Meant to publish this some time ago, but then came other things, more serious things, that occupied my time, and it seemed a bit disrespectful to publish it with so much else then happening. In fact, I was starting to fear that I might never publish this. But it was not all that long ago, and is still being debated by Giants fans here in the Tri-State area, so I will go ahead and post this now.
It is official: Odell Beckham will be leaving the Giants, and joining his new club, the Cleveland Browns, who feel more and more like a truly up and coming young ball club. I heard someone even suggest that the Browns will win the AFC North. That seems maybe bit premature, although frankly, I would love to see that. But they will not have an easy time of it.
Meanwhile, it looks like it might be another long year for the Giants. Coming off two straight seasons where they had a combined total of eight wins, the prospects for the upcoming season do not appear great at this moment. In fact, the Giants look like they will have yet another highly forgettable, and perhaps regrettable, season.
Many are suggesting that this was a very bad move for the Giants, that they got rid of one of the most talented players in the league, and possibly one of the best wide receivers in history.
However, I do not agree. In fact, I think that the Giants should likely benefit by doing what they did. Yet, most people seem to feel that this was a huge mistake for the G-Men.
Maybe. But here's the question that I had, as a Giants fan: how much better did he make his team?
While Beckham was racking up some admittedly impressive numbers, and received attention on sports highlight reels during his time with the team. Admittedly, I took pleasure in some of those exciting moments, and marveled at his talents. My own personal favorite moment was that one-handed touchdown grab a few years ago against the Dallas Cowboys. That still ranks as one of the most amazing catches that I have ever seen in any football game.
Now, of course, Beckham is a former Giant. He was traded to the Cleveland Browns for a couple of high draft picks.
Yet, as a Giants fan, I feel almost a sense of relief, even though Beckham was, admittedly, undeniably enormously talented.
Why?
Frankly, he was a selfish, immature player. Again, the question is how much better did he make the Giants? Did they improve with him as a member of the team?
If you look at the last two seasons, the answer is a resounding no. The Giants finished 2017 with a 3-13 record, the worst since I became a fan in 1981. They followed that up with a 5-11 mark last season. Beckham was injury plagued for much of that time, but when he was not, he was a distraction. He could indeed be a hero on the field, but he lacked leadership and any sense of responsibility off of it, from what I saw.
The fact of the matter is that Beckham had become an enormous headache and distraction, one that the Giants needed to move beyond. This was their chance to do so, and they took it. As a Giants fan, I am glad, because Beckham showed no indications that he was about to improve and suddenly become a selfless player, or help the Giants become a truly better team.
Maybe the Giants could have used him better, as some are suggesting. But Beckham reminds me of other troubled, and troubling, wide receivers. Terrell Owens, often known simply as "T.O." Skip Bayless used to suggest that this was not merely his initials, but stood for "Team Obliterator." And when you saw his antics, and how his actions and behavior in the end hurt the San Francisco 49ers, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Dallas Cowboys, you have to come to the conclusion that it was not the fault of each one of those teams. The common denominator in all of those situations was Owens, who never seemed to be happy, and who made his feelings known, even if it did serious, even irreparable, harm to his teams.
The same can be said of Antonio Brown. I am not a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, so I am not exactly mourning their bad luck with him, like I did not mourn the bad luck of San Francisco with Owens. However, all of the nonsense with his antics, which revolved around his enormous ego, did that team no good. They should have been a legitimate Super Bowl contender, yet they consistently underachieved, particularly in the last two seasons. They lost to a Jacksonville team that they frankly should have beaten in the playoffs following the 2017 season, and then they missed the playoffs outright last season. Brown was not helpful either time, and it felt like Pittsburgh should have been able to go farther, even possibly much farther, both seasons.
As for the Giants, they were not even close to the level of play as the teams that Owens and Brown played for. Owens played for a playoff team in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Dallas, at least before things went bad. Hell, the Eagles and arguably the Cowboys were serious title contenders. And Brown was on a serious title contender in Pittsburgh. In each situation, everything went bad, and the high-profile unhappiness of these two players always seemed to be at the center of everything.
That is why I am not mourning Beckham's departure. Frankly, I almost wanted it to happen sooner, truth be told.
Maybe he will make Cleveland better. It seems that the fans there are happy that Beckham joined their team, and good for them. I am glad that they are happy, and would actually rather appreciate seeing the Browns become good again. Three decades have passed since the last time that the Browns reached the AFC title game, and they have never been to the Super Bowl in franchise history. So, they are overdue for some serious success, and let me be honest: if Beckham helps them get there, then I will be happy for them.
However, he was not helping the Giants much. I mean it! Yes, he had some spectacular highlight reel plays, and he sold a lot of jerseys. Probably put a lot of butts in seats, for that matter. But again, the Giants were 3-13 in 2017, and they followed that up with a 5-11 season last year. Is all of that Beckham's fault? No, of course not. But his immaturity was rubbing off on other players, and he lacked leadership qualities and, I feel, was not a responsible team player. He was more of a distraction than anything else, and so he was hurting the team more than helping, adding fuel to the fire with all of the problems that the franchise was facing. Those two seasons were the worst two consecutive seasons that I saw the Giants have, and I have been a fan of their since the 1981 season.
So, my belief is that they will be better off without him, and Cleveland just might be better off with him. In that sense, it might be a win-win. But the Giants definitely needed to do something, and Beckham needed a reminder that teams come first, that he is not so indispensable that anything goes. There are limits to things, and his immaturity had just gone too far. He had been given too much of a free pass for too long. He needs to find a way to keep his ego in check, and maybe being booted out of the biggest market in the NFL might help him recognize that.
Again, nothing against Beckham personally. I wish him every success in Cleveland, and really hope that he helps get that team back into the playoffs. And hopefully, the Giants will do something truly special with their draft choices, and begin to build a playoff contending team themselves in the near future! Hopefully, everyone gets something out of this trade.
