Eli On WFAN: Beckham Needs To 'Stay Humble' And Get Back To Work
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Hold your horses big fella. You haven't become a household name just yet.
That's the message Eli Manning is sending to rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
During his weekly spot on WFAN on Monday, the Giants' veteran quarterback told Mike Francesa he was very impressed with how well Big Blue's first round pick played during the 30-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
But he cautioned that the NFL is a league that can humble even the best players. It doesn't think twice about chewing up and spitting out rookies.
"I told him, 'hey we got a lot of work to do. We've had basically one week of practice together. You came out and you had four catches and you had a touchdown and everybody thinks you're the greatest. Hey, let's stay humble. Let's make sure we're getting back to work because we got a lot of catching up to do,'" Manning said. "Every week, every game, every practice is going to be important for us to get on the same page. There's a lot of routes we haven't thrown."
Manning was referring to his new target's limited practice time. A hamstring injury did a number on the former LSU star's training camp, as he didn't play in a single preseason game before missing the first four games of the regular season, things that frustrated both Beckham and head coach Tom Coughlin.
After getting a solid week of practice under his belt, Beckham took flight a bit on Sunday, catching four passes for 44 yards, including the go-ahead 15-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.
"I thought he did some good things. We got him into the passing game, got him some completions and he made a couple nice plays for us and the touchdown was a great catch," Manning said. "He didn't beat the guy but he did a good job coming back to the ball, reacting to the ball in the air and making the touchdown. That was good to see."
Following a brutal start, the Giants have won three straight games. They can send a real message to the rest of the NFC East with a win over the Eagles in Philadelphia on Sunday night. Manning said the sooner Beckham becomes one with the offense, the better.
"There's some things he's doing well and some things he's got to learn also, little things within the offense that have to become second nature to him," Manning said. "So we can't have enough practice reps and more game experience to get him and myself on the same page."
Manning also spoke about how tailback Andre Williams stepped in big for injured starter Rashad Jennings, and touched on tight end Larry Donnell's struggles on Sunday. To hear his complete interview, please click on the audio link below.
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