Giants' Mike Sullivan rips defenders trying to rattle Odell Beckham Jr.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan blasted the cornerbacks who have tried to get inside receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s head.

“I think it’s about the motivation,” Sullivan said in a press conference Thursday after practice at the team’s facility. “The only reason a guy tries to get him off his game is because they’re not confident enough in their abilities. They’re afraid to be matched up one on one, mano a mano, if you will.

“So if that’s going to be the approach, hey, you can put that in the way you rank it and say obviously a guy is not courageous enough, or brave enough, or man enough, or whatever you want to say to play him straight up. And if he plays those kinds of tricks, so be it.”

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Beckham has become one of the biggest stories in the NFL for his emotional reactions to physical play and trash talk. It started in a Week 15 game last season when then-Panthers corner Josh Norman battled Beckham in an ugly display that prompted five personal foul flags between the two, and resulted in Beckham being fined and suspended for one game.

Now with the Washington Redskins, Norman again matched up with Beckham in Week 3 this season, which caused Beckham to have an emotional outburst on the sideline.

Then on Monday night, Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes forced Beckham into a taunting penalty after he hit Beckham as he traveled out of bounds after a catch.

“I definitely know I can do a better job at that,” Beckham said Thursday.

Odell Beckham Jr.: 'I can do better' controlling my emotions

Beckham caught only three passes for a career-low 23 yards in Monday night’s loss. He has caught 22 passes for 303 yards this season, but hasn’t scored in five consecutive games, since the dustup with Norman.

“These defenders, why are they trying to get to Odell? Why are they trying to rattle him?” Sullivan said. “If a guy is very confident – we’re talking about a defender – If he’s confident, if he has complete belief in his true abilities, why does he want to try to tip the scales and not have Odell be at his best?

“So I think Odell is taking the approach, and I don’t want to speak for him by any means, but we have had private conversations, but all his coaches and his teammates, they support him and they believe in him, and we’re excited to see what he does Sunday night (against the Green Bay Packers).”

Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.

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