A statement released on Odell Beckham's touchdown celebration antics by team co-owner John Mara earlier this week was significant by Giants standards. But if anyone expected quarterback Eli Manning to also express his disappointment, they'd should think again.
Here's Manning's back and forth with reporters on the subject Tuesday, via transcripts provided by the club.
Q: Can you talk about how you felt about WR Odell Beckham Jr.'s celebration? A: I didn't see the celebration when it occurred. I knew we were penalized, but I didn't know why it occurred. Penalties, you can't have penalties. That's that simple and so on all aspects of it, we have to eliminate those.
Q: How much do you feel the need to talk to WR Odell Beckham Jr.? A: No. I didn't talk to him about that. Again, my job is to get him ready to play each week, you know, make sure he knows his assignments, knows what he's doing and he can go out there and get in the end zone and do a celebration, but make sure we're not penalizing the team.
Q: Do you feel like it's a cause for alarm when the owner speaks about a prominent player and says that he's unhappy? A: That's part of football. You get penalized, there's a chance there's going to be people that are unhappy whether it's the owner, the head coach or other players. Can't afford penalties.
Q: Are you unhappy with WR Odell Beckham Jr.'s antics? A: No. I want him to go out there and play hard obviously. It's part of being smart in all aspects of penalties. I don't think unhappy is the word. Just everybody has to be a little smarter and in this situation when things are tough and we're trying to find ways to get wins and we have to grind and we're catching some bad breaks and things aren't going our way, we can't afford to make it harder on ourselves.
I thought Good Morning Football's Peter Schrager made a good point Wednesday morning when he said that the Giants cannot have it both ways. The team, and Manning by extension, has allowed Beckham to come into his own over the last four years. They have supported him through strange situations and celebrations in the past because the production was unmatchable. At this point, Beckham is the Giants' offense. His ability to take short-yardage passes and turn them into chunk gains remains Ben McAdoo's saving grace while he tries to scheme around a developing offensive line.
What are they going to say now? What can they say?
