Even as he streaked past the Baltimore secondary for a euphoric game-winning touchdown, you couldn’t help but feel that Odell Beckham Jr was going to screw it up somehow.
That’s the Beckham life – he is a genius with many caveats, a magnificent chef prone to flinging his plates just to hear something smash. We, the public, are often left to just shake our heads, equal parts bemused and disappointed, as the lasagne slides down the walls.
Beckham got away with it on Sunday against the Ravens. Yes, he ran into the end zone nonchalantly holding the ball with just one hand, even though Baltimore safety Anthony Levine was closer to him than such an early celebration would have implied. And yes, he earned an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play for taking off his helmet, costing his team valuable field position. Fortunately, for him and his Giants, the New York defence held at the death, a place where in years and weeks past they’ve often had to settle for dying.
And that’s why the narrative to emerge from New York’s season-saving 27-23 win over the Ravens is Beckham’s masterpiece. Eight catches, 222 yards and two touchdowns. It’s a stat-line that you’d expect from superstar wide-outs like Julio Jones and Antonio Brown, and on Sunday, Beckham reminded us that he belongs in their company.
All of Beckham’s extra-terrestrial talents were on display. There was the lightning quickness and acceleration to turn a nothing play to start the third quarter into 11 yards and a first down. He showed his immaculate timing, awareness and footwork to catch a perfectly weighted 43-yarder from Eli Manning along the left sideline in tight coverage in the final term. And then there were the two long touchdowns, the first a brilliantly run route leaving Terrence Brooks for dead, the second an exquisite moment of virtuosity to win the match.
Beckham does everything with swagger and verve. He is always looking to be creative, believing in the big play where others couldn’t even see it. When he catches the ball in open space he looks like a determined, delighted child, with explosive pace, the ecstatic mindset to always make defenders miss, and the athleticism and intelligence to make them do so.
He’s not as physically imposing as Julio Jones, as tough as Julian Edelman or as reliably excellent as Antonio Brown. But somehow, between the compact strength, the blinding speed, the hands of glue, the dynamic smarts and the perpetually defiant mentality, he’s as exciting and breathtaking as any player in the league.
With that defiance and excitement, though, comes the flipside of the Odell Experience. Some, especially Beckham himself, have compared him to Russell Westbrook, which is a disservice to Westbrook.
Westbrook, like Beckham, is a maniac. Unlike Beckham, Oklahoma City’s star point guard controls and channels his mania. He directs it towards charging to the rim, leaping for offensive rebounds and pushing the ball down the court with violence. On the other hand, Beckham’s competitive energy surfaces in cheap shots at Josh Norman, stupid personal fouls, and fights with the kicker’s net. Where Westbrook is passionate, Beckham is often just petulant.
Maybe Beckham’s petulance is a necessary condition for his creativity and brilliance. Maybe you can’t have the defiance without defying everything – including maturity. But there has to be the hope that one day soon Beckham will stop with the sideshow and devote everything to the real show.
Westbrook is a majestic but flawed basketball player. He can’t shoot, he’s lazy on defence and he’s prone to bouts of well-intended fire when the situation calls for ice.
Beckham is not a flawed football player – not in the truest sense, at least. Forgiving his temperament, he has almost no weaknesses. Any shortcoming – like height, perhaps – he has more than compensated for. He is as close to a perfect wide receiver as you will see.
He is not, though, a perfect teammate. He feels bigger than the game, in ways both wonderful and disappointing. If Beckham eventually figures it out, the NFL will shake like rims do after a Westbrook dunk.(Click to Tweet)
222 yards and the game-winning score ain’t bad for growing pains, though. On what is beginning to feel like an inconsequential team, led by a fading a quarterback, a clueless coach and an underwhelming defence, Beckham provides relevance and life. In reality, even at his worst, all he’s done this year is distract from his team’s discouraging situation.
I saw Beckham play live two years ago in a meaningless late-season game against Washington on a chilly, overcast December day in East Rutherford. Neither team could make the playoffs and MetLife Stadium was largely empty. Beckham, a rookie, gave the game meaning all by himself.
He had 143 yards and three touchdowns, bursting through the seams of the defence, rising up at the back of the end zone, and finding yards that never existed. In a dreary, dark context, he was pure electricity. He was light.
Sometimes, the bulb smashes and the star explodes. Hopefully, that won’t always be the case. But until then, the supernova is still more than worth it.
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