Biggest Takeaways from New York Giants' Week 4 Win

Just like that, the 2015 NFL season is one-fourth of the way completed. The New York Giants are sitting at the 2-2 mark, firmly placing them in second place in the NFC East regardless of what Dallas does in its Week 4 game (this due to the Giants’ losing the first head-to-head game with the Cowboys).

It’s been an interesting road for the Giants, whose season has taken a lot of twists and turns, some of which have actually worked out well for them while others not so well.

In their latest win, a 24-10 thumping of the Buffalo Bills, some rather interesting trends are starting to take place with the Giants team—a team whose stock appears to be on the rise.

So let’s look at some takeaways from the Giants' Week 4 win over the Bills.

Nikita Whitlock Could Make Markus Kuhn Expendable at Defennsive Tackle

Uncredited/Associated Press

Defensive tackle Markus Kuhn is a nice guy and a hard worker, who is currently dealing with a knee injury that has cost him the last three weeks.

Given the emergence of Nikita Whitlock, the team’s fullback who just so happens to be a natural defensive tackle, one can’t help but wonder if the Giants might be able to get by doing something so completely unorthodox that it just might work.

Kerry Wynn has shown now in two games that he’s fully capable of handling the defensive end spot, which has allowed Cullen Jenkins, who worked there in the spring and summer, to move back inside to defensive tackle.

With Whitlock having shown more in terms of productivity in just a handful of snaps that Kuhn managed in Week 1’s season opener, would it make sense to put Kuhn on season-ending injured reserve, continue to carry Cruz if his situation isn’t going to necessitate him missing the next six weeks and add another receiver such as Wes Welker in the coming week?

It sounds crazy enough to be a plausible scenario, and it’s all thanks to Whitlock playing much larger than his 5’10, 250-pound size.

Although Whitlock’s pressures and sacks have come toward the end of the game, it needs to be remembered that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has twice now played for coverage early in the games before switching gears later in the game and trying to get a pass rush on.

If Whitlock can deliver—and again, so far he has done just that in his handful of snaps—then why not take greater advantage of this resource?

The Giants Need to Get Plays on Offense Off Quicker

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

Raise your hand if you’re becoming frustrated by the number of times in which the Giants snap the ball with less than five seconds left on the play clock.

Yeah, you’re not alone. The sad part is that it doesn’t have to be that way.

This week, the Giants took two delay-of-game penalties and nearly had another on a play in which Manning was playing chess, the ball being snapped before he was done.  

For those keeping score at home, Manning, who had a delay-of-game penalty in Week 2, now has three such penalties in four games, one less than his 2014 total of four, according to NFLPenalties.com. Since 2012, he’s racked up 15 delay-of-game penalties.

While it’s easy to appreciate a quarterback who wants to make sure his offense is in the very best possible position to succeed, at some point, you have to simply stop changing things around—constant changes can lead to players being out of position when the ball is snapped—and just trust the other 10 guys on the field with you that they’ll win their one-on-one matchups. 

That point should have come for Manning, a 12-year NFL veteran, years ago.

The Giants Are Getting It Done with a "No-Name" Defense

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Pop quiz: Name the members of the Giants defense who are at or near the top of their position right now.

Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins? You could make a case there, although some might argue that St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is better.

The linebackers? Jon Beason has three Pro Bowls to his name, but the last of those came five years ago in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business.

Cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie? Possibly—if both can stay healthy.

Safety Brandon Meriweather? He has a couple of Pro Bowl berths to his name, but like his former Miami college teammate, Jon Beason, Meriweather was last in Honolulu for the league’s all-star game in 2010.

The point here is that the Giants mainly have a group of no-names on defense. There’s no J.J. Watt. Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty, Patrick Peterson, Richard Sherman or DeMarcus Ware is not headlining this group.

This Giants defense is an eclectic mix of youth and experience, the latter of which some will say has seen its best days pass them by.

