Nice NY Giants article about Bradshaw

[Lance 228]

 

Earth Wind and Fire

The Giants running backs have all been explosive this year

By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

 

 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

 

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - Because of injuries and the soreness absorbed by running backs, NFL teams often need sizeable contributions from three of them to get through a season. The Giants may have hit on a variation to that theme. They could use three backs a game, which should help keep the runners and the team’s rushing attack healthy for the duration of the season.

 

 

 

RB Brandon Jacobs leads the running backs in yards this season

The Giants unveiled their backfield by committee in Sunday’s 41-13 victory in St. Louis. Brandon Jacobs (93 rushing yards) and Derrick Ward (58) played key roles, as they had in the season-opening victory against Washington. In the fourth quarter, Ahmad Bradshaw joined the mix for the first time. He ran for 52 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown, and caught an 18-yard touchdown pass as the Giants put the game away with a late surge. It was the first time in 30 years the Giants had three backs run for at least 50 yards in the same game.

 

“We’re always looking for the changeup, the tempo guy that at some point in the game could be the answer for that,” coach Tom Coughlin said after the game. “That’s what Bradshaw provided us.”

 

Asked if he would keep the same running back rotation in the future, Coughlin smiled and said, “Maybe.”

 

The running backs hope he does. Like all skill position players, they want to play and handle the ball as much as possible. But they understand the benefits of sharing the wealth, including their own health and the adverse effect fresh legs have on a defense. Just as important, they are a close-knit group that seems genuinely happy to split time and the credit.

 

“We are blessed as an organization and as a football team to have three backs that can come in and play and do whatever you ask them to do,” said Jacobs, the starter and leading rusher with 209 yards. “You don’t have D-linemen that can do that, come in during the fourth quarter. Nine times out of 10 the guy that’s in the game during the fourth quarter was in during the first quarter. So (we) just wear them down and get them very tired.”

 

“When I got in there after a couple of series they (the Rams defensive players) were already gassed,” said Ward, who has rushed for 97 yards in two games. “We are such a well-conditioned team that we just pick up more energy during the course of the game. And with B.J. being so big and those guys trying to hit him as hard as they can but he just bounces off of them, that wears on a defense. I get in there and pretty much do the same thing a little bit quicker through the hole. Then we hit the home run ball with Ahmad.”

 

Bradshaw touched the ball only on special teams in the season’s first seven quarters, then became a dominant force on offense in quarter No. 8.

 

“The coaches will put me in at the correct time,” Bradshaw said. “I don’t mind waiting for my opportunities at all. I’ll just wait for them to come. I just want to come in and complement what Brandon and Derrick Ward can do. They’re great backs and I don’t mind complementing them at all. They tire down the defense and I take advantage of it.”

 

The energized rushing attack has catalyzed an offense that is fourth in the NFL in yards gained and sixth in points scored after the season’s first two weeks.

 

“It certainly is a luxury to have three running backs that can come in and keep each other fresh,” center Shaun O’Hara said. “They all bring a different atmosphere with them. Brandon is the big bruiser, Derrick is about as smooth as they come and to be able to throw in a guy like Bradshaw in the fourth quarter with his speed makes for a nice three-headed monster.”

 

“I’ve been saying over the past few years that this offense can be very special if we can stop hurting ourselves, because we definitely have a lot of guys that can go out and make plays,” wide receiver Plaxico Burress said. “When everybody goes out and contributes and you have guys on the outside making plays, it loosens the running game up and then you have the running game going. That’s when you have the defense on the ropes so to speak, and as long as we can keep that attitude and keep things going we’ll be okay.”

 

One of the reasons the three-back system works so well is that the players are close friends. They are always together on the field, their lockers are near each other and they spend time with each other out of uniform. When Bradshaw scored his first touchdown Sunday, Jacobs and Ward sprinted from the bench area to celebrate with him.

 

“We stick together off the field and do a lot together,” Jacobs said. “We go out to eat every Friday. That’s the type of thing that guards against someone turning into an individual and wanting all the balls. It shows we all have good relationships with one another and respect each other on and off the field.”

 

“We’re like brothers,” Bradshaw said. “We do everything together on the field and off.”

 

The bond off the field probably wouldn’t be as tight if they were less productive on it. But the partnership works because all three backs can run, catch, and block and all value winning football games far above individual accolades.

 

Because of that, it’s easy to accept a lesser role for the good of the group and the team.

 

“I think it makes us very versatile,” Jacobs said. “We have guys that can play in the passing game. We run different schemes, we don’t change anything. Some guys can do things better than others, so it makes us very, very, very, very versatile.

 

“I just want all of us to go in and play well with no missed assignments, no quarterback hits. I just want us all to go in and have a solid game.”

 

“We had 200 (rushing yards) last week and 154 the first week,” Ward said. “We all know Brandon is the starter and me and Ahmad are like the clean up hitters. He’s going to continue to get his carries and we’ll continue to get ours. It’s been working well, so there is no reason to change it.”

 

NOTES

 

*The Giants will be off next week because they have a bye. Since regular season byes were instituted in 1990, the Giants are 15-4 in games prior to an off week, tying them for the second-best record in the NFL in such games. Records courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

 

BEST RECORDS / WEEK BEFORE BYE WEEK

 

Team W L T Pct.

 

Dallas Cowboys 16 3 0 .842

 

New York Giants 15 4 0 .789

 

Seattle Seahawks 15 4 0 .789

 

San Francisco 49ers 13 6 0 .684

 

Minnesota Vikings 12 7 0 .631

 

Coughlin is 8-4 in pre-bye games, including 3-1 with the Giants. Last year, the Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins in London, 13-10, in the game before their week off.

 

*Cornerback R.W. McQuarters didn’t practice today because of lingering soreness in his calf. Four players were limited in practice: Safety Michael Johnson (stinger), defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka (ankle), cornerback Terrell Thomas (hamstring) and kicker Lawrence Tynes (left).

 

Coughlin said the ankle injury Kiwanuka suffered in the season opener will linger for a while.

 

“Let’s face it, I don’t know that those things really ever get cleared up,” Coughlin said. “But we hope that we have an opportunity to maybe shut him down a little bit (during the bye week). And then maybe he can play without the ankle swelling up on him.”

 

Three starters were among the five players who missed practice for the Bengals: Cornerback Johnathan Joseph (ankle), tight end Reggie Kelly (head) and defensive tackle John Thornton (knee).

 

 

http://www.giants.com/news/headlines/story.asp?story_id=29259

[CPF 421]

Reading that I am amazed at everyone thought Ahmad was soooooo slow at the NFL combine a couple of years ago. That just goes to show that there is a big difference between football speed and straight line speed. Ahmad has football speed. And anyone who thinks the Giants won't be there close to another superbowl come february is crazy. As long as injuries don't get them they will be ok. That team has incredible team chemistry, and will be tough for anyone to knock them out of the playoffs. Might this be the best 3 headed rushing monster in the NFL since three guys named Csonka,Kiick,and Morris?

[thegamer 10]

thats cool...glad to see him doin well