Ravens head coach John Harbaugh thinks Odell Beckham Jr. will bounce back
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh remains optimistic about wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.'s poor start to the season and still believes he's contributing enough to the team while anticipating that better days are ahead and coming OBJ's way.
Speaking on Monday, Harbaugh praised Beckham's talent, determination, and high standards. The coach sounded confident in saying the receiver will soon make significant contributions to the team outside of getting defenders to fall for Defensive Pass Interference calls.
In the Week 8 win against Arizona, Beckham experienced a challenging game in which he failed to grab a pass for only the second time in his nine-year career. The veteran was visibly frustrated and slammed his helmet on the ground at a point throughout the game, as captured by the broadcast team of the matchup.
Beckham's impact on Sunday, however, extended beyond catches and was notable in how he brought the Cardinals secondary to the limit of the rulebook, ultimately forcing it to cross the legal line a few times.
The Cardinals were called for three penalties against OBJ, including two for pass interference and one for defensive holding.
While his statistics for the season stand at 14 catches for 162 yards and no touchdowns, Harbaugh emphasized the significance of drawing penalties as one of OBJ's main weapons through the first half of the season, saying "All of us want those to be catches--but pass interference is the same as a catch in this league, almost."
During the game against the Cardinals, Beckham had a potential 17-yard completion nullified by pass interference in the end zone. Harbaugh acknowledged the defensive strategy against Beckham, stating, "They know who he is and they do not want to give up a completion to him."
"Odell, and Lamar and all of us want those (DPI) to be catches. But pass interference is the same as a catch in this league, almost. I was happy with the way he played. I was happy with the fact he was targeted. Then he got hit in the ribs on the sideline play, had to go out for awhile, came back in, was blocking well. He's playing really well and I just think it's going to pop. He's going to start getting some big catches for us."
- John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
Despite having endured two season-ending ACL injuries and now playing for a third team in three years, Harbaugh remains hopeful about Beckham's future impact with the Ravens and his impact and strong mentality as a vet in this offense.
Beckham is still waiting to score his first touchdown and he was negated the chance last weekend... by yet another DPI call on the defense in one of his end-zone passes. Sheesh...
It's just a matter of time, but it's getting frustrating to watch it happen every single weekend.