Let's get right to the 'Kudos & Wet Willies' review of Sunday's victory by the New York Giants over the Washington Redskins. Read through and you might end up wanting to re-name this 'The Odell Beckham Highlight Reel.'
Kudos To ...
Odell Beckham -- What is there left to say? Beckham has to be the front-runner for Rookie of the Year. Let's just watch all three of his touchdowns again. And don't forget to buy a Beckham t-shirt.
Jason Pierre-Paul -- Yours truly has certainly knocked JPP at times. Nothing to knock currently, though. Pierre-Paul had 2.5 sacks Sunday to raise his total to 9.5 for the season. He also added two tackles for loss, five quarterback hits or hurries and had the game altering-play when he chased down RGIII at the goal line and forced him to juggle the ball and fumble it out of bounds.
Eli Manning -- Lost in all the hub-bub over Beckham, the touchdown-turned-fumble, the seven sacks and the talk about whether or not Tom Coughlin's job is safe is the fact that Manning played a sound, efficient, mistake-free game on Sunday. He went 23-of-34 for 250 yards, no interceptions, no fumbles, nothing close to a disastrous play. Manning had a passer rating of 118.5. You can win an awful lot of games with that kind of quarterback play.
Johnathan Hankins -- The big man came to the Giants with the reputation of being a run-stuffing defensive tackle without much ability to rush the passer. Well, Hankins can definitely stuff the run. He matched Pierre-Paul with 2.5 sacks on Sunday, though, and now has seven on the season. Not bad for a guy who isn't supposed to be able to get to the quarterback.
Devon Kennard -- Followed up his Defensive Player of the Week performance against the Tennessee Titans with another outstanding game. Kennard had a team-high seven solo tackles, a half-sack, a pass defensed, a forced fumble and two tackles for loss. The guy is a big-time player the Giants are going to be able to build around defensively.
Kerry Wynn -- Where did this guy come from? The undrafted free agent was inactive for the first 11 games of the season, and has made the most of his opportunity the past three games. He had seven tackles, one for loss, and a quarterback hit against the Redskins. His 41 snaps played were more than any defensive lineman other than Pierre-Paul.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie -- DRC gets this 'Kudos' for pure hustle. Despite all the leg and back injuries, and the fact that the Giants are not going to the playoffs, Rodgers-Cromartie flashed amazing speed and great desire on this play. When the Vine cuts off DRC isn't even in the picture. Yet, he runs down Andre Roberts from behind at the Giants' 17-yard line, saving Antrel Rolle's bacon and eventually four points as the Redskins ended up settling for a field goal.
Wet Willies To ...
Rueben Randle -- No one would say why Randle sat out the first quarter for the second time in three games, with Manning only acknowledging that the wide receiver was "in trouble" with head coach Tom Coughlin. Maturity and professionalism have always been question marks about Randle, and at the end of his third NFL season that doesn't appear to have changed. If Tom Coughlin returns to the Giants sidelines next season, as a report today indicates is a virtual certaiinty, you have to think perhaps the 2012 second-round pick has written his ticket out of East Rutherford. That, incidentally, would leave the Giants with a complete oh-fer when it comes to the 2012 draft class.
Antrel Rolle -- Rolle's game went sort of like his season has gone. Too many plays he should have made that didn't get made. Too many penalties. Too many excuses. Rolle dropped what should have been an interception of Robert Griffin III on the second-to-last play of the first half. It didn't cost the Giants because the next play was the controversial RGIII touchdown-turned-fumble, but it could have been devastating. In the third quarter, Rolle got smoked for the 61-yard pass to Roberts, coming nowhere close to making the tackle, and then made an excuse about how he was supposed to have help. It's not the first "it wasn't my fault" to come from Rolle this season. Even if it's true, he is a defensive captain and that is not how you lead. Take responsibility. On the play after the 61-yard pass to Roberts, Rolle was guilty of a late hit out of bounds on RGIII that set the Redskins up with first-and-goal. Rolle, incidentlaly, now has five penalties this season. That is the most of any Giants defender.
Andre Williams -- I almost feel bad about this one. Watching the game from the MetLife Stadium press box it looked like Williams (18 carries, 44 yards, a long run on the day of only 6 yards) had no place to run all day. This 'WW' was going to be for the Giants' run-blocking. Then I looked at this week's Pro Football Focus grades. Fullback Henry Hynoski is +2.4 in run-blocking and four of five Giants linemen have positive run-blocking grades, with Justin Pugh (-0.2) being the worst. The tight ends took a hit for their blocking, but if the line did its job -- at least per PFF -- how did the rookie running back not get more yards? Honestly, I have to watch the tape to figure this one out.
Jameel McClain -- This is a case where McClain's tackle numbers (six) look nice, but he really didn't play well. When RGIII threw a 9-yard TD pass to Chris Thompson in the second quarter Sunday I initially blamed safety Stevie Brown. Looking at the replay, though, that score is completely on McClain. Brown is coming on a safety blitz and McClain has the back in pass coverage. For whatever reason, McClain moves up into no-man's land, sort of half-blitzing and Thompson slips into the flat uncovered for the easiest touchdown pass Griffin will ever throw. A guy who has been in the league as long as McClain has should be able to recognize plays better than that.
Kwillies To ...
Damontre Moore -- Perhaps we should just re-name Moore 'The Human Kwillie.' The more he plays, the more you can see both why he excites the fan base and drives the coaching staff nuts at the same time. Moore had five tackles, a half-sack and a quarterback pressure on Sunday. He also had a defensive holding penalty, his third straight week with a defensive penalty and a negative grade defending the run.