This week's New York Giants' roster power rankings were sort of difficult to do in the wake of Sunday's 34-0 debacle against the Atlanta Falcons. To be honest, I would have like to have started somewhere around number 10.
You would like to think of your top 10, or at least your top 5, as elite players. Truth is, these guys are elite players. They just have not been consistently playing at an elite level, which is a big part of the explanation for why the Giants are 8-6 and fighting for their playoff lives when they could -- and should -- be something like 11-3 and cruising.
I included this in the notebook this morning, but if you have ESPN Insider and you haven't yet read the Pro Football Focus piece headlined 'What's wrong with the Giants?' you really should. PFF puts the blame on the two things the Giants are built around -- great pass rush from the defensive ends and great play from the quarterback. Fact is, the Giants have gotten neither with any sort of consistency this season. Thus, the win-or-go-home predicament they are now in.
Anyway, here are your rankings for this week.
1. Eli Manning -- Yes, he stunk on Sunday. And yes, he has stunk in far too many games this season. There is, however, no player more important to the Giants than Manning.The Giants need the Super Bowl Manning to show up the next couple of weeks, not the early in his career Manning that has visited far too often this season.
2. Jason Pierre-Paul -- Someday he might even play up to this billing.
3. Victor Cruz -- Pretty much invisible on Sunday. LW: 3
4. Hakeem Nicks -- He's doing everything he can despite a pair of bad wheels. LW: 4
5. Ahmad Bradshaw -- Bradshaw has heart, in spades. And heart was obviously missing from the Giants' pitiful effort on Sunday in Atlanta.
6. Antrel Rolle -- Had a poor game Sunday. LW: 6
7. Will Beatty -- Just keeps playing solid football. He is now +17.9 for the season via the Pro Football Focus grading system. LW: 7
8. Chris Snee -- Played well, again, despite being in and out with a hip injury. This has been a nice bounce-back season for Snee, +12.5 on the season per PFF. LW: 8
9. Chase Blackburn -- This is mostly a cumulative placement. It also tells you a little something about the Giants' defense. He had seven tackles Sunday, but no real positive impact for the Giants. LW: 9
10. Chris Canty -- I am not really sure Canty deserves to be this high, but I am putting him here. Why? He was one of the few Giants who showed up Sunday and played with some effort and pride. He had a sack, five tackles (one for loss) and a hit on Matt Ryan. LW: 27
11. Linval Joseph -- Two tackles Sunday in 49 snaps, which isn't good enough when the opposition is just running right at you. Not much impact the past few weeks. LW: 10
12. Martellus Bennett -- Had his 50th catch of the season Sunday. Other than that, he was invisible. LW: 11
13. Stevie Brown -- It's not a good thing that that he had eight tackles and Will Hill had nine on Sunday. LW: 13
14. Osi Umenyiora -- Umenyiora is at least around the quarterback once in a while, and I give him credit for making some nice hustle plays in recent weeks. LW: 17
15. Michael Boley -- He is the closest thing the Giants have to a complete, every-down linebacker. What does that tell you? It tells me the Giants linebackers aren't good enough. LW: 15
16. Prince Amukamara -- Pray that Prince is healthy enough to play against the Baltimore Ravens. Jayron Hosley might be a good player at some point, but his time has not arrived. LW: 16
17. Kevin Boothe -- Has had a better season than I think many people could have expected. LW: 16
18. David Baas -- Not much to see here. Good center, not great. LW: 18
19. David Wilson -- Twelve carries for 55 yards in his first start, but a poor week returning kickoffs (22-yard average on three returns). LW: 22
20. Henry Hynoski -- I still can't figure out why the Giants won't hand him the ball once or twice a game. LW: 20
21. Domenik Hixon -- Five catches on Sunday, including a 37-yarder. He makes a difference when he is healthy. LW: 25
22. David Diehl -- You can hate the fact that Diehl is at right tackle, but the guy has been playing better this season than he has in a long time. He has positive Pro Football Focus grades in his last four starts. LW: 24
23. Rocky Bernard -- Along with Canty, at least Bernard made himself noticed on Sunday. Ended with three tackles and a +2.0 Pro Football focus rating.
