5 myths the Browns will dispel en route to 2019 playoffs
3. Odell Beckham is a disruptive headache
Okay, so while Antonio Brown is off getting his feet frostbitten in cryotherapy and trying to wear an old helmet that increases his risk of getting a head injury, it’s really Beckham who’s a headache, locker room cancer, selfish “me” guy, not a team player and, to highlight one specific scorching take, “as destructive as he [is] talented.”
As Dr. Evil would say, “Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.”
Since his widely-criticized decision not to attend voluntary organized team activities in the offseason, OBJ has drawn rave reviews from the dawn of training camp, wowing spectators with his route-running precision, breakaway speed, ball-tracking ability and, of course, one-handed catches. He even puts in extra work after practice on the JUGS machine, flashing his knack for Han[d] Solo grabs.
Beckham is enjoying a change of scenery. He’s away from the spotlight and the oft-ultra-sensationalist New York media. He’s with his best friend, fellow stud receiver Jarvis Landry, and his position coach from LSU, Adam Henry. OBJ is playing with a far superior quarterback to whatever is left of Eli Manning.
What’s the problem here?
Even if, for some reason, Beckham doesn’t get as many passes thrown his way as expected, he can celebrate the fact that he’s winning. If the ball isn’t coming his way, it means Landry is opened up for a favorable matchup he can easily win. The same goes for dynamic tight end David Njoku. Backs like Chubb can feast and have free space to roam off check-down receptions with Beckham threatening to beat the defense deep.
As Beckham said to Sports Illustrated‘s Ben Baskin in the Browns’ recent cover story, “Somebody […] is going to put that motherf—– in the end zone.”
A big reason why Beckham was so angry in New York at times was due to Manning’s frequently off-target passes and the resultant lack of wins. It takes a lot to throw off-target to someone with such sure hands and a catch radius the size of Beckham’s. That really speaks to how awful Manning is. This won’t be a problem with the pinpoint-precise Mayfield.
Beckham has been abundantly clear of his priorities. In a GQ profile where members of the press would more readily cite anything else or take any other passage out of context, Beckham said, “I care about winning more than anything.”
So until he’s making waves for not getting the ball or criticizing his quarterback during a losing season, cool the jets. Beckham is a guy who wants to be like the Patriots in terms of consistent winning.
Naturally, that gets taken out of context to suggest Beckham believes the Browns are the next Patriots. No, that’s not what he means, believe it or not. He had to clarify this at length, because of course he had to.
This guy just desperately wants to win, has never won a championship at any level, and is the type of game-changing talent that can push a team that was already on the rise in Cleveland into the Super Bowl conversation.