No one around the Giants knows Odell Beckham Jr. longer and is closer to him than Brad Wing. The two were not merely teammates at LSU. The star receiver and Australian punter bonded and became great friends.
When others see Beckham flying off the handle because he is baited or triggered by others (Josh Norman, Xavier Rhodes), Wing sees his buddy as pushing his own buttons.
“I wouldn’t think any of his weak moments, if you would call him that — I wouldn’t — I don’t think they come from an outside force,’’ Wing told The Post. “I think it’s from within himself. I think it’s when he gets frustrated that he’s not performing to the height of his level. It’s not what anyone else is doing.’’
The Giants are in full circle-the-wagons mode with Beckham, rallying around him. You know something is cooking when offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan — not exactly a news-breaker in his many years with the Giants — came out firing, calling out defensive players that bait Beckham as “not confident enough in their abilities — they are afraid to match up against him one-on-one, mano a mano, if you will.’’ Sullivan also inserted the zinger that “obviously the guy is not courageous enough or man enough or brave enough … to play it straight up.’’
Ben McAdoo later went on WFAN to state, “I’ve got this young man’s back’’ and completely refuted a published report he put Beckham on notice, warning of a benching or suspension if any other incidents take place.
It all feels like getting Beckham in the end zone a couple of times will solve so much of this.
“I’m not worried about him morphing into something he’s not,’’ Wing said. “I don’t think there’s too much difference from his standpoint, it’s just now there’s more eyes watching and everybody’s really quick to make a call about it or speak on it or write a piece on it. Johnny Manziel’s not doing anything, so we have to look at somebody. The only thing I think’s changed is the amount of people in the audience, the amount of people watching him under a microscope, but he’s always had that fire in him.’’