The Giants have never considered and are not considering any sort of internal discipline for Odell Beckham's emotional outbursts, and have continued to support him publically and privately, according to multiple team sources, at a time when numerous pundits and commentators have suggested he be benched or suspended for a game. While the Giants have stressed to Beckham the importance of not giving away penalty yards and realize he can be too sensitive at times, the organization stands firmly behind him and believe his flare-ups are being blown out of proportion.
Some internally believe it was a mistake for Beckham to play the victim card in his postgame comments after Monday's loss to the Vikings. Team sources said the club has availed coaches and the player development staff to Beckham should he want to talk more at length about the tirades he has suffered from recently, and they have faith he will overcome being goaded into such behavior.
"We would never bet against this kid," said one team official. "He knows he has our support and we all know what kind of player he is and what kind of person he is. He is not a problem child. He's a very good kid who has a strong mentality who has made a few mistakes and he knows what he has to work on. All of the noise on this is coming from outside our building; this is not making a lot of noise within it."
Some within the organization want NFL officials to keep a closer eye on the kind of physical play Beckham is facing -- specifically getting hit quickly in the helmet or facemask by opponents playing press-man coverage.
Expect the Giants to make a concerted effort to get Beckham more involved early on Sunday, sources said. He has just eight targets in the first quarter all season (23rd in the NFL).
As for the idea that he "isn't having fun" playing football or is seriously distressed about the start to the season? "He's fine," one source close to Beckham said. "He knows what he has do, and he knows what he can and can't do and what he has to work on. He can handle this."
For all the attention being paid to the situation nationally, Beckham has just four fewer receiving yards than the 307 he had after four games last season and just two fewer receptions. He has yet to score a touchdown, but Eli Manning has thrown just four total this season and hasn't thrown the ball Beckham's way as much as in the past, either. The offense has suffered from poor pass protection and had to go through a gambit of running backs due to injury. The Giants were also facing one of the NFL's true elite defenses as well last week, when Beckham got into it with corner Xavier Rhodes.
If anything, Beckham's coaches and teammates believe that Beckham will respond to the adversity by flourishing on the field.
