Formerly boring giants now have a dramatic problem

Tuesday was Thursday for the Giants, who have evolved on a busy and condensed schedule, which has only added to the feeling of upheaval felt by the team during its start of the season 1-4 . But when things go as bad as for the Giants, getting back on the field and facing the players before the Thursday night match against Philadelphia might seem better than a long week of personal reflection.

"It's probably the first time I'm not upset by the turnaround," said Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver of the team. "After a defeat like that, you just want to go back."

This is not usually a good sign when a rap star, Lil Wayne, is involved in a controversy involving the quarterback and wide receiver of the team. But that's where the giants are. At least they could laugh at it, listening to Lil Wayne's music in training earlier in the week in order to introduce a bit of lightness into a period of tension in the locker room.

But after a 63-yard placement, he beat the Giants Sunday in Carolina; and after the team finally gave up its former first-round pick, Ereck Flowers, releasing it; and after Beckham's comments in an ESPN interview, coach Pat Shurmur would have been "livid" – after all, the Giants seemed particularly grateful to return to the pitch and prepare for the Eagles.

For a franchise that has long claimed to float above distractions – a contrast with the dramatic magnets that share their stage, the Jets – the Giants suffer a second consecutive year during which the disharmony of the locker room.

Last year, it was the attitude and efforts of cornerback Eli Apple that provoked a public reprimand from his teammate Landon Collins, which ultimately led to Apple's suspension for the season finale . By that time, the team had long been out of the playoffs and was about to finish 3-13 and clean up out of season.

So what now? Once again, Beckham found himself in the whirlwind of controversy at the end of last week when, in an interview with ESPN broadcast in two parts on Friday and Sunday, he answered questions about sitting Giants next to Lil Wayne, a rapper who, like Beckham, is from Louisiana. Beckham was discreet and criticized the team's efforts, the screams of the Giants, and the performance – and even the strength of the arms – of quarterback Eli Manning.

"Can he still throw it, yes," said Beckham of Manning. "But it's pretty safe, and it's been, you know, cool to catch shallow objects and try to take them home. But I am, you know – I want to go beyond someone. "

After the interview, Beckham asked to address his teammates and clarify things.

"Everyone felt it. it's genuine, "said Sterling Shepard, wide receiver, about what Beckham said. "Everyone enjoyed it while talking with the team. It was a great message. I think everyone responded when we played too.

But Beckham is not the only Giants player to have experienced tremendous frustrations in recent days. In fact, he had to play the sideline on the sidelines on Sunday as Shepard hit the bench and threw a bin after Manning's interception in the third quarter.

Shepard said Tuesday that his blast was not a direct response to the interception, but rather the result of four disappointing defeats.

"It was a lot of frustration accumulated," Shepard said. "I really wanted to win this game. I felt like it was slipping like that.

Another frustration prompted the Giants to leave Flowers, their former starter, who was shut out two weeks after his fourth season, having been selected 9th overall in 2015. The team announced Monday that the team was looking for an exchange against Flowers, 24, but the Giants gave it up after an exchange that did not take place.

The decision leaves Landon Collins safe, the only player in the 2015 Giants draft class on the list.

Manning, in his 15th season, has done his best to humorously spread the perception of the locker room struggle. Asked about Beckham's comments on ESPN that seemed to imply that he would not oppose a shift change, Manning said dryly, "I do not look so much at Lil Wayne."

More seriously, he added, "I have never had a catcher who does not want this ball anymore. It's part of the management of that. When you have a guy with social media and everything now, the ability you have to reach an audience and express your opinions on everything on a whim, this can cause more drama. This is the world in which we live. "

The giants granted Beckham a $ 95 million contract extension in August, knowing that he was not one to fear an open mic. He currently plays in his own documentary series, "I Am More: OBJ", produced by the LeBron James Uninterrupted group, which has been following Beckham since the beginning of the 2018 season.

Beckham apparently would not have gone through the giants to arrange the interview with ESPN and, according to Jay Glazer, of Fox, Shurmur is not happy that this interview takes place. He said he did not agree with Beckham's description that the team needed more "heart" and told players that they could ask Beckham for clarification.

"I will answer all the questions about the drama now," Shurmur said after the defeat on Sunday. "I approached him with Odell. I approached it with our team.

"I will not give a pound of meat to the public," he added. "The locker rooms are busy with it. That's all I'm saying about it. Finito. Completed. Let's talk about football, not drama. "

Beckham said after Sunday's game that he had never felt closer to his teammates, suggesting that his pre-game address in the locker room had served as a tonic. On Tuesday, he said he believed his teammates understood his point of view.

"No one here likes to lose," Beckham said. "We are all tired of losing, we want to change that culture, this atmosphere, no matter what it is, because it's a place that has a lot of pride."

They took advantage of the closest loss of the season and the best offensive performance in more than two years.

"I think it was a point of construction," Beckham said. "I remember being in the band several times, like:" It's the game that will determine how we are going to be. "What is our character, what is the identity of this team? This fight, this courage, this determination – that's who this team is."