However, this is a unit that has, for the most part, been getting it done, and it got it done this week with two impressive defensive stands, including the big fourth-quarter goal-line stand.

This is a unit that despite not having much of a pass rush is tied for sixth place (with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles) with six interceptions through four games, two away from league-leader Carolina.

This is a defense that has forced five fumbles, thanks to its “swarm to the ball” mentality.

Most importantly, this is a defense—a no-name defense—that is fast making a name for itself as a solid unit driven by a creative coordinator in Steve Spagnuolo who has done a brilliant job of hiding whatever flaws might be there as a result of the personnel.

"It’s been done before, no name defense," said linebacker Jon Beason, the captain of the Giants' no-name defense.

"We don’t look at ourselves like that. We’ve got some journeymen, some guys who have been around, guys who have made a lot of plays in this league. We’re just buying into a mentality obviously spearheaded by our defensive coordinator and our position coaches and guys are doing it collectively."

While no one is going to confuse the 2015 defense with the 2007 unit which had more than just a few recognizable names on that squad, so far the 2015 group is getting it done like the 2007 group did. 

The Giants Are Developing Resiliency

Now that I’ve gotten your attention with a little taste from the past—the above video, for those who aren’t aware, was played prior to the Giants’ Super Bowl XLII pregame introduction, “Resiliency”—it’s time to talk about the 2015 and how it has been developing in the resiliency department.

As recently as last year, if the Giants suffered any kind of adversity, the team will pretty much call it a day.

Oh sure, there were still some guys who would try to fight through it, but a quick glance at the sideline following a devastating play or turn of events would reveal a Giants bench that was filled with enough guys who were slumped over in defeat or who lacked any fire power to do something about the hand they were given.

Fortunately, head coach Tom Coughlin’s constant urging to keep on fighting is starting to sink in with these players, who have shown a much better resiliency to bounce back from deflating events.

This week, let’s start with the setback of receiver Victor Cruz's setback. His return to the field had his teammates filled with anticipation and hope.

When the popular Cruz suffered his setback, which will keep him out indefinitely, his teammates expressed remorse.

However, instead of letting the setback deflate them, they rose up.

Receiver Rueben Randle, who has a locker near Cruz’s and who was most vocal about Cruz’s setback last week, paid tribute to his ailing teammate by attempting a rather unpolished version of Cruz’s signature salsa dance after scoring a second-quarter touchdown.

I'm no salsa dancer but u get the picture lol. @teamvic we gotcha #salute #Giantswin https://t.co/gwq7XjAgup

— Rueben Randle (@RuebenRandle) October 4, 2015

On the field? Glad you asked.

In the second half, the Giants defense came up with not one, but two big defensive stands, the second of which came at the goal line, to keep the Bills off the scoreboard. The first drive, which came in the third quarter, came after the Giants offense had killed their momentum with consecutive penalties that turned a 1st-and-10 into a 1st-and-20 from which the Giants never recovered.

The defense, then suddenly found itself on the field for its longest series of the game, this thanks to their inability to stop the Bills, who made it all the way down to the Giants’ 12-yard line before a Dan Carpenter 30-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide left.

The bigger series, though, came early in the fourth quarter when the Giants defense denied the Bills entry into the end zone on a 4th-and-1 from the Giants’ 1-yard line.

Even though the Bills would go on to score on their next drive, the Giants simply went back on the field with a chip on their shoulder and punched the Bills right back thanks to running back Rashad Jennings' big 51-yard touchdown reception.

“It shows grit,” Coughlin said. “We are the team I thought us to be. To be honest with you, we didn’t practice as well as we wanted to early in the week. By the end of the week we did, and I told them that before the game started. Our meetings have been very good. They’ve done a great job. They’re battlers.

“The coaches are doing an outstanding job. I’m proud of the way our staff is putting these plays together. The sideline is not always as smooth as you want it to be, but that’s football. There’s a lot going on out there.”

Indeed, and a lot of which is finally going the Giants’ way.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.

Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.