New York Giants: 8 Players Who Stepped Up in Week 4

A week removed from a big divisional win, the New York Giants needed to avoid a letdown against another sort of bird. 

Justin Tuck played against the Eagles but injured his neck and could not play against the Cardinals. The void needed to be filled, but there were huge question marks as to who might step in. 

After the Giants come-from-behind 31-27 victory, there were several potential game-ball winners.

Here are eight players that stepped up in Week 4.

Dave Tollefson: Providing the Depth

With Justin Tuck out, the pass rush was leaning on Jason Pierre-Paul to step up—he responded with a subpar performance. 

Enter Dave Tollefson.

What makes the Giants vaunted pass rush such a force is their unparalleled depth at the end position. They have been playing each week without a Pro Bowl defensive end and have still put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks than Tony Siragusa puts on a bag of potato chips. 

Tollefson had two first-half sacks and was breathing down Kevin Kolb's neck all game—not too shabby for the fourth option. 

Osi Umenyiora: Welcome Back

Let's keep our focus on the line for now.

After a tumultuous offseason—to say the least—and arthroscopic knee surgery, Osi Umenyiora is again striking fear into opposing quarterbacks. 

His return was made all the more necessary with Justin Tuck's absence against the Cards. He picked up right where he left off in 2010, forcing a fumble by Kevin Kolb in the first half—he led the league with 11 forced fumbles in 2010. 

He also added a huge sack in the fourth quarter, pushing the Cardinals back from 2nd-and-1 to 3rd-and-11. The cardinals subsequently failed to convert on fourth down of that sequence, giving the Giants the victory. 

Imagine how scary that line will be with Umenyiora, Tuck, Pierre-Paul and Tollefson.

Antrel Rolle: Revenge Tasts Sweeter with a W Mixed in

When the Giants signed Antrel Rolle away from the Cardinals in 2010, he came with the reputation of ball hawking. 

He recorded 10 interceptions from 2007-2009 but only recorded one for the Giants last season. Rolle's interception on a Kolb pass to—who else, but his good friend?—Larry Fitzgerald was a thing of beauty, and what Giants fans expected to see when he inked his big deal. 

Rolle definitely stepped up today and took a jump ball from a top-three NFL receiver, while also chipping in six tackles. 

Big Blue hopes there is more to come from Rolle going forward—especially if he continues to talk the way he likes to. 

Jake Ballard: Has Big Blue Finally Found Its Tight End?

Onto the offense:

Hello Giants fans, meet Jake Ballard. 

He will be this year's giant, awkward, red-faced tight end. 

Most were extremely peeved with the Giants inability to sign Kevin Boss last offseason, but after watching Ballard perform against the Cardinals, he seems to possess a very similar skill set. 

Ballard finished the game with three catches for 33 yards. This included a 21-yard catch late in the game, and a two-yard touchdown catch from Manning to bring the Giants back within three points and set them for the go-ahead score. 

It was also a very athletic catch in Tony Gonzalez territory—that means the back of the end zone—that should have Giants fans feeling a bit happier with the future of the tight end position. 

Well, at least for a week or so. 

Victor Cruz: Almost Made the 'Not Top 10' for the Week

Victor Cruz almost cost the Giants the game—thankfully for him, the refs were feeling generous, and he was still able to make my list. 

With the Giants driving for the go-ahead touchdown, Cruz caught a 19-yard pass from Manning and inexplicably went to the ground without being touched, leaving the ball behind. The refs ruled that he was "giving himself up," a rule I am probably not alone in doubting the existence of.

Fortunately, Cruz, forgetting he is no longer in college and that the play isn't over until you are contacted down, didn't cost the Giants, and they scored on the next play. 

Cruz caught six passes for 98 yards, and it seems that he has—at least for this week—supplanted Mario Manningham as Manning's second-favorite receiver. 

With back-to-back big games, Cruz has taken himself out of the flash-in-the-pan category and is now a player opposing defenses will have to add into the game plan. 

Hakeem Nicks: When Healthy, One of the Best in the NFL

As the picture above shows, Hakeem Nicks is the man for the Giants with the game on the line. 

It almost seemed that the Cardinals defense was still confused about what happened on the Cruz play, and Manning took full advantage, hitting Nicks over the top for the go-ahead touchdown—torching phenom Patrick Peterson in the process. 

Nicks clearly outplayed Larry Fitzgerald in the game, catching 10 passes for 162 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. 

This was just Nicks' second TD grab on the season, but as he and Manning reestablish their rapport from early in 2010, he is going to put up huge numbers. 

Nicks was the best receiver in this game.

Eli Manning: Unmatched Composure

I will be the first to say that I am hard on Eli Manning when he plays poorly, but when you make the type of money he does, you waive all rights for poor play. 

With that said, Manning was fantastic tonight, and he has been one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL over the last two weeks. Don't believe me? 

	Comp./Att.	Yards	Tds	INTs
@ PHI	16-23	254	4	0
@ AZ	27-40	321	2	0
Total	43-63	575	6	0

If you can find me numbers considerably better than those, you are a better man than I. 

This is the type of Eli Manning that reminds you how the Giants could've possibly won a Super Bowl. Maybe Glendale, Arizona, brings the best out of him; maybe he is just settling in; maybe he will regress and I will be talking about how terrible he is in no time at all. 

All I know is, Eli Manning has been fantastic and deserves to be praised. 

Compensatory Pick: Ken Whisenhunt

The Giants should write Ken Whisenhunt a thank-you card for his first timeout, and then also ask what he decided to do with his final one, that was last seen heading into the locker room with him after the game. 

Not only did the Cardinals head coach decline the use of his final timeout on the 4th-and-4 play that was their last offensive snap of the night, he also wasted one earlier in the fourth quarter. 

Alphonso Smith was ruled down short of the goal line, and it was obvious to everyone in the building that he did not get in—other than Whisenhunt, that is. 

He wasted his timeout and the Giants were grateful. 

Big Blue was able to run out the clock for the victory, and the Cardinals only "used" one of their second-half timeouts.

Hopefully, Whisenhunt at least made use of his final timeout in the locker room after the game.