N.Y. GIANTS ~ Running the Ball Sending GIANT Message

Yesterday's Post ~ My Game Summary: HERE 
Giants 21;  Vikings 3  FINAL


NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS:  Coach Gilbride Plows Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw through the Purple Storm.


*On BRANDON JACOBS; A Word to the Wise.


**Brandon JACOBS and Ahmad BRADSHAW ~ 555 combined rushing yards last three weeks.



....But first;

The Giants' Big Blue Mack Truck threw on the tire chains and plowed through the Midwest from Kansas City all the way to downtown Detroit while the smaller Bobcat made tracks through the side streets. And the two together; Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, armed with N.Y. Giant Offensive Line earth-movers, cleared a path all the way back to the Meadowlands where they will wait for the arrival of Eagles and a showdown in the frozen swamps of East Rutherford for division supremacy.

The two together "stormed" for over 200 yards rushing Monday night, and in their wake left behind a Purple Mess and trail of destruction that leads back to Minnesota where the Vikings' home dome sits torn and battered from the weekend blizzard.  But the Giants' running game is causing more devastation to defenses than any snowfall out west. 

Last week Ahmad Bradshaw fell just short of gaining 100 yards against Washington while Brandon Jacobs ran wild rushing for 103 yards on only 8 carries.  This week they both hit their century mark with authority.

Brandon Jacobs does something extremely well, which he gets little to no credit for.  He has a tendency to start games off with a Big Blue Bang; sometimes literally.  Whether it's an atom splitting collision that some poor Safety gets the worst of, or, breaking off a big run to set the tone; - Brandon Jacobs has been getting the message out early in games that He's Back, Healthy and You Better Get Out of His Way! 

Think; Think back.  He did it to the Packers on that really cold night and he did it to the Patriots in that really big game that followed.  Today, he is healthy again; as healthy as he was those two nights in 2007.

After being named the starter and reclaiming his old role, Brandon Jacobs kept the Giants respectable three weeks ago while his team played a lethargic first half against the Jaguars.  The week prior against Philadelphia, the ground game gained few yards, but more critically, Ahmad Bradshaw could not hold onto the ball.  That precipitated Jacobs regaining his starting spot.  He finished against Jacksonville with 87 high-impact yards capped off by a late 18 yard rumble.

Last week versus the Redskins, Brandon Jacobs served Washington with a very early message, pounding it home with big yardage plays as Bradshaw finishing things out.  Brandon Jacobs undressed the Redskins' defense to the tune of 103 yards on only 8 carries and two touchdowns mostly in the first half.  Jacobs himself  lobbied to keep Ahmad Bradshaw rushing in the second half so as to also achieve 100 yards on the day.  Ahmad finished with 97 yards rushing but the two combined for a 200+ yards rushing afternoon.

And like I said, this week they both would hit their century marks....and achieve them with Power.

BRANDON JACOBS' LINE:
14 rushes for 116 yards; touchdown.
(Last week he rushed for his 4,000th yard as a Giant)

AHMAD BRADSHAW'S LINE:
11 rushes for 103 yards; touchdown. 
(Last week he surpassed 1,000 yards for the season)

That's a combined 219 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns.  It's their second consecutive week of running in excess of 200 yards as a tandem.  And just to play with perspective, these two gentlemen have rushed for 555 yards in the last three weeks behind an Offensive Line regaining health to it's left side.  The last time the Giants had two backs run for 100 yards in the same game was 2007 and wouldn't you know..., it was Jacobs and Bradshaw who did it on a December day, and now they combined to do it again.

Brandon Jacobs sent a another message Monday, this time to the Minnesota Vikings five minutes into the second quarter.  On the Giants' fourth possession, Brandon Jacobs illuminated the Purple People Eaters with a huge ray of "Daylight" and shined for 73 yards up-field.  Ahmad Bradshaw brought the ball to the goal line and Jacobs re-entered the game to score.  Bradshaw also added a score in the third quarter.

