Beckham has become Giants center of attention

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) Odell Beckham Jr. can't get away from his one-handed catch.

Signing memorabilia at a mall on his day off, it seemed every child and adult who walked up had a comment on the catch. Twitter remained abuzz about it, and friends and fans were still sending messages. Teammates were being asked about it on Wednesday as the Giants (3-8) turned their attention to the Jaguars (1-10) for Sunday's in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Giants are even trying to cash in. Their website has a photograph of Beckham's catch in a merchandise section with the come on: ''Grab The Gear'' and pictures of his No. 13 jersey for sale.

Beckham has come to accept being the center of attention in the wake of his catch, and it has given the rookie receiver some lighter moments, too.

The funniest was seeing a short video shared by Major League Baseball of him catching 50 Cent's ceremonial wide first pitch at a recent Mets' game.

''That one gave me a good laugh,'' Beckham said.

Beckham has watched his fully-extended, one-handed catch of the 43-yard pass from Eli Manning countless times over the past three days. Each time it's hard for his to grasp his emotions.

''Words don't even really put that together, do it justice,'' Beckham said. ''It was one of those moments looking back on it and seeing the film and seeing the replay, I've got to thank the man above. Without him, I think he caught that ball for me. ''

Getting a perfect spiral from Manning, wearing a pair of gloves that perfectly fit his hand and have three exceptionally strong fingers and big hand also helped.

Now, the goal is to put the catch behind him, move on and to keep improving his game.

Beckham said he has not received any product endorsement offers in the past few days, saying if they come, they come. While his number of followers on Twitter and other social media has jumped, his life has not changed, although there was a line to see him at the mall, including kids.

''They were cute. They were smiling,'' Beckham said. ''They were just like, `Wow, it was a great catch.' It just puts a smile on my face to have an impact on kids.''

David Tyree, the director of player development and the man who made the ''Helmet Catch'' to key the Giants 2008 Super Bowl win, talked to Beckham about their catches.

''He was like, `You know, it may be better than mine,''' Beckham said of Tyree's comparison. ''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 hats off to him for that.''

Beckham has come a long way in the last two months. After missing most of training camp and the first four games with a hamstring injury, he has emerged as a top-notch talent. He has three 100-yard games in the past four and had a career-high 10 catches against Dallas on Sunday night.

''I definitely set high expectations for myself,'' Beckham said. ''I definitely expected to have a good season but I didn't know that it would be going the way that it is. It's a good feeling to be able to finally put the hamstring and all the other stuff that was around it behind you and just move forward. ''

After this past weekend, Beckham can expect to be the focal point for opposing defenses.

''I love opportunities and I love embracing a challenge,'' he said. ''Whatever this brings, I guess I brought it on myself. You just have to deal with it.''

NOTES: S and defensive captain Antel Rolle was excused from practice for personal reasons. ...LB Jameel McClain, DE Mathias Kiwanuka and G Adam Snyder did not practice because of knee injuries. ...OT Geoff Schwartz (toe), LB Jacquian Williams (concussion/shoulder), OT Justin Pugh (quad) an DT Cullen Jenkins (quad) were limited in practice. ...The Giants signed former Stony Brook OT Michael Bamiro to their practice squad.

---

AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL