckus involving players from each team.
Given the temperamental nature of Beckham’s recent performances, with him bristling at the roughhouse attention he has gotten from rivals determined to upset his rhythm, how he and the Rams wage mental warfare could decide which team leaves Europe satisfied with its work.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher gave mixed signals on the Beckham issue after his players practiced amid the peaceful countryside just outside London on Thursday, yet you didn’t have to read too far between the lines to suspect his men have no intention of giving Beckham a comfortable time.
Fisher was fulsome in his praise of Beckham but also made reference to Beckham’s foolish penalty late in the Giants’ victory against the Baltimore Ravens last weekend. It might have been an astute observation or a psychological jibe. You decide.
“He has a chance to go down as one of the NFL’s all-time best,” Fisher said. “He is special. So we have a lot of respect for him. We have to tackle him. That’s just what we do.”
Yet Fisher added soon after: “What you do is just don’t hurt our football team regardless of what happens out there. Regardless of what is said, regardless of the reactions of your opponent, don’t put yourself in a position to hurt our football team.
“Now … Odell last week (scored) a big touchdown that shifted the game, (then) let loose of his emotions, took his helmet off and then they are kicking off from the 20-yard line. Those things are hard. I think he needs to, the whole league needs to learn from that. That could have cost them the victory, so we don’t want to put ourselves in the position for that to happen to us.”
Fisher speaks with a calm tone, but his team has scratched its way to a 3-3 record despite dismal offensive output by taking a no-nonsense tack.
Given the teams having a history and Beckham being on edge enough to embark upon an amusing but perhaps revealing rollercoaster relationship with a kicking net, expect more fireworks Sunday.