Eli Manning Comments on Odell Beckham Jr.'s Performance vs. Packers

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning spoke Monday about Odell Beckham Jr.'s disappointing performance against the Green Bay Packers in Sunday's 38-13 Wild Card Round loss. 

"I don't have concerns," Manning said, per Pat Leonard and Daniel Popper of the New York Daily News. "I think Odell does...he's passionate. He is passionate and he wants to win. This was important for him. He wanted to go out there and have the best game of his career. And maybe put too much pressure on himself or emphasis."

General manager Jerry Reese was a bit more blunt, per Dan Duggan of NJ.com:

"

We all had to grow up at different times in our lives. I think it's time for him to do that. He's been here for three years now. He's a little bit of a lightning rod because of what he does on the football field. But the things he does off the football field, he's got to be responsible for those things. We'll talk through it. I know he's a smart guy. I believe he understands that he has a responsibility being one of the faces of this franchise. I think he'll accept that responsibility.

...

I see a guy who needs to think about some of the things that he does. Everybody knows he's a gifted player, but there's some things that he's done that he needs to look at himself in the mirror and be honest with himself about some of the things that he's done. I think he'll do that. We'll help him with that, but he has to help himself and we believe he'll do that. He's a smart guy, but sometimes he doesn't do smart things.

"

Beckham managed just four catches for 28 yards on 11 targets, and after the game, he "banged his head against a locker room door and then sat, lowered his head and wept," according to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports. He also reportedly punched a hole in the wall of a Lambeau Field hallway, per Wetzel.

It was a rough week for Beckham, who was also at the center of a "controversy" after he and fellow wide receivers Victor Cruz, Sterling Shepard and Roger Lewis went on a boating trip to Miami on their off day last week.

Manning also spoke of that now-infamous trip, per Leonard and Popper:

"

You've got to learn that the perception of things makes it different. You do things, you've got to back it up. And I don't think it had an impact on the game. I thought we had a great week of practice. Guys were making plays and running around and intense and focused and everything (was) good. Unfortunately we just didn't have it yesterday.

"

Still, Manning acknowledged the need for damage control after the story started to make the rounds.

"At the time you want to make a joke of it, don't make it a distraction," Manning said. "We're about to go play a playoff game. You want everybody feeling good and feeling right. But (we) handled it the proper way to get the best out of our guys."

While Beckham didn't play well, he also wasn't responsible for the 406 yards and 38 points the Packers accumulated on offense. Even if he had been a bigger factor, the Giants ran into a red-hot Packers team that came into Sunday's game at frigid Lambeau Field on a six-game winning streak behind a scorching Aaron Rodgers.

But Manning's comments are another indication that Beckham's behavior over the past several seasons has been problematic. Beckham notoriously feuded with Josh Norman and Xavier Rhodes during games over the past two years, and during a time when his behavior was being scrutinized earlier this season, he told ESPN's Anita Marks that he wasn't "having fun anymore" playing football.

Beckham's talent and ability to dominate a game are obvious. But on Monday, Manning seemingly suggested his star wideout could benefit from reeling in his emotions and intensity a bit.

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