The New York Giants believe first-round pick Odell Beckham is exactly the type of talent who can help Eli Manning put last year's struggles in the rearview.
Beckham has to be on the field to make a difference, of course. The rookie wide receiver missed his fourth straight training camp practice on Sunday with a hamstring injury. Afterwards, Giants coach Tom Coughlin was asked about being disappointed.
"It's more than that," Coughlin said, according to ESPN.com. "We're trying to put a team together. We saw too much of that in the spring."
Beckham was held out of several practices during OTAs and minicamp because of the same hamstring injury. Coughlin called out Beckham last week after he stopped short on a deep route, leading to a Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie interception.
"He's got some work to do, just like they all do," Coughlin said after that practice, via the Sporting News.
On Sunday, Coughlin made it clear his frustration is not with Beckham, but the lingering nature of the hamstring injury. There are just six weeks to go before the New York Giantsbegin the regular season against the Detroit Lions.
"We're not going to let him go if he's in danger of hurting himself. That's all there is to it," Coughlin said. "I can stand here and fight all I want. It's not going to matter."
Coughlin has been around forever, so he knows the more reps Beckham misses this summer, the less he's able to make an instant impact as a rookie.
And therein lies the rub: This new Giants' offense really needs Beckham to hit the ground running.
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