WR Odell Beckham Jr.
September 20, 2018
Q: Do you think (the drug test) has anything to do with what happened this offseason?
A: No, it was PEDs.
Q: So it was totally different?
A: Yeah, that’s like steroids. I’m looking big! This is like performance-enhancing stuff. I pretty much get tested every week. I’ll just take it as a compliment.
Q: You said last week you were close after watching the tape. After watching this week, what did you come away thinking?
A: It wasn’t as close as the first week. They just came out and outplayed us. Some days, a team comes out and they just play a really good game and Dallas did that. Not to say we weren’t prepared, they just played a better game. Same thing as last week – 0-2 now, we’ve got to win. But it’s not like the whole season is over if you don’t. It’s just, you want to win games. We game plan it, we got some good stuff in and we’ve got to come up with a victory.
Q: Why haven’t you been able to get the deep ball going? That seemed like it was going to be a big part of the offense coming in.
A: It just hasn’t happened. We had some shots but we just didn’t connect on them. It’s all happening so fast, these first two games. Get the jitters out of the way, and get the season going.
Q: There has been a lot of talk about why hasn’t Eli just thrown you some more balls and let you use your athleticism to make the play, and I know Pat Shurmur said after the game you don’t want to just throw them into coverage. Is it easier said than done?
A: It’s easier said than done. Like Coach said, you don’t just want to throw them into coverage and stuff like that, but just finding ways to get the ball into the hands of the playmakers and allow us to make plays and keep the ball moving, keep this offense going in the right direction.
Q: For the guys who have been here and you’ve been through the offensive struggles and you’ve talked about what needs to be done, how do you prevent it from being more than just two games? Going back in your head of what’s been the past struggles.
A: I think it’s making a conscious effort and decision to put a stop to it at some point, for us to come together as an offense and as a team, and just to play better football. Just play at a higher level than we have been, and that’s really it, to keep it simple, it’s just about bringing that effort, that energy every day to practice; but, more importantly, on Sundays and get it going as a group.
Q: What has (Coach Shurmur) been like this week?
A: Same. He comes to work every day pretty consistent. Positive, like I said, we’re all trying to get going and get this first victory, get that off our shoulders.
Q: Did the Cowboys pay your more attention or throw more or different things at you than Jacksonville did?
A: Tough to say. I felt like the Cowboys have always done the same thing with the way they play – back off, keep everything in front, no big plays, and they eliminated all big plays. I don’t know if they put more emphasis on it, it’s just the scheme they use just worked for them.
Q: You spent a lot of time in that game in Dallas without getting a target. You went a long stretch of time without even a target. What is that like for you?
A: It’s tough, but I think that’s the part where I’ve grown up the most, is just being able to stay in it and know that it’s always one play that’s right there. It’s always one play away.
Q: How much did that test you? You said you wanted to be tested like that.
A: It was funny because it’s like I’d been asking for it and asking for it, and I got it. It was a tough test, but we made it through. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win but you always find small wins, small battles and you can take from that and use that part as some good.
Q: You’ve been through this before, as far as adversity and slow starts, but how soon can a season sort of slip away?
A: Just as fast as it can go the other way, too. You can lose eight in a row, you can win eight in a row. You never know. When we’ve got guys like Snacks over there, it can go either way real quick. We just want to make sure it doesn’t go that way. Get this first win, then try and get it going.
Q: (OC Mike Shula) said that they’ve got to get you the ball early.
A: I don’t mind (laughter). I just know, and I guess it’s for anybody, if you can make one or two big plays early, your confidence is up. You know that I’m ready for whenever it comes to me again, but if you don’t get it, you kind of can’t find a rhythm, it’s hard. It’ll be like a three-point shooter getting in a game and doesn’t get to get his shot up. It’s hard to find a rhythm, so it’s just about finding a rhythm, collectively.
Q: What about the confidence not just of you but of the team, maybe if you were able to get something going? Obviously you’re a big playmaker here, injecting a little something in this offense that’s obviously looking for a little something?
