A dismal afternoon in Tennessee ended with the Giants getting their first win since Week 5 against the Falcons. The 36-7 victory at least momentarily quiets the very loud cries for Tom Coughlin's job and further provides hope for a strong 2014 rookie class. Here's what we learned:
- The Giants' scouting department and front office have to be thanking their lucky stars that players like Odell Beckham, and to a lesser extent, Andre Williams and Devon Kennard, continue to shine. While getting rid of Jerry Reese is probably low on John Mara's offseason to-do list, seeing the rookies take off the way they did pushes the possibility further out of the equation. With pressure mounting on his recent draft classes, the 2014 group was truly a fortunate series of events.
- Seeing the Titans' struggles puts a lot of things into perspective for Giants fans. Their offensive line is in the midst of a massive rebuild, and the few talented skill position players they have cannot seem to get their hands on the ball. On Sunday, that manifested itself in eight sacks and another shoulder injury for rookie Zach Mettenberger. The team desperately needs to see if he can play, but cannot seem to keep him on the field.
- Beckham is an absolute star. During his recovery from a serious hamstring injury, the team downplayed his impact on the offense moving forward, but this was the plan all along. Beckham was supposed to be a player that could operate from the No. 1 spot, the slot, the backfield and anywhere else Ben McAdoo could think of. Could the new coordinator's usage of the rookie buy this regime one more year, hoping that the return of Victor Cruz and the improvement to their offensive line could lead to better times? Doubtful, but imagine how much different the feeling would be around this team if they could have pulled off those games against San Francisco, Dallas and Jacksonville.
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