| When Odell Beckham Jr. set in motion the move that would resurrect his career and, quite possibly, change the fate of this National Football League season, it was met with neither a generous sendoff nor a warm welcome. “Can’t wait to see who wants a quitter,” sneered the Akron Beacon Journal, when Beckham’s ill-fated stint with the Cleveland Browns culminated with his release. “(The Rams) are wrongly attempting a hero play,” wrote Bill Plaschke in the Los Angeles Times, when Beckham signed with the L.A. Rams three days later. “They’re foolishly shooting for an unreachable star.” Well, signing that guy seems to have worked out quite nicely for the Rams, with a Super Bowl spot against the Cincinnati Bengals in their home stadium now little more than a week away. Beckham, with all the criticisms of the past few seasons ringing in his ears, came up big in the NFC Championship game, delivering 113 yards on nine catches and offering another reminder of his extraordinary level of talent. Suddenly, he’s a target for praise and plenty of it. Suddenly, he’s not being called a distraction or a drama-seeker or a troublemaker anymore. Suddenly, people are saying they knew he’d be back to his best, even if they didn’t really. “He is definitely misunderstood,” Beckham’s friend and personal trainer Jamal Liggin told me this week. “We talk about this all the time. He is in the eye of everyone, and he knows it. He has been tested. He has been doubted. He doesn’t let it get to him. More than anything, he wants to win.” Liggin has worked with Beckham for years and some of their drills, including an outrageous tennis ball practice that looks like an optical illusion because of the unfathomable hand speed and reaction time required, have gone viral on the internet. Liggin’s role combines physical preparation with that of a confidante and mental coach. He helps Beckham navigate the tough times that included three serious injuries and now, three different teams. Liggin believes that if the critics saw the level of commitment Beckham displays towards his craft, the narrative would play differently. Hours after the Rams returned from Tampa Bay following the divisional round victory that ended Tom Brady’s career, Beckham swung by Liggin’s JLT Performance facility in L.A. They worked on drills that included the use of BlazePods, a light-based reaction system to develop cognitive speed as well as physical dexterity. At other times, he has called Liggin at all hours for workouts, which sometimes involve sprinting up a steep hill in West Hollywood at 12:30 a.m. “This is the moment he has always imagined and that he’s always waited for,” Liggin added. “I can’t think of anyone who would be more ready for it. Everything he has been through, all the difficulties and injuries, it just adds up to this being the right time.” Sometimes Liggin hears the things said about Beckham and can scarcely believe they are about the athlete he knows. Beckham has been described as selfish, but Liggin sees him at his facility during the offseason, welcoming young receivers from various teams and taking them under his wing, buying them lunch, making them feel comfortable, offering words of advice. What happened in Cleveland, frankly, turned into a mess, with Beckham’s father — in one of the stranger storylines of the season — releasing videos criticizing Baker Mayfield for not throwing the ball to his open son. In fairness, however, the move to the Rams has backed up the assertion that Beckham could and would thrive in the right situation. While Cooper Kupp has compiled a season for the ages, Beckham has been a hugely positive addition, and it is not a foolish claim to suggest they might not have made the Super Bowl without him. “The games have been very close,” Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe said on FS1’s “Undisputed.” “The first down catches keep drives alive. If you go ask [head coach] Sean McVay or Matthew Stafford, ‘Are you in this position without OBJ?’ — absolutely not.” Beckham, for his part, has been grateful for the chance. “It felt like in my heart that this was right,” he told reporters. “It has been everything from McVay and Stafford, just being integrated into the plan, taking me in, pushing me to excellence. It’s been an incredible opportunity that I need to make the most of. Now here we are, one game away from our dreams.” Beckham has been around a long time now. It is seven years and change since that infamous one-handed miracle catch. Before this season, the sum of Beckham’s playoff experience was one game five years ago, when he caught four balls for 28 yards as his New York Giants lost to the Green Bay Packers. Now he is one game away — and the Rams are 4-point favorites according to FOX Bet — from a Super Bowl ring. Beckham may never be fully understood. Certain reputations are hard to shift, and truthfully, there will always be a segment of the NFL fanbase that likes seeing him a certain way. Liggin knows that, too, though there is one part of the perception he believes has to change — what people know about Beckham’s work ethic. “There are very few guys who are as genuine as him,” Liggin said. “Football fans are passionate but what you see isn’t necessarily the real person. He is funny, and he cares about those around him. “A lot of things have to happen for someone to be successful — but the reason he is here is because of the work he puts in.” |