A: I think so. I think that’s what it really is, and that’s where if there’s any frustration, it comes down to that, not being able to provide that spark that we need. When you’ve got another electrifying player over there like that, we just want to be able to bring as much as we can each and every time, bring that energy. I know that a couple touchdowns definitely would help the confidence of the offense and it carries over through special teams and defense.
Q: You guys have not had a lead in the first two games. Does it feel like it when you’re on the field, when games going on, we’re behind or we’re always playing from behind?
A: The second game. We were only down by 10, but I felt like maybe we tried to press and we tried to hit a home run, and it could just be getting on base, I guess. It’s not really any pressure, I feel like 0-2 is just, it’s 14 more games in the season. You can win all 14. You could’ve went 2-0 and you could’ve lost the next 14. You never know how it’s going to go.
Q: I know you like watching other receivers. Have you ever watched (DeAndre Hopkins) that much?
A: Oh yeah. We played against him in the Chik-Fil-A Bowl my sophomore year, I think the year before he was leaving, and Sammie Watkins got hurt on the third play of the game. (Hopkins) went crazy for the rest of the game. I’ve been watching him since college, since he was over there at Clemson, so I love his game. I remember when he was playing, we played him here and he had that catch against Prince down the field and they called it back. Trust me, I’ve been watching him a long time.
Q: You haven’t been part of all of it, but when you look at the stat, this non-30 point thing going on with you guys, not being able to score 30 points. How absurd is that to you that that just hasn’t happened? Obviously it’s an accumulation of a stretch of time.
A: I feel you on that. I feel like there’s no way you can’t score a touchdown in every quarter, and one somewhere else. It just doesn’t seem unrealistic to me. I feel personally, I could score two touchdowns every game. I feel like Saquon could score two every game. There are other people on this team who could score every single game. That’s over 35 points. It’s just a matter of executing it and making it happen, really. But it doesn’t seem out of reach for me in my mind, I don’t want to win 24-21. I’m trying to win 52-18, whatever they score. Zero. Nobody said it had to be close.
Q: You haven’t won a game since the end of December in 2016?
A: I don’t remember the last time I won a game was. Maybe some cards or something, but not an NFL football game. I haven’t won one in a long time. It’s definitely not a good feeling, not something you come here to do. You don’t come here to lose, you just don’t.
Q: You can’t block – downfield you can – but is there anything you can see or say to the offensive line to say some of these plays just aren’t getting off the ground from the start because of Eli, the duress Eli’s in?
A: It’s just about bringing more energy, honestly. We’re still feeling each other out. You’ve had camp and all that, but until you get into the heat of battle and you know how a player’s going to be if it’s tough, if it’s that, we’re still finding each other, finding ourselves as a team. I think we know what we want to be, it’s just about working harder to achieve that goal.
Q: We’ve asked you about competition with the corners, whether it’s (Jalen Ramsey) or anybody else. You mentioned Hopkins. Is this a competition for you to go out there to show what you’ve got, when you know those guys are going to be doing the same?
A: I feel what you’re saying, I feel like I’ve started to get away from that because you could go for 300 yards and have five touchdowns and it’s great, and you lose and there’s no feeling – it’s not a good feeling. Okay, you had a good game, but you still lost. I hate losing. It’s just more about winning. Of course I would love to have more yards than Hopkins, but that’s not what you go out there to do. I’d love to go against DBs and play a better game than them, but it’s really more about getting wins.
Q: I know you’re friends with (Antonio Brown) and you’re an expert at handling this stuff at this point of your career, what would you say to him? I know you realize what’s going on with him. As a friend, what do you say to him? What advice do you give him? He’s had some problems there in Pittsburgh the last few days.
A: I don’t know. I just feel like he’ll have his opportunities. Sometimes you just get caught up in the heat of the moment, I think he knows. I don’t know if there’s much I could really tell him, I think he knows what you can and cannot do and just about locking in more, being with your teammates, and starting to get back on track. He’s the best in the league, he has over 10-15 catches every single game and he usually can help his team get wins, so he’s going to find his rhythm. I think he knows everything that he needs.
