Giants 30, Falcons 20: 'Kudos & Wet Willies' Review

Let's take a look at Sunday 30-20 victory by the New York Giants in our traditional Monday morning 'Kudos & Wet Willies' style.

Kudos To ...

Odell Beckham -- So much for my theory that it would take time for Beckham to make an impact when he finally got on the field. It took pretty much no time at all. Down 20-10 the Giants started looking Beckham's way and the rookie delivered. Beckham showed speed, the ability to turn cornerbacks around with his route-running and the ability to adjust to the ball in the air and make plays."The athleticism was obvious to everybody and his speed will have to be reckoned with," said head coach Tom Coughlin.

Indeed.

Andre Williams -- The rookie running back brings something to the Giants' backfield that hasn't been there since the heydays of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs -- attitude. Williams runs with the intent to punish would-be tacklers, and it's obvious he enjoys delivering the blow. In the GIF you see Williams absolutely pile-driving Atlanta's Thomas Lowery to gain about three extra yards. That was only one of several crunching blows delivered by Williams during the game. What did fellow running back Rashad Jennings, who injured his knee Sunday, think of the performance. "He is going to be a dominant player in this league," Jennings said.

Eli Manning -- Another efficient game for Manning as he went 19-for-30 (63.3 percent) for 200 yards with two touchdowns and and a passer rating of 104.9, his third straight game with a passer rating above 100. Manning has thrown one interception in the past three games. Even the one play Manning made that looked bad, overthrowing a wide-open Beckham on a play that could have been an 81-yard touchdown, was actually a good one. Manning said the pass was throw-away because the Giants had a protection breakdown and he had to get rid of the ball. "It looks bad on film but really, under the circumstances, it's a throw-away," Manning said.

Jason Pierre-Paul -- Another 'Invictus' spoiler. JPP ended up with five tackles, two quarterback hits, three pressures, a pass defensed, two stops and an incredible +8.1 PFF grades. Yes, +8.1! For one game! I think we need to stop juding Pierre-Paul by sack numbers and simply realize he is a MONSTROUS presence on every play.

Johnathan Hankins -- Speaking of a monstrous presence, Hankins had another terrific game. He had a sack, four tackles (one for loss), a pass defensed, a quarterback hit and two hurries. There are Pro Bowl appearances in this guys's future.

Jacquian Williams -- Thirteen tackles. Williams is playing the best football of his career.

Trumaine McBride -- The guy continues to make you wonder how in the world he was out of the league in 2012. He forced a fumble Sunday that, unfortunately for the Giants, they could not recover.

Henry Hynoski -- When the Giants needed to settle the game down they went to their 'heavy' package with Hynoski and two tight ends. Hynoski was a battering ram Sunday, clearing paths for Jennings and Williams all day. It was the most effective work I can recall seeing from him so far this season.

Offensive Line -- Manning was sacked once, by Osi Umenyiora, when coverage forced him to hold the ball. He was hit only one other time. The Giants didn't run the ball incredibly well (3.6 yards per carry), but they made plays on the ground when they had to. I won't spoil 'Invictus' review of the Pro Football Focus grades entirely, but I have to give you this tidbit. The top three Giants' grades on offense came from offensive linemen -- Justin Pugh (+4.3), Will Beatty (+3.8) and Weston Richburg (+3.5). J.D. Walton also had a +2.5 grade. Watching Richburg get out in front of running plays and make blocks at the second level is a pleasure.

Steve Weatherford -- Well, one way to try to beat Devin Hester is to kick the ball so far he can't go back and get it. That seemed to be Weatherford's approach on Sunday. He left no doubt he can drive the ball deep despite his injured left ankle, hitting a 67-yard punt and averaging 57.7 yards on three punts. Weatherford even showed he can run pretty well on the damaged leg, sprinting to chase Hester out of bounds when he was the last man on a 26-yard return by the Falcons' great punt returner.

Wet Willies To ...

Kickoff Return Team -- Terrible. Absolutely terrible. That's the only way to describe the work done on kickoff returns by the Giants so far this season. Quintin Demps came to the Giants as one of the best kickoff return men in the NFL in recent seasons. The Giants are getting him killed. I don't know what blocking scheme the Giants are using, unless it's called the "phantom blocking scheme." It certainly seems like no one is bothering, since Demps and Preston Parker have routinely been getting swallowed up by tacklers around the 15-yard line. They have no chance. There are free runners coming from everywhere by the time the returners hit the 15-yard line. The Giants returned five kickoffs Sunday, averaged 16.6 yards and never once got the ball to the 20-yard line. Parker's fumble Sunday added to the misery.

Quintin Demps -- Three kickoff returns for an average of 20 yards. Demps also had an interception -- that he promptly fumbled right back to the Falcons. At least he didn't give up any big plays from his safety position.

Antrel Rolle -- Eleven tackles for Rolle. A pair of very costly mis-plays, however. There was the missed tackle that turned a 4-yard pass to Antone Smith of Atlanta into a 74-yard touchdown that put the Giants in a 20-10 hole in the third quarter. Re-watching the game today, Rolle also took a horrible angle on Stephen Jackson's 11-yard touchdown , run. He had an opportunity to fill the hole, but ended up coming too sharply and ran right by the play.

Kwillies To ...

Preston Parker -- Three catches for 61 yards, but his 42-yard catch should have been a 62-yard touchdown. A wide open Parker got swallowed by the turf monster after catching a deep ball from Manning. In fairness, Parker did have to wait for a ball thrown slightly behind him instead of out front. Fortunately, the Giants scored a touchdown a few plays later, so the mishap didn't hurt. Given a chance to replace the struggling Demps on kickoff returns, Parker fumbled inside the Giants' 20-yard line.

Rueben Randle -- As talented as Randle is, Coughlin talked last week about Randle's inconsistency being the one thing he needs to overcome. He showed that again Sunday, catching just four balls in 10 targets. There were quite a few passes where Randle didn't seem to be quite where Manning thought he would be.  He did, however, catch a touchdown pass.

Who did I leave out? Let me know in the comments.