Xavier Rhodes may have pushed Odell Beckham Jr over the edge
An intense matchup against Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes may have pushed Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. over the edge on Monday night.
The Minnesota Vikings and Xavier Rhodes may want to send Josh Norman and his former team each a special gift. Maybe a U.S. Bank Stadium Inaugural Season Coin?
A case of champagne perhaps? It appears that last season’s Panthers-Giants matchup, in which CB Josh Norman famously goaded OBJ all game long leading to unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, a meltdown by OBJ, leading to his 1 game suspension that held him out of last season Vikings-Giants matchup, and most importantly in the scope of the NFL, the rule that owners passed disqualifying a player for 2 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. That rule was affectionately dubbed the Odell Beckham Rule by owners.
In the case of the Minnesota Vikings and their fans, Xavier Rhodes followed the script perfectly. It make have taken some on the field jawing, followed by a little bump while OBJ was (slightly) out of bounds, but it was easy to see OBJ start melting down. It looked like Rhodes was starting to play the part a bit much at times as he had to be restrained by teammates a couple of times. From the outset of the game, Xavier Rhodes was the voice in OBJ’s head. The frustration came to a head when OBJ received the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Sep 27, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive back Xavier Rhodes (29) catches a pass before the game against the San Diego Chargers at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
The game plan for Beckham Jr. was executed to perfection as Xavier Rhodes not only held him to 3 receptions for 23 yards, the lowest output of his career, but also led to Odell mixing up a play call with QB Eli Manning.
That play call led to a crucial point in the game when Xavier Rhodes hauled in a deep Eli Manning pass for an interception. The whole time the ball was in the air it was apparent that OBJ had run the wrong route. As OBJ was crossing the goal post, the ball was travelling towards the hatch marks, and the only man in the vicinity was Xavier Rhodes.
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It wasn’t just Rhodes theatrics that led to his performance by any means. Let’s not forget last week that he also held Kelvin Benjamin without a catch! Rhodes return from injury coupled with outstanding play from every member of the Vikings highly ranked defense, as high as #2 on some lists, has the Minnesota Vikings on a trending upward trajectory.
For the Giants, a bigger problem is emerging. OBJ, their star receiver is starting to show signs he is spinning out of control. Just the fact that Beckham had met with coach McAdoo days before the game about just this topic, and it happened again, is reason to worry. Its getting into the locker room too, as Eli Manning has spoken up now about OBJ needing to think about how his penalties take away more from the team than help them. That’s the start of a locker room “cancer”.
Its looking like the management for the Giants is also taking notice, as Giants GM Jerry Reese had quite a long conversation with OBJ in the locker room yesterday. This recent turn of events in Beckham’s career is an unexpected and unfortunate story arc in a story that was starting off with limitless promise.
In an interview today with ESPN, OBJ has stated that football isn’t fun for him anymore. For the sake of the NFL and legions of young fans who idolize the electric, mind bending, body contorting WR, whose never give up attitude led to catches that most receivers would watch sail by, hopefully OBJ rights his ship. Now that we are finished with him!
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