WR Odell Beckham Jr.
November 30, 2016
Q: You guys are close to a touchdown underdog. Why do you think that is going into Sunday?
A: I don’t know. I don’t mind being the underdog, I’ve been one all my life. We’re going against a very good team, a playoff team pretty much each and every year. Talented across the board in every which way you can imagine. It’s not like we’re not playing a very good team. It’s really just opinion. Predictions, scores, all of that is just opinion until you get out there and what happens actually happens.
Q: What does it do for you to see another elite wide receiver on the other side?
A: This is definitely a game where I’m going to be standing up watching this guy. I love him like a brother. We trained in the offseason together. He pretty much works for everything he has. He does that every single day. Work ethic is unreal. I just want to see him. This is the first time I actually get to watch him live. Not on tape or anything like that. Just to see him lined up, I’m excited about it. At the end of the day, you have another guy out there. My defense is going to sit here and want me to do whatever I can. It’s the same way it is for him on the other end. I’m definitely looking forward to watching AB, for sure. Hopefully he doesn’t have too many celebrations. It’s going to be a tough matchup for him.
Q: Are there similarities between your game and his?
A: Yes. I think we both like to score and we like to have fun. We like to enjoy it out there. You work really hard. I don’t think people really take in what you sacrifice each and every day to go out there and play for just 60 minutes. That’s really all you get and you don’t even get that. Like to enjoy it and have fun. I definitely think there are similarities in our game though. I watch a lot of film on him and probably stole a lot of stuff from him to make it my own.
Q: How have you guys gotten to know each other so well?
A: Just working out in the offseason. LA, Miami, he was doing Dancing with the Stars and stuff. It was just not hard to link up with someone else who aspires to be beyond great. We got with him. He kind of just showed me the ropes. He was showing me pretty much everything of what he does. You take that and you put it into your own agenda and schedule. You kind of just go with it from there. There’s definitely some type of competition but it’s all love and friendly competition. Obviously, I’m not going against him. The New York Giants defense is going against him. Like I said, it’ll be a tough matchup.
Q: Do you want to have better numbers than him at the end of the day?
A: Do you want to have a better story than anyone else at the end of the day? You know what I mean? You want to go out and be the best every single time. That’s what you want to do. That’s what you work for. Yes, ultimately I would like to do better than him, but if he does better and we win, that’s a battle that I may have lost one but I won the other. Either way it goes.
Q: Whether it’s him, Lebron or Von Miller, you have a lot of friends that are guys chasing greatness. Is that just something you were drawn to?
A: Yes. I feel like you are who you hang around with, in a sense. If you hang around people who have the same mindset, goals and focus as you, it makes it a lot easier for you to stay on track in what you want to do and what you want to accomplish. The guys like Von. I’d put Von and AB, we’re all in the same group. We love to kill it when we get on the field but most importantly we like to enjoy life, have fun, dance and do all of that. It’s cool to be around those guys. Me being the young guy, to be able to learn something from them. The trials and tribulations they’ve been through. Just their ups and downs and knowing their whole story.
Q: Did you pick Peyton’s brain a little bit yesterday?
A: I tried to. He’s got a lot of knowledge so you can only have a little bit of conversation with him. He’ll just drop too much on you at one time. I don’t know if I could really handle that. Just seeing him walk through here, it’s really funny to me. I went to the same high school as them and kind of their mannerisms, I’ve been around them a long time. To see Peyton around here, Eli acts just like him because he’s a younger brother. They’re all very similar in their own way. We were just talking. Good to see him. Not too many times you see him, especially walking through this building.
Q: On Sunday we saw a nice punt return out of you. Is that a sign of things to come minus the flags?
A: Hopefully we get another chance to run some back. It’s something I’ve been doing pretty much all my life. I’ve done punt return and kick return. It’s just what it is. It’s just another opportunity. They punt it and that ball is going straight to you. Your teammates are out there making the blocks. You just have to make cuts off of them. I think it gets you going on offense. You get an opportunity to catch a ball and put one in your hands. Run, hopefully you don’t get hit but you get an opportunity to get tackled. It’s a lot of fun. It’s something that I do enjoy. Hopefully I can help this team out in that way or whatever way I can.
Q: What do you see from this Pittsburgh defense on film?
A: Not just the defense but this whole team is a very, very talented team across the board. Their defense plays very physical. They’re a very physical team. I think it’s just the way that their division is set up. I don’t know if it’s the coach. Everything about them is physical and fast. They all play hard. It’s going to be one of those games. Tighten your chinstrap, go out there and get the job done.
Q: How’s your thumb?
A: It’s good.
Q: Anything you have to maintain though?
A: Not really much you could do at this point in time. You have to just play with it. It happened to me in college and high school. I think in a sense it doesn’t really hurt me because now I have to focus more on catching the ball. I have to really lock in and focus on where I’m placing my hands. I’ve kind of noticed it. Actually, almost may be able to catch it better than what it is. It allows me to lock into another focus.
Q: Hurts every time you catch the ball?
A: Every time it hits there. In the game, I was going down to the ground and I had my hand over the ball. They tried to rip the ball and just ripped straight thumb. It doesn’t feel good. I don’t think you really notice how much your thumb bumps into stuff or gives out of its movement until you have one that’s hurt and you bump it into a table. It’ll be alright. Hopefully it doesn’t affect me too much.
Q: Do you worry about getting hurt as a punt returner?
A: You could do that playing football or crossing the street. It’s part of life. I don’t really worry about being hurt at all. It’s in God’s hands. I put the best preparation in my body that I can and take care of it the best that I can in order to go out there and not get hurt. Me being back there on punt return, getting hurt or anything like that is not really something I’m worried about. It can happen any play.
A: Do you want to have a better story than anyone else at the end of the day?