NFC East wide receivers have a way of going to bat for one another.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant knows a thing or two about being public enemy No. 1, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear he has defended Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants.
Beckham has come under fire for his play and actions all season. Other than the odd party on a boat trip, Beckham punched a hole in a wall and had his own front office say he needs to grow up.
Ask Bryant, though, and more members of the Giants should be like Beckham, as captured by Jenna Laine of ESPN.com:
“Whenever something doesn’t go right, as far as a team loss, y’all don’t like his actions, and all it is, is just him wanting to win the game,” Bryant told ESPN after the NFC’s Pro Bowl practice Saturday. “If more people were like that on his team, maybe they would do something special.”
“He’s a talent that a lot of people wouldn’t be able to understand. You want to criticize him. You want to talk about him because you just don’t understand him — his whole mindset, the way he goes about his game. He’s a hell of a football player. He’s a great football player.”
Bryant’s message here makes sense. A player acting like he cares about winning or losing isn’t a terrible ordeal. But there is a big difference about caring and emotional control. Nobody sees Eli Manning, Beckham’s quarterback, punching holes in walls and everyone knows he cares quite a bit.
Beckham caring is great, especially because there are NFL players who certainly don’t care and treat it like any other job, getting a paycheck and going home. But the difference between Beckham and Manning right now is emotional control and the understanding that outbursts create a distraction, which can hurt the team.
Yes, the media is too hard on Beckham and points out the little things and amplifies them. But Beckham has to better control what he gives the media in the first place—and that doesn’t mean toning down how much he cares.
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