Why Michael Irvin Is Wrong About Odell Beckham Jr. Not Needing to Change

Former Dallas Cowboys receiver and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin recently offered the New York Giants a little unsolicited advice regarding their rookie phenomenon, Odell Beckham Jr:

Leave Beckham alone.

Irvin, who got to work a bit with Beckham before the Giants plucked the former LSU star in the first round of the 2014 draft, opined that it would not be a good idea if they demanded that the receiver tone things down, per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.

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I’m going to tell you this: New York should know better. Out of all the people in the world, New York should know better. You can’t take the lion out of the man. You did it to Jeremy Shockey and he wasn’t the same player.

Guys like this are a lot like me. They create these fights for themselves and then they come out Sunday and they fight like a dog. Don’t you stop them from creating those fights. Don’t calm them down. You let them go and you’ll get something special. You calm them down and you’ll get the start of something special, like we got the start of Jeremy Shockey, and then it fell off towards the end.

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With all due respect to Irvin, who had Beckham on his Pro Bowl team, he appears to be mixing Beckham’s passion and competitiveness with sportsmanship, the latter of which appears to be the Giants' concern.

The Heart of a Lion

After missing most of the preseason, summer camp and the first four weeks of the 2014 regular season, Beckham entered the lineup in Week 5. Shortly thereafter, he began to set the league on fire—all while still trying to work through not one, but two hamstring tears.

"I was never really fully healthy for the season anyways," Beckham said via Conor Orr of NFL.com. "So, I was just trying to manage and maintain it the best I could all year."

Even though Beckham was hurting—he admitted during the Pro Bowl week that he still wasn’t right—he still managed to catch 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 regular-season games. 

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

To his credit, the rookie’s temperament never changed. He went about his business and racked up record after record, turning himself into the toast of the NFL.

In that regard, Irvin is correct; the Giants must be careful not to crush Beckham’s competitive spirit and that borderline reckless abandon that the receiver delivers in his play.

On a team that has underperformed the last two seasons, to see the fire that Beckham brought to the field was a breath of fresh air, and it was not lost on his veteran teammates.

Following a 40-24 beating by the Colts in November, safety Antrel Rolle, in his weekly paid radio spot on WFAN (h/t Paul Schwartz of the New York Post), spoke of his admiration for Beckham’s passion.

"Yesterday in that locker room I look into [Odell] Beckham’s eyes and literally his eyes are bloodshot red," Rolle said. "He wants the ball, he wants to be great. He plays with an attitude. We need more of that."

They certainly do, which is where Irvin’s opinion that the Giants shouldn’t tinker with the young man’s passion is accurate.

Al Bello/Getty Images

Where Beckham Can (and Needs) to Change

Beckham’s exuberance and passion make him unique and so exciting to watch. 

However, it is that same passion that can also get Beckham in trouble, such as when he was flagged in Week 16 for spiking the ball after scoring against the Rams. Or when he and his teammates responded to the Rams on his sideline after a late hit out of bounds.  

Simply put, Beckham needs to play the game smarter and not put himself or his team in precarious situations that result from a surge of emotion.

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Playing smarter is exactly what the Giants coaching staff’s intentions are as far as developing Beckham as a player. A player can be passionate about what he’s doing, but he must be smart about it and not volunteer to put a bull’s eye on his back.

Head coach Tom Coughlin has always preached the importance of helping the team to every player he has ever coached. When a player draws a stupid penalty for a lack of discipline, that is when Coughlin rightfully has a problem, as was the case in that Week 16 game against the Rams when Beckham was flagged for taunting after scoring. 

“He will tone it down," Coughlin said after the game, via Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media. "He will. He did."

Fortunately, Beckham has shown the maturity, despite being just 22 years old, to where he is receptive to constructive criticism from his coaches, and in which he is committed to doing things the right way.

“Coach Coughlin addressed it with me and he said, 'You know we can't get those,' and I completely understand," Beckham told Nick Powell of NJ Advance Media. He added, “That's just being young and trying to learn the rules and what you can and can't do. I didn't know that was going to be a penalty or I would have never done it." 

In a conference call with reporters the day after the game against the Rams, Coughlin spoke about Beckham’s development.

He noted that the young man wants to do things the right way and adding that the coaching staff was committed to teaching him the right way “without taking away from his ability and his excitement and the obvious lift that he brings.”

It’s not an impossible task as the NFL has had countless players with tremendous skill sets who are exciting to watch, at the top of their respective positions and are exceptional sportsmen.

Former Giants such as Mark Bavaro, Phil Simms, Antonio Pierce and Harry Carson were just some examples who played with passion yet who didn’t do things to draw the wrong kind of attention.

That is the rough edge that the Giants are looking to keep Beckham from developing, which is why Irvin’s opinion that the Giants should leave the kid alone is dead wrong.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.