Could John Ross be X-factor for Giants with Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton out?

Whenever you hear a defense yelling "Get Back!" during a game, it's usually in baseball when the clean-up hitter comes to the plate. 

Or when someone like Giants WR John Ross walks onto the field. 

"I think I went in [Sunday], and the defense was kind of waving back, like, 'Get back,' the speedster said on Monday following the team's 27-21 overtime victory against the New Orleans Saints.

Ross still ended up torching the Saints' secondary, scoring on a touchdown after what was ruled a fumble before he crossed the goal line -- he landed hard with two defenders on him and the ball popped out -- but he recovered it to break the 0-0 tie in the second quarter. 

But while speed has always been Ross' thing -- he set the NFL Combine 40-yard dash record after all -- he doesn't want to be viewed as a "one-trick pony."

"I feel like every facet of my game is important because I have to continue to show why I should be in there for multiple reasons," he explained. 

"I kind of want to be more than that. So, for me to go out there and make those two plays, it felt good. It felt good to put us in a different position and help continue moving the ball in different ways, and not just all the way down the field."

Depth was always good in the wide receivers room, and with Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton still sidelined at the time being with hamstring injuries, Ross is someone that can immediately step in and take the top off the defense. And whether he wants to admit it or not, that's what defenses worry about when he does check into the game. 

So, with Ross and rookie Kadarius Toney able to rip off chunk plays with pure speed, guys like Kenny Golladay, Saquon Barkley, and Evan Engram also have the opportunity to take advantage of single coverage and mismatches. That's what happened at times on Sunday.

"We've got a lot of really good players in my opinion," Ross said. Not just saying me and Kadarius, you've got 19 out there doing a great job. You've got 88 out there doing a great job, Kyle Rudolph, too. All those guys are making plays. So I feel as if it's hard to focus just on me and Kadarius when you've got so many other guys who make plays as well."

You hit the nail on the head there, John. This is what the Giants envisioned when GM Dave Gettleman brought in the likes of Ross, Golladay, Toney, and Rudolph to add to the playmakers already on the roster. There's a number of ways the Giants can beat you there, if deployed correctly. That happened especially in the second half of Sunday's win. 

And moving forward, if Shepard and Slayton continue to stay sidelined, Ross could be a catalyst who Jones uses when the situation comes up. 

But, even when he is covered, Ross' speed is what sets him apart from the rest and he can still make plays. His touchdown on his first catch as a Giant proved that.