Odell Beckham Jr. expects more 'art of war' tactics from Josh Norman

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Carolina Panthers brought a baseball bat into the equation last year, and cornerback Josh Norman took over from there.

It admittedly took New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. off his game in Week 15. He expects much of the same -- presumably without the baseball bat -- from his competition on Sunday when facing Norman and his new team, the Washington Redskins.

"Part of their game plan," Beckham said of Washington's secondary trying to get under his skin. "I would do the same. That's just what you do. It's mental warfare. It's the art of war. You know what I mean? There are different ways to attack it."

Beckham had three unnecessary roughness penalties against Norman and the Panthers last year. How can he avoid a similar meltdown this year?

"Play my game," Beckham said.

That doesn't mean Beckham will take the emotion out of his repertoire. It's part of what makes him one of the league's most dangerous and explosive players.

"You ever watch [Oklahoma City Thunder point guard]Russell Westbrookplay basketball? He plays with a lot of emotion, passion, whatever you want to call it," Beckham said. "It's whatis best for some players, what is not best for some players. You use it, and you just be smart. Just play smart. It's football at the end of the day."

Norman said, in response to all the focus on this matchup, "Seems Sunday can't get here fast enough."

When asked if wants to shadow Beckham, Norman said, "Heck yeah, why not? I don't shy away from nobody."

Beckham has more support this time around. Giants coach Ben McAdoo, who mentioned earlier in the year disappointment in the way the first meeting between Norman and Beckham unfolded, will be watching closely Sunday, along with the officials.

"I believe the officials will have their thumb on everything right from jump street, and we have to be ready for that," McAdoo said.

And then there is veteran wide receiver Victor Cruz, whothinks he can help if any questionable situations arise.

"I hope so," Cruz said. "That is definitely the plan, to understand what is going on from a leadership perspective and going to the game understanding what is happening and being able to diffuse -- not just Odell and holding him back -- but being able to, if things go awry, being able to talk to both parties and being like, 'Hey, guys, this is bigger than just us.'

"There are kids that watch this game. There are kids that emulate us, want to be us. We have to set an example, and what happened last year is not an example we want to set."

"He's a good player," Norman said of Beckham. "No hate whatsoever. The guy can play ball. The competitor in me likes that."

ESPN's John Keim contributed to this report.