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Odell Beckham’s frustration shows after Giants’ latest loss

“You work way too hard five or six days a week for 60 minutes of football. I hate to get out there and waste those 60 minutes.”

New Orleans Saints v New York Giants
Odell Beckham
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

His team is 1-3. On top of which, the spectacular impact plays New York Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has routinely made throughout his career have been nowhere to be found so far this season.

After Sunday’s 33-18 loss to the New Orleans Saints, during which Beckham had 7 receptions for 60 yards, Beckham’s frustrations were apparent.

“I’m doing everything I can. I put my all into this. I have sacrificed everything, especially coming into this year. I have sacrificed and made personal changes, doing all I can to be the best teammate and bring everything that I can every Sunday,” a discouraged Beckham said after Sunday’s loss. “It’s disappointing when you have to leave like this. You work way too hard five or six days a week for 60 minutes of football. I hate to get out there and waste those 60 minutes.”

Beckham’s return to health, the drafting of Saquon Barkley and the rebuilding of the offensive line were expected to result in an offensive resurgence for the Giants.

It hasn’t happened.

The Giants have still not scored 30 points in a game since the 2015 season finale, coached by Tom Coughlin. In all three of their losses this season they haven’t even reached the 20-point plateau. They have 73 points in four games, an average of 18.25.

Beckham has 30 catches, a pace that would net him a career-high 120 for the season. He has no touchdowns, though, and the same number of game-changing impact plays. He is averaging a career-worst 11.03 yards per catch.

Sunday, Beckham had two catches for -4 yards at the half. Quarterback Eli Manning overthrew him twice when he had separation, including once on a fairly deep sideline route. He went to the locker room before halftime to receive IV fluids.

Beckham seemed despondent at times during the game. Unusual for the seemingly always energetic Beckham, he was often spotted on the sidelines sitting or standing quietly by himself.

“I didn’t sense frustration, I saw a competitive guy, keeping himself in it,” said coach Pat Shurmur. “We all know he’s competitive, and he wants to win and he wants to do anything he can to help us.”

Beckham, of course, was asked for his thoughts on the struggling offense.

“It seems like it shouldn’t be this hard, but it is. We have to come out with that energy that we had last week [vs. the Houston Texans],” Beckham said. “Like I said, everybody has to be hitting, it’s not one person doing this, it has to be everybody. It’s a team sport, so we just have to pull together.”

Why hasn’t Beckham, as he has done so often in the past, been able to turn short catches into big plays?

“I don’t know, I just have to get in there and watch the film. It’s one play away still, I have been getting double and triple teamed for the past five years, nothing has changed,” he said. “Safeties over the top, linebackers dropping. Like I said, it’s really about all the pieces coming together.”

So, what is his frustration level?

“I don’t have a Richter scale of where the frustration level is,” he said. “It’s definitely frustrating, you put your all into this, like I said. It’s one game we lost, you have to put your hard hat on and go back to work tomorrow.’