5 New York Giants Players to Watch vs. the Atlanta Falcons

This weekend’s game featuring the New York Giants and the Atlanta Falcons can potentially lead to several “firsts” for Big Blue.

A win would improve New York’s record to 3-2, the first time, as Tom Rock of Newsday noted, the team's regular-season record would be over the .500 mark since the end of the 2012 season, when they finished 9-7.

The game could also potentially mark the first-ever appearance by—wait for it—the Giants’ 2014 first-round draft pick, receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham, whom we’ll discuss later, has been sidelined with a hamstring injury that first popped up during the spring.  

Finally, there is the first anniversary for linebacker Jon Beason, who was acquired from the Carolina Panthers to New York on Oct. 4, 2013. Beason has not appeared in a game since Week 2, and he is hoping to end that streak this week and contribute to a winning effort. 

As we do every week, let’s take a look at the players—in some cases we look at units—who will need to step up to make sure that this week of potential “firsts” come to fruition for the boys in blue. 

Receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Head coach Tom Coughlin told reporters on Wednesday that he wanted to see receiver Odell Beckham Jr. make it through “some hard, back-to-back practices, one after the other.”

Beckham delivered and, although he is listed as questionable on this week’s injury report, all systems appear to be a go for him making his NFL debut on Sunday. 

“Ever since I first got hurt I have been itching to get back out there,” Beckham told reporters on Wednesday.

“It is part of the reason why I maybe came back too fast and hurt it again…Just seeing them making plays and knowing you are a part of that and you want to be out there, it’s the hardest thing to sit back and watch.”

If he does play, Beckham, who was limited all week in practice (in terms of the number of reps he took, not in terms of how what he was able to do in practice) he will likely receive a small number of snaps in specific situations.

Remember, Beckham has not played in a live game since January of this year, more than nine months ago. While there is understandably a temptation to turn him loose, the Giants will no doubt be cautious with their first-round pick.

"If the medical people are on board, the young man wants to play and he's here for that purpose, we're going to have to put all the evidence together when the time comes," Coughlin told reporters on Friday.

Linebacker Jon Beason

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If middle linebacker Jon Beason has his way, he will be on the field for this weekend’s game. 

Beason, who for the second week in a row received limited snaps in practice as he continues to test his healing big toe, told reporters this week that the pain isn’t so much the issue as is the toe’s functionality. 

“The big toe is everything,” he told reporters on Thursday. “It is weight bearing—you pivot, you plant on it, you push against another man when you tackle somebody or when you take on a block. It is huge.

“There are things we can do to compensate for it, and hopefully I can go out and be productive.”

Beason said he has gone through more combinations of cleats than ever before in an effort to find a setup that is both comfortable yet protective.

“Comfort level for years, I have liked extremely tight cleats,” he said. “It feels like it [the cleat] is more a part of me, but that is kind of the reason why I am in this situation because it beats on your joints.”

If Beason does play, he almost certainly will be on some sort of pitch count. However, with him being listed as questionable on this week’s injury report, Beason is far from being a definite for Sunday, despite his belief that he’ll be ready. 

“We don’t know that just yet,” head coach Tom Coughlin told reporters.

He was then asked if the linebacker’s status would depend on how he feels when he reports to the stadium on Sunday morning.

“I believe it’s more than that,” Coughlin said. “It’s what is the condition of the situation, how does he feel? A lot depends on that, the medical people, and how he feels, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Left Tackle Will Beatty

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Left tackle Will Beatty is looking forward to the chance to see defensive end Osi Umenyiora, his former teammate and his mentor, across from him in a live scrimmage.

 “This is almost a division game for me going against him because of how well I know him. Let’s see how much he changed. I get to show him how much I changed and how much I grew,” Beatty told reporters.

Umenyiora, who spoke to the Giants media via conference call on Wednesday, spoke glowingly of Beatty’s progress this year, praising him for turning his dismal 2013 season around to become the league’s top-graded tackle, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

“I left last year, so obviously he didn’t have anybody pushing him,” Umenyiora quipped. “That is why his game kind of slipped a little bit. Now he looked on the schedule and he sees me on there and all of a sudden he is an All-Pro left tackle again, so I am going to take credit for that.”

Beatty said he didn’t know how many snaps he might see Umenyiora across from him. Whatever that count is, the student is more than ready to school his teacher. 

“He knows I am going to bring it. It is going to be out there. When we used to practice together, we went all at it,” Beatty said.

“I am ready for him. Now I get to show Osi now I am no longer the student. It is going to be a fun game, not knowing how many plays I am going to see him. When I do see him it will be like, ‘Oh yeah, it is me and you.’”

Giants Punt and Kickoff Coverage Units

Uncredited/Associated Press

At age 31, Falcons return specialist Devin Hester is showing the NFL that he still has it.

All Hester has done in this his ninth year as a pro (his first season with Atlanta) is put his team’s kickoff and punt return units in the league's top 12 through four weeks.

On kickoffs, the Falcons are averaging 25.6 yards per return, good for 11th in the NFL. On punt returns, his 15.3-yard average is good for fourth in the NFL. There, Hester has already logged one punt return for a touchdown, that coming in Week 3 against Tampa Bay.

To say that the Giants coverage units, especially on punts, has had a tough time of it this year is to be kind.

New York, which last year gave up three punt returns for a touchdown, has already given up a punt return for a TD in 2014, that to the Arizona Cardinals' Ted Ginn, who returned a 71-yard punt for a score in Week 2.

So how then do they eliminate the threat that is Hester?

Simple. Keep the ball away from him.

Kicker Josh Brown will need to reach the end zone every time.  Punter Steve Weatherford, bad ankle and all, will need to be Jeff Feagles-like in his directional kicking, making use of the sideline while not sacrificing distance. 

It sounds simpler than it probably is, but the Giants need to be especially careful when dealing with Hester, whose wondrous return abilities can produce short fields for quarterback Matt Ryan and the league’s No. 2 scoring offense.

Giants Defensive Line

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

If you think the Giants defensive line is drooling over the opportunity to play against the Falcons offensive line that will have three new starters, think again.

“We don’t take anyone lightly,” defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka told reporters. “Everybody we’re playing against is a professional, and we understand that.

“Yeah there might be some matchups that we can take advantage of, but we’ll never take anyone lightly.”

Safety Antrel Rolle agreed, noting that if a guy is on an NFL roster, he is there because his talent level warrants it. “These are the teams you have to worry about,” Rolle told reporters. “People try to put them under the radar and those are the teams that come out swinging. We’re not taking them lightly under any means.”

While you wouldn’t expect the Giants players to say anything to the contrary, it does need to be noted that there is a reason why guys are starters and others are backups, and that reason is usually a drop in the talent level.

With the Giants defensive front having shown signs of life over the last three weeks—the front has produced 4.5 sacks, 14 quarterback hits and eight passes defensed—their matchup against the Falcons patchwork offensive line is another of the game’s most underrated, yet crucial pairings.

Before these latest injuries to their offensive line, the Falcons had the 17th-best pass-blocking efficiency (PBE) rate, 81.4, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Through four games, the Atlanta offensive line had surrendered 41 quarterback pressures, making it seem ripe for the picking by a Giants defensive front that seems to have hit its stride.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus (subscription required) unless otherwise noted.

All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.