New York Giants: Washington rivalry fun again
By Ryan Disdier
New York Giants fans haven’t really had a real reason to dislike Washington in recent years. But after the team signed Odell Beckham Jr.’s arch nemesis Josh Norman, things are about to change.
If you’re a New York Giants fan, you hate the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. Over the past 10 years, the battles against those two teams have been intense, and the differing fan bases always seem to be at ends.
But if you root for Big Blue, chances are you don’t really have a real reason to hate Washington. I mean, since the new millennium, the Giants are 22-10 against Washington, and even the losses haven’t been terribly dramatic.
Basically, it hasn’t been must-watch football.
But that’s no longer the case, as the series that began back in the 1930s has new life.
According to multiple outlets, including NFL media insider Ian Rapoport, Washington signed all-pro cornerback Josh Norman to an incredibly lucrative deal, which includes $50 million guaranteed.
You could certainly argue Washington is overpaying Norman, but that’s not the point of this article. No, the point of this article is that the New York-Washington rivalry is finally back for real, and it’s finally fun again.
To be fair, the rivalry may have been ignited even sans the Norman signing. Washington cornerback Chris Culliver recently opened up to the media, claiming Odell Beckham Jr. is a constant complainer.
“Probably the most complaining person I’ve went against is Odell Beckham,” Culliver said, according to JP Finlay of CSN Mid Atlantic. Culliver even went further, saying OBJ complains on ‘every single play.’
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So Washington’s DBs likely would have had beef with OBJ even before Norman signed in D.C. But now, oh boy. Now things are about to get heated to a nuclear level.
For those of you who may not know, Josh Norman and Odell Beckham Jr. engaged in something that more resembled a UFC fight than an actual football game. The two went at it on every play, and it got to a point where it was uncomfortable to watch.
What fans saw unfold during week 15 of 2015 was probably the worst-case scenario in regards to Beckham V Norman. OBJ was clearly caught off his game from the get-go, but Norman was also surprised as well, likely not envisioning Beckham would choose to be so physical.
After the initial matchup between Norman and OBJ, fans were a little bit bummed out, and understandably so. There were two schools of thought after the game: One side saw Norman get into Beckham’s head and completely shut him out, while the other side saw Beckham beat Norman twice, cleanly dropping an easy touchdown.
The Giants and Panthers don’t play in 2016, so the world would have to wait for a rematch to see which side was right. But with Norman facing OBJ twice a year, fans are in for a treat.
If you’re a Giants fan, adding Norman to the NFC East is a good thing for two reasons. The first reason is the entertainment level. Like I said earlier, the New York-Washington rivalry hasn’t been much of a rivalry in recent memory. Adding an intense rivalry to the division helps breathe new life into the NYG-WSH feud.
NFL.com’s Dave Dameshek — one of my favorites — perfectly explained why feuds like Beckham vs. Norman is actually good for the league.
"“Let me just say, and put it to you like this, why I think it’s good and why I always say the NFL can stand to have more WWE-style trash-talking and heat in front of a game, after a game. It’s because after (the Giants-Panthers game), during Sunday night’s game … the only conversation for an hour was about Odell Beckham and Josh Norman.”"
Dameshek is abundantly correct. After all, the WWE does stand for World Wrestling Entertainment, and entertainment in football is always something that is going to be a positive. What’s not to like about a rivalry that’s been — if we’re being honest — dead for quite some being injected with some juice?
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Beckham and Norman were dubbed “Batman and Two Face” by some, but Dameshek’s comparison is probably better. I mean, Beckham and Norman are about as WWE as you can get.
Don’t believe me? Well, Beckham may have the most showmanship in the league. He has the flashy haircut, arm tattoos, affinity for dancing, and of course, the sensational plays. He’s the cocky, flamboyant bad guy whom people love to hate. Norman, on the other hand, is the renegade bad-ass who faces the best, and usually shuts them up. He’s the anti-hero good guy.
The second reason why Norman in D.C. is a good thing is because Beckham gets a shot at redemption. Before his week 15 meltdown, Beckham was beloved by many. After the game, questions about his personality were brought to the forefront. Prior to Friday, Beckham theoretically — since the NFC East and NFC South played each other in 2015, New York and Carolina would have to finish in the same place in their respective divisions to play each other in 2017 — would’ve had to wait until 2017 to have a shot at redemption against Norman.
He has the chance to show the world that his antics a year ago were nothing more than a faux pas.
And while I’m focusing mainly on the fact that we all get to see OBJ-Norman 2, this move transcends the Beckham-Norman beef. Signing Norman axiomatically makes Washington’s defense a whole lot better. This is a unit that has some dangerous pass-rushers, so adding an all-pro cornerback enhances the fluidity of the unit.
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Eli Manning and the rest of the offense will up its game for sure. This whole Norman thing just invigorates this forgotten rivalry, arguably making it better than the NYG-DAL rivalry.
Any way you slice it, Norman to Washington makes weeks 3 and 17 must-watch football.
Writer’s note
I’m excited for this. I mean, how could you not be? The only thing that would make this better would be a pre-game weigh in and press conference.