By Aman Patil ’17, Staff Writer

There is no doubt about it: Odell Beckham Jr. is the most exciting player in the National Football League. From his mind boggling one-handed catches to his ridiculous touchdown celebrations, there is no one more entertaining to watch in the league than OBJ. There is also no doubt that Odell has the ability and the skillset to be one of the greatest receivers the NFL has ever seen, as he has already put up astonishing numbers in his first two and a half years. He has set receiving yard records, consecutive 100-yard games records, and who could forget what is arguably the greatest catch in football history when he hauled in a 50-yard bomb with just three fingers. There is only one thing that stands in Odell’s way from uncovering a bust of himself at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton: himself.

In years past, Odell has kept himself in check. His enthusiasm and passion for the game, two traits that make him so great on the field, have been kept in line so that they only help him and his team, the New York Giants. This year, however, Odell has gone off the rails. What some fans called a one-time temper tantrum last year against Josh Norman and the Carolina Panthers has turned into a weekly ordeal this year. Whether it be crying on the sideline, throwing a temper tantrum, or having a love saga with a field goal net that landed him a black eye, Odell has simply lost it. He has lost sight of what the true goal of playing football is: scoring more points than the opponents and winning the game. Instead, OBJ is locked in what many see as a mental battle with himself to assert his dominance and presence. For this phenom, it has become less about the score of the game and more about what the stat sheet reads after the game. It’s no surprise that Odell is “not having fun anymore,” as he recently commented, while playing football; he is barely playing. Instead of catching footballs and doing what he can to help his team, he is too busy scripting the next part of his melodrama. Odell’s presence has done more harm than good for the Giants in recent weeks, as his temper tantrums continue to result in massive penalty yards against the Giants.

The worst part of this whole situation is that the Giants are struggling to win football games, and the cornerstone of their offense, their shining star is of relatively no help. Currently sitting at 4-3 after Week 7 and in last place in the NFC East, the Giants need some serious help. However, rather than having their best receiver and overall player focused on winning games for the Big Blue, he is more focused on himself and his reputation. As Will Schwartz ’17 said, “OBJ has elevated himself above the status of his team. He cares more about himself and his performance than he does about the final score.” Will is not the only one who has this opinion; other NFL teams have it too. Other teams have clued in on this and have begun to take advantage of Odell, as he has shown how easy it is to throw him off his game. Opposing defenses’ plans are to rattle Odell to the point where he is insignificant and rendered useless for the G-men. The Vikings demonstrated this in their Week 4 victory over the Giants where OBJ was pestered to the point where he was helping the Vikings each down.

However, there was a glimmer of hope for Giants fans when Odell put up a career day against the Baltimore Ravens, notching 222 receiving yards and two touchdowns to help lift the Giants to victory. In the past two weeks as well, Odell has appeared to have kept his emotions in check and the Giants have won both of those games. The three games that Odell’s temper was running amuck, the Giants lost in embarrassing fashion. Notice a pattern? If OBJ and the Giants can figure out how to channel his passion for the game and use it positively for the team, they should be real competitors for the division this year. As for Odell, if he keeps himself in line and focuses on playing the game that got him to this point, there is no doubt that he will find himself in Canton in no time.