These days Brandon Jacobs can be seen on the sidelines as a jubilant team mate; smiling, hopping around and chillin' with his running mate while the Defense is on the field.

Smile Brandon, because we're smiling right along with you.

Brandon Jacobs was nothing more than a Big Blue pin cushion last season.  Week after week the scrutiny and criticism mounted and became more derisive with every TV show, radio segment and newspaper article.
He revealed he was playing hurt last season and that didn't exactly go over well with the masses, the coaches, or Jerry Reese, as he left everyone wondering what happened to their once formidable Back.

But there is not doubt today, a healthy and happy Brandon Jacobs, is one of the most intimidating and imposing forces on a Football field.  In the locker room, the sidelines, or in the huddle, he HAS been an excellent team-mate this year and was always supportive of Ahmad Bradshaw before, during, after, and again as this team's featured back.

Brandon Jacobs has worked hard coming back from off-season surgeries, media attacks, fan apathy, maybe even some self-doubt and organizational questioning.  This season he's worked his tail off helping the Giants vie for a playoff spot.  These last three weeks he has flat out dominated and pulled the Giants along like a team of oxen pulls a plow, but in Brandon's case a 260 pound team of one.  Today, against many a fan's lingering chagrin, Brandon Jacobs has delivered  the New York Football Giants to the most important game of their season.

The sour taste left in the Giants' mouth after their first round loss to the Eagles two years ago never went away.  It's never gone away for me either.  Losing to the Eagles in Week 11 this season, was a very bitter reminder of the distaste of that day two winters ago and dampened many 2010 aspirations for fans of the G-Men.  But come this Sunday, Brandon stands to impact this game like he was unable to in 2008.  In Week 11 of this season, we wasn't being asked to.  That incidentally was the night Ahmad Bradshaw lost his starting role and Brandon Jacobs reappeared on the Football scene as a Big Blue Giant difference maker.

Ahmad Bradshaw is still getting more carries than Brandon, in spite of their job titles, Ahmad has indeed been a horse. But there is a price to pay for his all-out style and determination with his Dave Meggett-like body type. Every extra push exerted by Bradshaw and every extra yard he tries to gain may be getting subtracted from his Football life on the other end (said in jest).  Bradshaw runs singularly focused one one thing; yardage. But his frame can and does get dented, bruised and hurt. He was seen getting his wrist wrapped in the 4th quarter signalling to all, his night was through.  He'll continue to play through it, like he does every other pain he currently suffers through in silence.  But his helmet found it's way to the bench for good Monday with 6:30 left in the game.

The Defense turned the 2nd half into a tune-up for Sunday's heavyweight battle with the Boys from Philly. But before the game would end, Brandon still had a few more messages for those who still refused to roll with the Big Blue Mack Truck.  For two weeks prior to Monday night's game and all the way through kick-off time, Brandon Jacobs continued to fend off slings and arrows from those who chose to take away his big chunks of yardage, like his 73 yard rush, and readjust his Avg-Yards-Per-Carry.  With Ahmad Bradshaw done for the day and DJ Ware doing the jitterbug anticipating some clock time, Brandon Jacobs chose this time before the two minute warning to deliver his moist poignant message of the night.


TAKE THAT! Brandon for 8 yards.
TAKE THAT! Brandon for 7 yards and a first down.
AND TAKE THAT! Brandon for 9 yards.
AND THAT!  Brandon for 3 and another first down.

That's twenty-seven yards on four carries with two first downs all gained by protecting the ball and running straight up the gut.  Those may just end up as stats on some-one's spread-sheet right next to the tidbit about Adrian Peterson being the best Back on the field scribbled out...  But to the teams still playing meaningful Football in the NFC and the Eagles in particular, Brandon Jacobs ran as if he's was daring someone to get in his way.

The Vikings were beaten by this time.  That message was more of a word to the wise.



Mike.BTB