New York Giants Week 14 Stock Report

Somehow, someway, the 5-7 New York Giants are still in the thick of the NFC East playoff race.

That sure says a lot about how poor the division has been, doesn’t it? It just seems as though the NFC East title is like a hot potato that the four competing teams just don’t want any part of.

Well, one of them has to win the division, and the Giants say they want it, but as a certain someone once said, “Talk is cheap; play the game.”

They’ll do just that on Monday night at Miami, a game that’s one of those cliched must-wins. Whether they finish what they start—both the season and the game itself—or end up being finished remains to be seen.

With that said, let's take a look at this week's stock report, which has a few first-timers to the list.

Stock Up: Bobby Hart

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Two weeks ago, rookie Bobby Hart was thrown into the deep end of the pool at right guard, and he more than held his own.

Last week against the Jets, Hart moved from right guard to right tackle, taking the place of Marshall Newhouse, and continued to look like he belong put there.

With fellow rookie Ereck Flowers potentially looking at missing a game or two after suffering another sprained ankle that, per head coach Tom Coughlin had the first-round draft pick still on crutches as of Monday, the Giants will probably have Justin Pugh at left tackle, John Jerry at left guard and Hart either in at right guard for Geoff Schwartz or at right tackle, depending on Newhouse’s status.

Either way, Hart appears to have done enough to warrant more snaps the rest of the way.

Stock Down: The Place-Kicking Operation

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Last week wasn’t kicker Josh Brown’s best game—besides his overtime game-tying field-goal attempt sailing wide, his kickoffs were again not struck with the usual power he has shown himself capable of.

This week, Brown and punter Brad Wing will have to work with a brand-new long snapper, Danny Aiken, who was signed on Tuesday to replace longtime long snapper Zak DeOssie.

DeOssie, who last week was added to the injury report late in the week with a wrist ailment, was to undergo surgery as soon as possible, according to Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News.

The good news is that Brown, Wing and Aiken all have an extra day to get acquainted with each other as far as the finer points of the kicking operation.

Will it be enough time? Will the change be more seamless than say the last time the Giants had to make a switch at long snapper? In 2002, they swapped out Dan O’Leary (who had replaced Bob Jones), who suffered a season-ending thumb injury, according to Newsday (h/t KFFL.com), for Trey Junkin.

Until otherwise shown, it’s hard to be bullish about this underrated yet key aspect of the game.

Stock Up: LB Jasper Brinkley

Elsa/Getty Images

Remember when the Giants cut Jameel McClain, the Giants' leader in tackles last season, a move that left numerous people scratching their heads?

While everyone seemed to be up in arms over the move, the Giants acquired a veteran player named Jasper Brinkley, a linebacker whom they actually had their eye on when he was a free agent a few years prior.

Brinkley didn’t do much on defense in the first eight games, but as it turns out, that was probably because he was getting a crash course in the defense from the man he replaced as the starter, Jon Beason, who landed on injured reserve.

According to the Giants' weekly game release, Brinkley will be seeking his fifth consecutive game with at least five tackles. And to be clear, many of Brinkley’s tackles have come within five yards of the line of scrimmage, which is what coaches look for from their linebackers.

"He’s a physical force inside, he’s done a good job of that," said Coughlin. "I think he’s learning and playing a little bit better each time out there." 

With 35 tackles on the year, Brinkley has a way to go to catch team leader Landon Collins (76). But if he keeps up this pace, he could catapult himself from his current ranking of 10th into a higher position by year’s end.

Stock Down: GM Jerry Reese

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Of all the shortcomings to emerge from general manager Jerry Reese’s tenure, perhaps none loom larger these days than the issues surrounding the offensive line.

While the season-ending injuries to tackle Will Beatty and Schwartz and the sprained ankle suffered by Flowers are not Reese’s fault, what does need to be laid at his feet is his failure with all the offensive linemen they gambled on—the James Brewers, the Brandon Mosleys, the Matt McCantses, the Eric Hermans—who didn’t pan out.

Just think: If the Giant had drafted a little better at that position, maybe today instead of having to pick up veteran depth via free agency, guys whose time has passed them by, the Giants could have had a strong core along one of the most important units on the team.  

Stock Up: Special Teams Coaches Tom Quinn and Larry Izzo

Mel Evans/Associated Press

Whoever of special teams coordinator Tom Quinn and assistant Larry Izzo came up with having Odell Beckham Jr. go deep alongside of Dwayne Harris on punt returns, kudos to him for getting creative last week.

By putting Beckham back deep as the decoy, he drew the attention of three Jets coverage guys, which made things a lot easier to open lanes for Harris on his 80-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Although the Jets adjusted thereafter by kicking the ball out of bounds, give credit to the coaches of a unit who for years refused to try any gadget plays, until Sunday, saving their most creative one for a key game.  

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.