Odell Beckham on onside kick effort: 'Nobody should ever question my effort or my heart'
As an onside kick was headed toward Odell Beckham Jr., something strange happened. He really didn’t make much of an attempt to grab it.
Ultimately it turned out fine. The Chicago Bears tied the game at the end of regulation, but the New York Giants won in overtime.
Still, there was the lingering question about what happened on that onside kick. You can watch for yourself and decide if Beckham made a “business decision” and didn’t go all out or there was a good reason to not dive in. A Beckham recovery would have clinched the game, and that’s why he’s on the Giants’ hands team.
Beckham said it wasn’t an issue with his effort.
Odell Beckham says his effort shouldn’t be questioned
Steve Politi of NJ.com was curious about the play after the game, and he asked Beckham about it. Beckham said it was basically an in-between hop, like a shortstop who doesn’t know to charge a grounder or let it come to him.
“Honestly, when [the ball] took a hop, the guys on the front line, it looked like we were in a position where we didn’t know if they were going to go get it or they wanted me to go get it, and I was so far back when they passed the ball,” Beckham told Politi. “I was trying to run up there and get into the mix, I just got to it late.”
Later Beckham was asked specifically about what he’d say if someone questioned his effort on the onside recovery.
“That’s fine. It was a great kick. Sometimes, somebody makes a better play that you do,” Beckham said, according to NJ.com. “I can dive in there and still not get the ball. It was a very tough call. Nobody should ever question my effort or my heart. That’s the last thing you can do. You can question me as a person, as a man, whatever you want to do, but my heart and my effort can never be questioned. Ever.”
Just another Beckham controversy
If the same play happened to another player it might not be a big deal, especially after a win. But this is Beckham. Everything is a big deal with Beckham. For some reason controversy seems to follow him.
And just imagine what would have happened had the Giants lost.
It seems like this Beckham issue will pass quickly, considering his explanation was thorough and reasonable. But there’s likely to be something else to come up with him soon.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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