Pat Shurmur said he isn't worried about any fallout from Odell Beckham Jr.'s frustration after Sunday's 25-22 loss to the Eagles. No matter that Beckham came close to going over the line in criticizing Shurmur's game plan against Philadelphia's injury-riddled secondary.
"That's one man's opinion after an emotional loss," Shurmur said Monday when asked about Beckham's comments. "What happens is you get an opportunity to get a good night's sleep, watch the tape, maybe change his opinion."
Maybe.
But not likely.
Beckham clearly was agitated after the game and went as far as he could without calling out Shurmur.
"Coming in, knowing that they struggled in the secondary, personally, I would have loved to attack them," Beckham said. "But it wasn't in our game plan."
He deferred to Shurmur when pressed further about the game plan.
"I just do what I'm told to do and go out there and execute," Beckham said. "Whenever I get the opportunity to do something, I try to make the most of it. If I don't have that many opportunities, all I can do is what I can do when I have an opportunity."
Beckham was careful not to directly undercut his coach, but a player who has been as outspoken as Beckham surely understands he is getting his point across without having to use a sledgehammer. In this case, Beckham used a scalpel.
And you'd better believe that a player of Beckham's caliber who desperately wants to help his team win and believes one of the best ways to do that is to get him the ball won't be assuaged with a good night's sleep and a deep dive into the game tape.
Beckham has been mostly careful not to make waves in the locker room this season. Except for an ESPN interview in which he offered tepid support for Eli Manning and left open the possibility he wasn't entirely happy living and playing in the New York market, Beckham has toed the company line. He even apologized to his teammates and coaches for any misunderstandings about his comments to ESPN, and hasn't come close to creating any further distractions with his words.
What he said Sunday didn't rise to the level of insubordination. But it did at least raise the possibility that Shurmur will have to carefully manage a potentially disturbing situation involving the best and highest-paid player on his team.
Shurmur offered a plausible explanation for why things went wrong against the Eagles and why Beckham may not have been entirely accurate about what appeared to be a more conservative game plan against a battered secondary.
"We ran the ball 18 times, we threw it 37," Shurmur said. "That's twice as many throws as there were runs. We had seven explosive gains in the passing game. The only team that we played that we had more was Carolina, we had eight. There were many times (on Sunday) we tried to throw it to him.
"You'll have to ask him to define it after he watches the tape, but I felt like we were trying to do the things necessary to win the game. We still got production in the running game. Had a couple of third-down calls in the red zone that were close. We get those in, it's a different story."
But the day-after "woulda, shoulda, coulda" couldn't mask the reality that Shurmur's play-calling left much to be desired in the second half. Penalties and sacks created unwanted obstacles. Even so, Saquon Barkley should have had way more than five touches in the second half, especially after such a dynamic first half. Beckham was targeted only nine times and finished with five catches for 85 yards and no touchdowns _ well below his usual standards.
Beckham's comments were noteworthy and pointed to a potentially deeper sense of frustration with Shurmur's play-calling. At the very least, it's a situation that bears watching as the 3-8 Giants play out the rest of their schedule with no realistic chance at a playoff berth.
To Shurmur, a good night's sleep and a peek at the tape will be sufficient to address Beckham's sense of unease. Knowing Beckham, that might be wishful thinking.
