EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Odell Beckham Jr. and David Tyree, who made the two most amazing catches in Giants history, have had a friendly argument this week.
"He was like, 'You know, it may be better than mine,'" Beckham said today. "And I'm telling him, 'No way, yours was in the Super Bowl. Period. Mine was just in a regular season game.' I still have to give my hats off to him for that."
Beckham's incredible one-handed 43-yard touchdown reception Sunday night against Dallas was still a topic of conversation today in the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. It also sparked a debate about which catch was greater, Beckham's or Tyree's ball-to-the-helmet catch – with safety Rodney Harrison all but mugging him - that was an unforgettable moment in the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory over New England.
Eli Manning threw both passes and won't choose a favorite.
"David was in the situation of a Super Bowl and it was very impressive with a guy all over him," Manning said. "Odell was very impressive also. Both of them were tremendous plays and were pretty spectacular athletic plays and determination."
At the very least, Tyree no longer indisputably has the best or most memorable catch in Giants history.
"It was superhuman. It was something really special to behold," Tyree said of Beckham's catch.
Because of injuries, Tyree's dramatic Super Bowl moment was also his final NFL reception. Beckham is a rookie who has played in only seven games, so he presumably has hundreds of catches ahead of him. The reception he made vs. the Cowboys will increase the scrutiny he's under, but Beckham is fine with that.
"I love opportunities and I love embracing a challenge, so whatever this brings, I guess I've brought it on myself," Beckham said. "You've just got to deal with it. Hopefully, if they start rolling coverages and stuff like that, it's not going to be able to work, because we have other receivers – Rueben (Randle), who's going to get open and beat one-on-one, and Preston (Parker). At the end of the day I wouldn't mind them doing that and the other receivers getting more opportunities."
Tyree was hit by Harrison as soon as he caught the ball, which he secured by holding it against his helmet. Beckham was also hit, by cornerback Brandon Carr, but before the ball arrived. Carr was flagged for pass interference. The cornerback and receiver had jostled each other running down the sideline.
"I definitely didn't think it was going to be pass interference on me," Beckham said. "I just was worried if I were to have went out of bounds or not, because I know if I was the first one to be out of bounds, even forced out of bounds, you can't touch the ball first. I was really just hoping I didn't get that called."
While everyone wants Beckham to discuss what happened in the last game, the rookie receiver is looking forward. The Giants travel this week to Jacksonville, where they will try to break their six-game losing streak.
"For the most part, I'm just trying to get ready for this week," Beckham said. "We do have another game coming up Sunday. You've got to put it behind you at some point.
"I feel like you just keep doing the little things right. Obviously, a receiver is supposed to catch the ball with two hands, so any time the ball's coming your way, catch the ball and just keep continuing to get better each and every day."
If Beckham does that, one can only imagine what his next highlight reception will look like.
*Tom Coughlin will become the 13th coach in NFL history to coach 300 regular-season games Sunday in Jacksonville, where he coached the expansion Jaguars for eight seasons. What does that mean to him?
"Right now, not much, to be honest with you," he said. "What's important to me is that we have this game on our schedule and with where we are, we need to win a football game and that's the important thing. We've traveled to Jacksonville before, I've been very appreciative, the fans have been great when we return back there. It will be the same, my family will all be there at the game. I understand it's alumni day, so it's obviously a day of a lot of emotion going back there. I will certainly be appreciative of all those things, but just as the Jaguars will be, our full intention is to get ready to play a game and win a game."
*Four Giants did not practice today: Linebacker Jameel McClain, defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka and offensive lineman Adam Snyder, who each have a knee injury, and safety Antrel Rolle, whose absence was due to a personal matter.
Four players were limited: Linebacker Jacquian Williams (concussion/shoulder), tackle Justin Pugh (quad), offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz (toe) and defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins (quad) will participate in individual drills.
