Odell Beckham Jr. Emotion Understood By Randy Moss

Not many people understand Odell Beckham Jr., but one guy who might is former All-Pro Randy Moss.

Odell Beckham Jr. is once again in the spotlight, but not for a reason he wants to be. When the New York Giants faced off with the Washington Redskins last week, Beckham Jr. was caught by cameras having an outburst on the sidelines.

His outburst turned into fodder for the media and fans alike, as people believe he let his emotions get the best of him. Had the Giants won the game the tone would be different, but the Giants fell to the Redskins last week in a game they couldn’t get out of their own way.

There is no denying that Beckham Jr. is a passionate player that cares about his craft. He wants to be the best, and when the team isn’t playing up to the potential he believes they are capable of he shows it in sometimes demonstrative displays on the sideline.

It is what gets him going, as his game picked up after the outburst. Eli Manning began feeding the ball more to him and he responded. He finished the game with a strong stat line of seven receptions for 121 yards.

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Despite the strong game, people have still centered the focus on what he did on the sidelines, not what he did between the lines. It is something that former All-Pro and future Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss can relate to.

Moss was a lightning rod for controversy early in his career with the Minnesota Vikings. He was fined and criticized multiple times for his actions, under the same sort of spotlight that Beckham Jr. currently is.

"“When you talk about emotion, I’m not mad, looking at how young Odell Beckham is,” said Moss, now an ESPN analyst. “That’s passion, man.There are other ways that I guess people show it. But man, he wants to make plays. He wanted to make plays.”"

Everyone remembers what happened last season when Beckham Jr. lined up against Josh Norman when he was a member of the Carolina Panthers. The two got into a heated altercation, with five penalties being called between the two of them. Beckham Jr. was subsequently suspended for one game for his actions in the game.

That made the matchup between the Giants and Redskins last week bigger than normal. A divisional matchup brings a certain level of intensity already; add in the matchup between Beckham Jr. and Norman and you are reaching a totally different level of intensity. It is something that Moss believes played into the emotion we saw pour out of Beckham Jr. on the sideline.

"“You think about the hype leading up to last week’s game against the Redskins. It wasn’t just the Redskins against the Giants. It was Beckham-Norman, you know what I’m saying? That was like some boxing stuff, man,” Moss said. “I understood his frustration. I know he caught some balls. I know he got some yards, but I said on [Sunday NFL] Countdown that man really wants to get up in that end zone. When he gets up in that end zone, that is when he’s allowed to strut, dance and do all the other stuff.”"

Beckham Jr. has yet to find the end zone this season, making it four consecutive games without hitting paydirt. That is the longest drought in thus far in his career, dating back to the final game of 2015.

He will not turn 24 until November 5th, so he is still a young player. No one is perfect, especially young players, as they still have plenty of things to learn. Moss believes that with experience, Beckham Jr. will continue learning and changing who he is.

"“I understood [Beckham’s] frustration,” Moss said. “But at the same time, being able to control it and hold it — I’m not saying it’s the last time he’s going to do it — but like I said, I understand it. It’s up to the head coach and the team to go out there and help him control it.“But at the same time, he has to want to do it. It’s something I had to learn later because I was just football when I came into the league. Just football, football, football. When you know better, you do better.”"

Beckham Jr. is already one of the most talented receivers in the NFL. He set two NFL records last week against the Redskins, becoming the quickest player to 200 receptions and 3,000 yards in NFL history.

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If he wants to continue setting records, it would do him well to listen to the advice of Moss; he is someone, that knows better than most people, about the scrutiny that Beckham Jr. is facing and how to combat it.

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