As teams around the league determine that the best way to stop Odell Beckham Jr. may be to get in his head with either verbal taunts or steady physical play and unleash the emotional dragon that has reared itself these past two weeks, Giants offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan has a few unflattering words for them and that tactic.
"You really have to ask yourself: Why are they trying to get in his head? Why are they trying to rattle him?" Sullivan said in a rant on Thursday afternoon. "If a guy, a defender, is confident, if he has complete belief in his own abilities and he's a true competitor, why does he want to try to tip the scales and not want Odell to be at his best?
"The only reason a guy tries to get him off his game is because they're not confident enough in their abilities," he continued. "They're afraid to match up against him one-on-one, mano a mano if you will. If that's going to be the approach, you can put that in the bank and say obviously the guy is not courageous enough or man enough or brave enough, whatever you want to say, to go ahead and play it straight up. If they need those types of tricks, OK, then so be it. We're going to rise above it."
The problem is that Beckham has so far not been able to rise above it. His whole career has been littered with episodes in which opposing defenders have been able to distract him. Josh Norman may be his arch-nemesis, but there are plenty of others who see mental warfare as their best chance to limit Beckham's productivity. Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes was just the latest to do it on Monday night.
Sullivan's comments come a day after an ESPN report that officials have been told by the league to keep an eye out for defensive backs who may be trying to bait Beckham in particular. Giants coach Ben McAdoo was asked on Wednesday whether that could become an actual game plan for opponents.
"Like it's hockey? Possibly," McAdoo said of the potential for goons to eliminate Beckham from the Giants' game plan _ or even the game.
"I'm sure that teams aren't really thrilled about him having the ball in his hands," McAdoo said. "He can do something with it. They're going to do whatever they can do to keep him from having the ball in his hands. If they feel that that's a good strategy, then you may see it."
That doesn't mean Sullivan likes it.
"It just comes down to the competitive spirit," Sullivan said. "Let's talk about the whole macho thing, what macho means. 'I'm a tough guy, I never respond.' If I know the source of your motivation is because you are afraid of me, because you don't want to match up against me, so what?"
We may be about to find out.
