Please excuse the headline, but I used a thesaurus for synonyms of slow because the Giants running game, which at times has been one of the best in football, could become the worst going into 2012. That’s a long fall from the days of the Thunder and Lightning pairings of Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne, Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs and the more recent Earth, Wind & Fire combo of Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw.
2011 wasn’t kind to the Giants running attack. Brandon Jacobs had a down year rushing for a career low 571 yards and Ahmad Bradshaw was hampered with foot injuries all season long that caused him to be constantly limited in practice and miss four games.
Brandon Jacobs was cut after the season and has since signed with the 49ers. The news didn’t get much better when it was reported that Ahmad Bradshaw had a bone marrow injection in his injured foot and must rest for 3 months. Those 3 months of rest will force him to miss any mini camps and could lead into the start of training camp.
If Ahmad Bradshaw isn’t good to go at the beginning of the season the Giants rushing attack becomes 6th year running back DJ Ware and unproved 2nd year RB Da’Rel Scott. Good thing Eli Manning is one of the best QB’s in the NFL or else the Giants offense could be in big trouble with unproven backs anchoring the ground attack.
Should the Giants be without Bradshaw for a length of time, what’s the insurance policy? Some notable free agents who are still out there include Joseph Addai, Cedric Benson and former Giant Ryan Grant just to name a few, but I doubt general manager Jerry Reese would bring any of them in because he’s not one to overpay for free agents. This points to the upcoming NFL draft.
One man climbing up the ranks on the draft board is Boise State running back Doug Martin, which the Giants would likely have to spend the 32nd pick on in order to get. Jerry Reese loves taking the best player available which, by the 32nd pick, might very well be Martin.
Perhaps this is an over-reaction, but every team likes to have their rosters set and ready to go sooner than later. I’m sure the Giants will work themselves out, they always do. Fingers crossed!!
By Mike Kane
For more of Mike Kane’s sports insights check out : http://mikekanesports.blogspot.com/
