New York Giants: Studs and Duds After Week 5 Win Against Atlanta
In his postgame press conference with reporters, New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin summed up his team’s 30-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons perfectly.
“Two different halves, as far as I was concerned. The first half, I did not like at all. We didn’t think we made anything happen. We made some blunders,” he said.
“The second half was different. We played hard. We made some things happen. The fourth quarter was ours. … We battled back and we won the fourth quarter and looked like the Giants in the second half.”
In other words, they finally finished, which is what their 68-year-old head coach has been preaching now for years.
The win by the Giants is not only their third in a row, it also leaves them with a winning record for the first time since Dec. 30, 2012.
Perhaps even more importantly, the Giants now have some momentum to build on as they embark on a two-week stretch against Philadelphia (on Sunday night) and Dallas before they break for the bye week.
Let’s look at some players who stood out for one reason or another in this week’s game.
Stud: Receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
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The Giants waited a long, long time to get receiver Odell Beckham Jr., their 2014 first-round draft pick, on the field.
Apparently, he was worth the wait, catching four out of his five targets for a team-leading 44 yards, and coming down with a 15-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter that gave the Giants the lead for good.
“I was impressed. He is certainly going to add a lot to our weapons and our opportunities,” head coach Tom Coughlin told reporters after the game.
“He made a nice move and ran right by him; if we only got the ball inbounds, that would have been something.
“For the first time back and for not having the preseason and all of those types of things, the athleticism was obvious to everybody and his speed will have to be reckoned with,” Coughlin added.
Dud: Receiver Preston Parker
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Entering this season, receiver Preston Parker, who has also been serving as the Giants punt-return specialist, had six fumbles as a return specialist (all on punts).
His ball-security issues reared their ugly head again in the first quarter. Parker, inserted into the game as the kickoff returner to spell Quintin Demps, coughed up the ball.
The Falcons capitalized, taking the field-position gift—their drive started on the Giants’ 21-yard line—and converting that into a 20-yard field goal by Matt Bryant, which gave them an early second-quarter 10-7 lead at the time.
Stud: Running Back Andre Williams
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Running back Andre Williams might not yet be a finished product—his blitz-pickup awareness still needs work as does his pass-receiving ability—but he sure can be dangerous when running the ball.
The rookie out of Boston College stepped in for the injured Rashad Jennings (sprained left knee) and ran 20 times for 65 yards and one touchdown.
“I mean, you couldn’t tell the difference from the way Williams was playing from Jennings,” left tackle Will Beatty told reporters.
“Running the ball hard, I know he had a great third-down conversion that he just lowered his shoulder. He stepped up, he did great (and) he kept us on the field.”
Head coach Tom Coughlin agreed.
“He is a tough, hard-nosed runner. That is why he is here,” Coughlin told reporters.
“He dropped his shoulder and ran through someone to get in the end zone. He is a hard-running ball-carrier who can get himself low to the ground and has outstanding leg strength.”
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Dud: Receiver Rueben Randle
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Although receiver Rueben Randle had the Giants’ first touchdown reception of the game, it was actually a do-over on which he got lucky considering that he should have had the score on the preceding play.
On that failed scoring attempt, Randle seemed to lose track of where he was on the field, as evidenced by his failing to drag his feet inbounds.
If that wasn’t enough, Randle only caught four of the 10 passes thrown his way for 33 yards.
Randle has been far too inconsistent, and with Odell Beckham Jr. back from his hamstring ailment, it could be a matter of time before the rookie starts to draw some of Randle’s snaps away.
Stud: Defensive Tackle Johnathan Hankins
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Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins doesn’t get his name called very often—his role as a run-stopper isn’t the most glamorous out there—but that doesn’t mean he’s been any less effective.
Currently ranked the 11th-highest-rated defensive tackle by Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Hankins disrupts things inside just enough to allow others to have opportunities to make plays.
This week, the second-year player made a big play of his own when he sacked quarterback Matt Ryan on a late-game 4th-and-1 deep in the Falcons' territory. On the ensuing drive, the Giants scored a field goal to ice the game.
Besides the sack, the man nicknamed Big Hank contributed four tackles, one tackle for loss, two quarterback hits and one pass defensed.
Dud: Safety Quintin Demps
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Not a day goes by at Giants practice that defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, known for his thundering voice, isn’t reminding his players to “Get the ball!”
Fewell’s urgings include wanting his players to pounce on every single ball that hits the ground, regardless if the whistle has blown to end the play.
That reminder unfortunately got lost on safety Quintin Demps, who had a chance to come up with a big turnover early in the third quarter.
The play, which came on 3rd-and-10, saw Demps pick off Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan at the Giants’ 45-yard line.
Unfortunately, Demps had the ball stripped by Jacquizz Rodgers, and instead of falling on the loose pigskin, he lost the ball to Rodgers.
When the smoke cleared, the Falcons had picked up 16 yards on the busted play, thanks to Demps’ brain lock.
All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.
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