New York Giants: Winners and Losers at the Season's Quarter Mark

The New York Giants are 3-1 and are tied with the Washington Redskins for first in the NFC East. They’re showing poise and promise on both sides of the ball, and making big plays in spite of countless injuries. The season is only a quarter of the way through and the Giants schedule grows progressively more difficult as the season wears on.

Fans are hoping they can keep this up and return to the playoffs after missing out in 2010. Either way, these five guys are making things either easier or more difficult on themselves and their teammates.

5. Loser: Mario Manningham, WR

Mario Manninghman had a breakout season in 2010. He pulled in 60 catches for 944 yards and nine TDs. Heading into 2011, Giants fans were excited to see what “Super Mario” could do with a full season as a starter, opposite Hakeem Nicks.

It is beginning to feel like Giants fans may not ever see the work that Manningham can do as a starter. After leaving the Week 2 matchup with the Rams suffering a concussion, he missed Week 3 and was a non-factor in Week 4.

Manningham’s missed start paved the way for the young and talented Victor Cruz, who seems to be garnering more attention from Eli Manning.

Manningham had Eli Manning visibly frustrated in Week 4 due to his inability to run the correct routes. The way things are trending now, Manningham could be bumped down to third on the depth chart.

4. Winner: Victor Cruz, WR

Once Manningham went down, the Giants knew they needed someone to step up. They signed veteran Brandon Stokley thinking they found their guy, but it was Victor Cruz who shined in Manningham’s absence.

His breakout performance against the Eagles featured two beautiful TD receptions including one over all-pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. He has got over 200 yards receiving over the past two weeks, and is becoming one of Eli Manning’s favorite targets.

When Nicks is in double coverage, Cruz will flourish. He is only 6'0'', but has the football IQ to get open even against tough coverage. Regardless of what the depth chart says, Cruz has bought himself the confidence of his quarterback and a lot more looks than anyone expected him to get in 2011.

3. Winner: Jason Pierre-Paul, DE

A lot of Giants fans criticized Jerry Reese’s decision to take Pierre-Paul with their first round pick in 2010. There was concern that there were more glaring needs at other positions, and Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck were too good to ever spend significant time on the bench.

As it turns out, Umenyiora missed the first three weeks rehabbing his knee and Tuck missed Week 4 with injuries of his own. Jason Pierre-Paul has flourished in their absence and has cemented himself as a major contributor for the rest of 2011.

He’s tied for third in the NFL with five sacks. Once the Giants have all three of their pass rushers healthy at the same time, defenses are in trouble. They’ll be able to keep all three guys fresh for the entirety of the game, and better yet, they’ll have the opportunity to bring in a third DE off the edge in sure passing situations.

2. Loser: Brandon Jacobs, RB

I wrote an article before the season started that suggested Brandon Jacobs would overtake Ahmad Bradshaw as the starting RB in 2011. I’m swallowing my words.

After an outstanding preseason, Brandon Jacobs is averaging a mere 29 yards rushing per game. He isn’t moving the pile in short yardage situations and is dancing behind the line rather than hitting holes hard and running downhill.

A lot of Jacobs’ issues lie with offensive coordinator, Kevin Gilbride. Everyone knows that Jacobs is the short yardage back, but he needs to be more involved. If he’s only running in short yardage situations, his YPC will remain low and the coaching staff could wrongly evaluate him. He could turn it around as the season moves on, but Gilbride will need to make sure he’s involved in different ways.

1. Winner: Eli Manning, QB

Everyone knew that this would be a pivotal season for Eli Manning. He was coming off of an ugly 2010 that saw him throw 25 INTs, and he was ridiculed for saying was in the same class as Tom Brady.

Week 1 was ugly, but Eli has been excellent in the Giants' last three games. Leading the Giants to victories in all three, Eli improved his QB rating to the second best in the NFC behind only Aaron Rodgers at 105.6. He has thrown for eight TDs and is instilling confidence in the rest of his teammates and coaches.

Perhaps more impressive than any other statistic, is Eli’s low interception mark. He has only thrown two this season. Last year at this time he had six. He’s clearly going out there with more confidence than ever before and is making Giants fans forget about losing Steve Smith and Kevin Boss to free agency.

Eli has become his own security blanket.

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