NEW YORK _ For the Jets and Giants, the Yankees glomming the October spotlight is a wonderful thing.
The longer the Bombers stay alive in the playoffs, the more the shoddy play of both "professional" football teams is put on the back burner in the Valley of the Stupid and other media precincts. Still, there is one man, a media magnet, who can alter that inevitability _ Odell Beckham Jr.
If he suddenly comes alive Sunday against Carolina, a high voltage performance cannot be ignored. Yet the scenario that will really put the Giants under the media microscope is if Eli Manning can't get Beckham the ball, finally setting off the ticking emotional time bomb residing in the pit of the wideout's stomach.
An advance degree in media arts & science is not needed to envision the following headline: 90 Million Dollar Man Flips Out on Sidelines.
We're sure the pros can do better than this but you get the picture, right? Then all the controversy will come tumbling down and the Beckham backlash will officially begin. In reality, some VOS Gasbags haven't needed a singular moment to already clip Beckham. They have gone out front, predicting a Beckham meltdown is an overthrown Manning pass away. They all see Beckham's frustration building.
Like Brandon Tierney, one half of CBS Sports Radio "Tiki (Barber) & Tierney" team. On a recent show, Tierney focused on Beckham's performance, during an interview with boss scribes, where he made multiple use of the words "I" and "Me."
"This is not a quote from a leader," an indignant Tierney said on the air. He then noted OBJ, in the same interview, said he had "sacrificed" everything. "You've sacrificed everything?" Tierney asked. "Are you kidding me? You're a pro football player ... Is this guy kidding me, seriously? That's a problem right there. That is a problem that is symptomatic (of bigger things)."
Tierney covered his tuchis by explaining what a "great" talent Beckham is (as if we didn't know) before predicting what is coming. "Now you're looking to see the temper tantrum," Tierney said. "The helmet is flying off, the hair is going wild ... The Giants have problems, watch, watch. The Giants are in trouble."
If Tierney is correct, a meltdown plus no production Sunday, will once again unleash all the questions about whether the Giants should have signed Beckham to a mega deal. Or whether Beckham's "good behavior" leading up to the season was a charade. It will lead to speculation about lack of chemistry and dysfunction.
And not even the Yankees can provide cover for the Giants if Beckham puts them on that grill.
