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Odell Beckham Jr. Will Show Antonio Cromartie His Growth First Hand Sunday Afternooon

By Kenneth Teape

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Odell Beckham Jr. is one of the top wide receivers in the NFL and will show that to the skeptical Antonio Cromartie when the two face off this weekend.

Odell Beckham Jr. has seen his star shine bright right away in his NFL career. He has set multiple records since joining the New York Giants as their 2014 first round pick, and made numerous catches that fans will watch time and time again on vines and highlight reels.

But, during that time, a group of naysayers has also developed. Some people believe that he is a prima donna such as Preston Brown of the Buffalo Bills. The Bills and Giants faced off in Week 4, as the Giants picked up a 24-10 victory. After the game, the Bills accussed Beckham Jr. of throwing punches and calling him a prima donna. Brown, after the game, said, “That’s what he does. He’ll get away with it. He’s the ‘golden boy’ of the league. He’s on the cover of Madden. Sometimes, you get away with stuff like that.”

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There is video of Beckham Jr. throwing what looks like punches during the game, but he was not flagged for the play, but fined afterwards. He has not had any more altercations since, despite teams continually targeting him as the guy to stop on the Giants offense. They push coverage to him and some teams try roughing him up to get into his head. While he is off his 12-game pace of his rookie season, Beckham Jr. has still piled up impressive stats of 72 receptions for 1,005 yards and nine touchdowns in 11 games.

One person who is not impressed with what Beckham Jr. has accomplished thus far is New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie called Beckham Jr. a one-year wonder, which could be taken as a slight from a veteran not happy with the attention a young player like Beckham Jr. has received in such a short amount of time. Some will say he was not critical, just saying he wanted to see more before crowning him the next best thing.

Whatever he meant by it, Cromartie was back at it again Monday. The Giants and Jets face off this weekend in what is a very important game for both teams, and Cromartie delivered another head scratching quote directed at Beckham Jr.

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With 23 games now complete in his young career, it is clear that Beckham Jr. is a special talent in this league. Now, with the team set to meet on the field in less than a week, Cromartie fired off another quote at Beckham Jr., albeit one that is more coookie cutter than the last.

“I still feel like there’s still so much room for him to grow. He’s a young, athletic guy that can go out and make plays, and make unbelievable catches. He’s proven that over and over,” Cromartie said. But, he wasn’t done, also adding, “He does have a lot of room to grow, because he’s so young. He’s only in his second year, so he only can evolve in that offense. Being around the guys, like Eli Manning, (can) make him evolve more. Yes, he has a lot of room to grow, to be the guy that everyone knows he can be.”

Well then. If Beckham Jr. needed any more motivation, he has gotten some. The Jets secondary has not been as strong as advertised in recent weeks, and with Darrelle Revis battling a concussion, they could be down their best cover corner. Cromartie should be hoping that Revis recovers and draws the responsibility of defending Beckham Jr., because if Cromartie ends up having to do it, it could be a very long afternoon for the Jets.

I can already see the faces of Jets fans remember what happened to Cromartie the last time he tried making a play against the top Giants receiver in Victor Cruz, when he whiffed on a tackle and watched Cruz run all the way to the end zone for a salsa dance.

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