Maybe you're old enough to remember when "Monday Night Football" was a national event. Before the internet lorded over our planet, Howard Cosell echoed into our living rooms, signaling a singular event in American culture. Indeed, 30 years ago most of us got our first sample of Sunday NFL highlights at halftime on Monday night.
But maybe it's fitting that Mickey Mouse (Disney) owns "MNF" now, as the Giants (1-5) travel to Atlanta to play the Falcons (2-4). If the Giants aren't exactly a cartoon, or a caricature, then they surely have become a soap opera, a band of bickering has-beens and wannabes.
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Now there's a new actor in Big Blue's sad drama. Odell Beckham Sr., father of the most famous Giant, Odell Beckham Jr., has thundered down to our town to defend his son. In a rather misguided Instagram rant, the elder Beckham did not pick a fight with players or even the press. Instead, Dad unloaded his verbal quiver on John Mara. Yes, Odell Beckham Sr. is slighting the co-owner of the Giants, and the man who signed his son to a $95 million contract just two months ago, handing him $65 million in guaranteed cash.
Like most scalp-scratching human endeavors, this was not scripted, did not take place in fictional daytime TV land, like "Port Charles." The father was not handed his lines. But he still managed to mangle a cliche, saying of Mara, "the tree is acting like the Apple!!!" The virtual bomb came along with a video of Mara hurling a chair in his MetLife suite after yet another galling loss in a season already full of them.
A post shared by Odell Beckham Sr. (@odellbeckhamsr) on Oct 17, 2018 at 8:05pm PDT
No doubt Odell Beckham Sr. is vexed over Mara's assertion that Beckham's son should do a little less talking off the field and producing more on it. And while anyone can understand a dad stepping in front of an assault to shield his son, probably the last person you should insult is the man signing your son's epic checks.
WFAN's "Boomer and Gio" had a civil debate about the matter Monday morning. Boomer Esiason had one foot in Beckham's camp, while Gregg Giannotti was disturbed by the dad's conduct, suggesting that the father pick up a phone and privately and diplomatically make your case or issue your complaint.
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On the field, the Giants are already in last place in the NFC East. Despite their revamped offense, they average just 19.5 points per game in a league that all but spots a team two touchdowns. (The defense surrenders 27 points per game.) While we all are amazed by rookie running back Saquon Barkley's athletic splendor, Big Blue averages just 87.5 rushing yards per game, 27th in the league. And the G-Men already have a minus-4 turnover differential, a killer digit for a team that can't afford mistakes.
Head coach Pat Shurmur just said the team "doesn't worry about results" -- whatever that means. He said the players are just worried about execution errors. (He should start with those turnovers.) This is all part of a coach's semantic subterfuge, a reverse psychology that never works. After an appalling home loss to the Panthers in which the Eagles blew a 17-0 second-half lead, their coach, Doug Pederson, said the pressure was now off his Eagles. Gibberish.
The Giants need discipline and solidarity, neither of which seems attainable when you're 1-5. And someone needs to address the Beckham issue. We often hear that a chain is as strong as its weakest link. And it seems Big Blue's best player is leaping off the team bus. You can't have your star player -- or his parents -- sniping at the club, its QB or its owner. The star wideout has even implied he's not happy playing ball in the Big Apple.
Through six games, the younger Beckham has 45 receptions for 505 yards and one TD catch. Not bad for the average NFL wide receiver. But Beckham is the highest-paid receiver on the planet, and his lesser-paid peers are faring much better this season. Minnesota's Adam Thielen has 67 catches, 822 yards and five TDs. Even Tyreek Hill -- who must share the ball with a phalanx of high-grade skill players in Kansas City -- has 635 yards and seven scores.
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For his part, Beckham just said he needs to be better. Maybe he's more muted because his father assumed the role of primary provocateur. It's hard to imagine Beckham finally finding his way, his humility or a wider, wiser world view. If the Giants ever needed Beckham to shut up and put up, it's Monday night in Atlanta.
Since the AFL-NFL merger, only two clubs have started 1-5 and made the playoffs -- the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals and 2015 Kansas City Chiefs. So if Big Blue blows another game -- and the Falcons' defense hardly reminds anyone of the Steel Curtain -- then they will plunge to 1-6 and secure a litany of eulogies.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel.
