NY Giants' Running Game: Digging Deeper

[RoanokeFan]

http://www.giants101.com/2013/01/18/...igging-deeper/

Excerpt: "In 2011, the New York Giants finished dead last in the NFL in rushing before surging to the tune of over 160 yards per game in the final six wins of the season. Just prior to 2011, Ahmad Bradshaw was named the starting back with Brandon Jacobs relegated to a backup role. In 2012, Jacobs was let go and the Giants drafted David Wilson out of Virginia.

Wilson may have fit the "best player available" tag at the 32nd slot of the first-round last spring, but his selection may also be indicative of the fact that the Giants were not satisfied with their rushing attack. Particularly as it relations to the running back position.

Whatever the case may be, fact remains that General Manager Jerry Reese spent a first-round pick on a running back because he felt, to some degree, that an upgrade could be made.

Recently, Pro Football Focus came out with a statistic called pulse rate for running backs. Pulse rate measures the running backs yards per carry while eliminating runs over 10 yards (spikes in the pulse).

Before delving into the rankings, consider the number of times Ahmad Bradshaw went for more than 10 yards on a run. The answer? Not very many. Although an exact number didn't come to mind, the eye test tells you that by comparison, Bradshaw does not make very many "flash" plays.

As it turned out, Bradshaw was actually 8th overall in Pulse average, gaining nearly 874 yards on runs of fewer than 10 yards. He Averaged 3.95 yards on those carries.

To our surprise, Andre Brown was 4th, gaining 4.07 yards per carry, but on merely 51 carries (to Bradshaw's 221). Our takeaway from this was that this is an indictment to Bradshaw (and perhaps exactly why the Giants chose to draft David Wilson)." Read more...

[GameTime]

whatever it takes to get it better they need to do....

[RoanokeFan]

whatever it takes to get it better they need to do....

Suit up, Big Fella

[JJC7301]

I believe the running game can be much better next year with a more experienced Wilson, Brown coming back (and will deserve more touches), and an AB who SHOULD be healthier with the other 2 RB's contributing. I'd really like to see Brown get more opportunities, and not just Wilson. AB's my favorite current Giant, but I think that Wilson and Brown can be a brutal 1-2 punch.

An upgrade at the line would be nice, but I thought that Beatty-Boothe-Baas-Snee-Locklear were playing very well before the coaches decided to put Diehl back in. Still, I'd like to see at least one of the o-line positions upgraded.

[RoanokeFan]

I believe the running game can be much better next year with a more experienced Wilson, Brown coming back (and will deserve more touches), and an AB who SHOULD be healthier with the other 2 RB's contributing. I'd really like to see Brown get more opportunities, and not just Wilson. AB's my favorite current Giant, but I think that Wilson and Brown can be a brutal 1-2 punch.

An upgrade at the line would be nice, but I thought that Beatty-Boothe-Baas-Snee-Locklear were playing very well before the coaches decided to put Diehl back in. Still, I'd like to see at least one of the o-line positions upgraded.

I think we need to upgrade at RT. We don't have anyone on the right side who ranked (PFF) in positive territory.

As for the backs, Ahmad can't be the feature guy IMO. Wilson and Brown should lead the unit and if Ahmad can accept a reduced role and salary, great. If not we have Scott and, probably, Lumpkin.

[JJC7301]

I think we need to upgrade at RT. We don't have anyone on the right side who ranked (PFF) in positive territory.

As for the backs, Ahmad can't be the feature guy IMO. Wilson and Brown should lead the unit and if Ahmad can accept a reduced role and salary, great. If not we have Scott and, probably, Lumpkin.

Yeah, I agree about RT, but I'd be willing to go with Locklear for one more year (Diehl as backup for a major pay cut) if they drafted a G that they really liked to replace Boothe. Boothe's not bad, but they could do better at the position and Boothe is an excellent backup.

I really miss the quality of the o-line that they had in the '80s and in SB's 21 & 25. Then again, we didn't have the passing game back then that we have now.

[RoanokeFan]

Yeah, I agree about RT, but I'd be willing to go with Locklear for one more year (Diehl as backup for a major pay cut) if they drafted a G that they really liked to replace Boothe. Boothe's not bad, but they could do better at the position and Boothe is an excellent backup.

I really miss the quality of the o-line that they had in the '80s and in SB's 21 & 25. Then again, we didn't have the passing game back then that we have now.

I agree Locklear was better than Diehl, but only marginally when it came to pressures. Still, I think we saw enough of Wilson, Brown and Lumpkin to know we have a decent stable of backs. If Bradshaw stays, all the better. The unknown is Scott but he will have a chance in camp to compete with Lumpkin and whoever else they bring in.

[RoanokeFan]

Yeah, I agree about RT, but I'd be willing to go with Locklear for one more year (Diehl as backup for a major pay cut) if they drafted a G that they really liked to replace Boothe. Boothe's not bad, but they could do better at the position and Boothe is an excellent backup.

I really miss the quality of the o-line that they had in the '80s and in SB's 21 & 25. Then again, we didn't have the passing game back then that we have now.

And that fact probably figures into the choices Reese will make in the draft/FA

[jomo]

I worry most about our OL when thinking about our running game. For the last decade we've had many different styled running backs and many of them were plenty effective WHEN they had the horses in front of them. Unfortunately, we lack the horses at the moment.

[Cloud57]

I think we should pick up a RB in the late rounds if he's good. Brown and Bradshaw are not reliable since they're injury prone.