The New York Giants did exactly what they had to do to silence the critics of their impromptu Miami yacht trip by lighting up the scoreboard giving the Green Bay Packers the business shitting the bed, to put it bluntly. While I think that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Giants WRs going to Miami on their off day to celebrate a victory, their performance in the NFC Wild Card game was poor enough to warrant a curfew for future playoff teams. ESPN and the media are going to tear the likes of Odell Beckham, Sterling Shepard, and Victor Cruz to shreds this week, but I am here to tear only one person apart; Odell Beckham Jr.
But first, alternative headline power ranking time:
5.) Giants Drop Anchor
4.) You Cruise, You Lose
3.) No Hands on Beck
2.) Loose Grips Sink Ships
1.) Giants Lose By a Yacht
Bonus:
The Giants going on a yacht with Trey Songz and Justin Beiber had nothing to do with their loss. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. It’s what the media is going to crucify OBJ and company for for the entire offseason, but that’s just an easy stance to take and defend until draft season. Odell Beckham is a generational talent that has the potential to be an all timer if he gets his head on straight. His off and on the field antics make him a headline machine and he shows no signs of wanting to get out of the spotlight. That’s perfectly fine. Some professional athletes are made for the attention. However, part of the deal is that they need to deliver when they’re most needed, especially in New York City. Odell Beckham Jr is rapidly approaching Alex Rodriguez level. He’s an electric athlete that is among the best of the league when he’s on his game. He possesses a strong personality and is quickly making enemies across the country. Similarly to ARod, nearly everybody you run into on the street has a strong opinion about whether they love or hate Odell. And, quite frankly, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if we all woke up to OBJ recreating this classic:
You can look at the 38-13 final score and think that the New York Giants never stood a chance in this game. However, what if I told you that the G-Men actually had the Packers by the balls, only to slip when they had their finger on the trigger. The Giants took their first possession to the Packers’ 35 when on 3rd and 5, Odell had a ball hit him in the hands.
Had he caught that, the Giants were in easy field goal possession and could have jumped to at least a 3-0 lead. Instead, they were forced to punt. On their very next possession, Odell dropped a WIDE OPEN touchdown.
This guy would’ve caught it…
After Odell’s drop, Sterling Shepard gave Eli Manning a 2 for 1 special and the Giants finally got on board with a 26-yard field goal.
Instead of a 17-0 lead over a Green Bay team that was sputtering on both sides of the ball, the Giants only had a measly 6-0 lead. It was only a matter of time before Aaron Rodgers made a few plays to get the Packers back in the game. The Packers scored on yet another Hail Mary to end the 1st half and they suddenly had a 14-6 lead. Had Odell caught those two balls, it’s a much different ball game at the half.
As we saw, Rodgers caught fire in the 2nd half and it was evident that the only way the Giants were going to win was by a classic shootout. The difference between a great player and a good player is how they perform in clutch situations. Despite being put in as PR and KR, Odell didn’t do anything special with the added touches. Then, down by 11 at the beginning of the 4th quarter, Odell Beckham Jr had another opportunity to make a big play for his team.
Now that pass wasn’t immaculate, but Odell was able to get two hands on that ball. For an athlete that prides himself on his one handed catches, putting on shows before games and on Instagram, a wide open pass that lands on his hands should be a completion 105 times out of 100.
Those are three key drops for who is regarded as the premier talent on the New York Giants. Against a depleted Packers secondary that is considered one of the worst in the league, Odell’s performance is a huge detriment to his legacy. A 4-28-0 stat line on 11 targets is no bueno.
To reiterate, the Giants being on a boat 7 days ago meant absolutely nothing regarding the result of this game. Tavares King was a standout performer for the Giants on Sunday, yet he wasn’t included in the infamous yacht picture. Trey Songz quickly diffused any rumor that the landlocked receivers had a competitive advantage over those that spent time on the boat.
You simply cannot be Odell Beckham Jr and play like this in a game of this magnitude without being ready to face the music. Fresh off a week full of skepticism due to #BoatGate, OBJ took the field to warmup shirtless in below freezing weather.
That looked impressive until he shit the proverbial bed. Maybe focus on looking the ball into your hands before trying to slice and dice the third string defense that was going up against you. Maybe focus on finding a way to keep your hands warm:
No matter what way you look at it, Odell Beckham blew it. He may not have led the Giants to a victory, as Aaron Rodgers was playing like a man possessed in the second half, but you have to expect him to play a decent game, ESPECIALLY with the flak he was receiving all week from the media. You can also blame Bobby Rainey, Brad Wing, and Dwayne Harris a little, I guess. Or the fact that nobody jumped to smack the ball out of play on the Hail Mary.
At least Odell is level headed and will be calm, cool, and collected when he addresses the media:
UPDATE:
The Best Damn Sports Blog Question Mark 