Keep On Dancing, Odell Beckham Jr

Every Odell Beckham Jr touchdown has been extremely fun to watch in a season that hasn’t been very fun for New York Giants fans. His touchdown dance, “the whip”, has been equally fun to watch for everyone except opposing defenses. This was made evident last Sunday versus the St. Louis Rams and their defensive coordinator Greg Williams who is known for encouraging his players to play dirty.

The Rams’ defense did just that last Sunday when linebacker Alec Ogletree basically speared Beckham late after a sideline play. Luckily for Beckham the Giants play with a lot of pride and his teammates rushed to his aid which ignited a brawl on the Giants sideline. Earlier in the game, many Giants players took exception to running back Tre Mason‘s mocking of Beckham’s signature touchdown dance after scoring a touchdown of his own.

Dec 14, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Redskins during the fourth quarter of a game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams tried several times to knock Beckham out of the game and possibly severely injure him. All of this because the Rams were upset that Beckham did his dance after lighting up the Rams’ defense like a Christmas tree all afternoon long for 8 catches, 148 yards and two touchdowns.

The Rams were upset and jealous that they don’t have a receiver anywhere close to the caliber of Beckham, but also because they couldn’t stop him no matter how hard they tried to bully him on the field.

If the Rams or anyone else for that matter get so offended by Beckham and his 4-second dance, then why not man up and try to stop him the right way without taking cowardly cheap shots at him. Look, it’s not Beckham’s fault if the defenses he goes up against aren’t good enough to cover him. He should not have to apologize for being excited for making a play and having fun on the field. Beckham does not taunt anyone, doesn’t make obscene gestures or start fights.

All he is doing is playing with the heart and passion that 75 percent of the NFL lacks and motivates his teammates to play harder to match the young phenom’s drive to be a winner. If opposing defense’s played with the heart Beckham plays with, maybe they would be more successful in containing him instead of whining like crybabies because they have no answer for him.

Yes, Beckham is becoming a target for other soft defenses who know in their minds they have zero shot to hold him and will do anything they can to knock him out of the game. Still, Beckham cannot change who he is because of the jealousy of others.

Changing his demeanor on the field would impact his play negatively because no player plays to their full potential if they feel they cannot be themselves while playing the game they love. At the end of the day, Beckham is working his tail off for Big Blue and that is all he should worry about instead of trying to appease the politically correct masses.

Beckham is already a top ten receiver in the league and he will not be going anywhere for a very long time. He will only get better as he gains more experience and having pressure taken off of him when fellow stud receiver Victor Cruz returns next season. Opposing defenses should spend more time on the practice field trying to better themselves so they aren’t embarrassed by Beckham when he comes to their town instead of plotting to take the unprofessional childish route and plot to injure him physically.

As the great Ray Lewis once said, “This is a man’s game” and Beckham exemplifies that with his aggressive play and anyone not ready to play better not even show up. So as I channel my inner Hulk Hogan I got one question for defenses across the league, what are you going to do, when Beckham and the Big Blue Wrecking Crew run wild on you!