24. Justin Tuck -- I don't know if he's hurt -- again -- but he isn't what he used to be. LW: 18
25. Lawrence Tynes -- The Giants' placekicker is faaaaaaaaaaalling, and he needs to get back up. Misses from 36 and 30 yards the last two weeks, virtual chip shots for modern-day NFL kickers. How do you miss from 30 yards INDOORS? LW: 12
26. Steve Weatherford -- Has done his job well all season, and that continued Sunday. LW: 28
27. Corey Webster -- Targeted six times Sunday and gave up five completions, ending up with a passer rating against of 129.2. Webster is ranked 108th out of 112 cornerbacks graded by PFF this season, with a score of -9.9. By the way, PFF grades go back to 2008 and Webster has never graded in negative numbers before. LW: 23
28. Kenny Phillips -- Keeps sliding because he isn't playing. You seriously have to wonder if the Giants will make a long-term commitment to KP after this year. LW: 21
29. Mathias Kiwanuka -- The 'he's out of position at linebacker' excuse doesn't hold any longer. He has been solely a defensive end for weeks now, and he still isn't getting much of anything done. LW: 26
30. Bear Pascoe -- Nothing to see here. LW: 30
31. Will Hill -- A team-high nine tackles, which is nice. A safety, however, should not lead your defense in tackles. Had a 149.3 passer rating against in three completed targets. LW: 32
32. Jacquian Williams -- Not much to say about his work Sunday. The defense wasn't good, period. LW: 31
33. Jayron Hosley -- Targeted seven times Sunday by Atlanta and gave up six completions -- including one long touchdown. His passer rating against was a horrid 158.3. Let's hope Amukamara heals quickly. LW: 35
34. Keith Rivers -- He played 26 mostly invisible snaps. LW: 33
35. Reuben Randle -- Seemed to be turning a corner a few weeks ago. Seems like a forgotten man now. LW: 34
36. Zak DeOssie -- I can never figure out exactly where to put a long-snapper in these rankings. LW; 38
37. Spencer Paysinger -- Some weeks he plays a handful of snaps at linebacker, others he doesn't. This week he got 26 snaps, nearly 40 percent of the plays. LW: 40
38. Mark Herzlich -- The Giants struggle against the run, yet Herzlich remains chained to the bench. What does that say? LW: 37
39. Kregg Lumpkin -- Played 19 snaps, carried nine times and had a career-long 22-yard run. This is as high as I feel comfortable putting him, since this was his first really significant playing time. LW: 47
40. Jim Cordle -- Played well in 23 snaps at guard filling in for the banged-up Chris Snee. LW: 45
41. Jerrel Jernigan -- Why do bad things seem to happen when Manning throws the ball in his direction? LW: 36
42. Adrian Tracy -- The guys the Giants are using can't seem to rush the passer. Could Tracy? LW: 41
43. Tyler Sash -- Need a Sash sighting? You will have to check his Twitter account to find one. LW: 39
44. Justin Tryon -- Another penalty on special teams this week for Tryon. LW: 43
45. James Brewer -- What is there to say? LW: 45
46. Ramses Barden -- Not one snap, even on special teams, in a 34-0 blowout. He has fallen a loooooong way since his breakout game against the Carolina Panthers. LW: 42
47. David Carr -- Anyone else surprised Carr didn't at least get a cameo on Sunday? LW: 47
48. Travis Beckum -- He's taking up space on the roster, that's about all. LW: 48
49. Marvin Austin -- Inactive again. The Giants have gotten zilch from this 2010 second-round pick. LW: 49
50. Ryan Torain -- Ahmad Bradshaw's injury meant he was active for the first time. LW: 53
51. Terrence Frederick -- Was active one day after being signed. And reportedly got released on Monday. LW: Unranked
52. Adrien Robinson -- LW: 51
53. Adewale Ojomo -- LW: 52