Giants' running game has disappeared
New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw (44) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker K.J. Wright (50) and David Hawthorne (57) during the first quarter. (Oct. 9, 2011) Credit: AP
Will Beatty had said the Giants were going to concentrate on getting their running game going and that they planned on "pounding the ball" against Seattle on their home turf.
The only thing that keeps getting pounded are the Giants' running backs, though. For the second straight week, they were unable to average better than 3.0 yards per carry and their ground game has all but disappeared for most of the season. They have only one run of at least 20 yards through five games, which is not what they expected when they re-signed the shifty, playmaking Ahmad Bradshaw as a free agent.
"We have to do a better job with our execution," Tom Coughlin said after the Giants managed only 69 rushing yards on 25 carries in Sunday's 36-25 loss to Seattle. "We have to do a better job scheme-wise finding a way to handle the two weeks in a row that the safety has been down in there. It's been a problem."
Teams are focusing on stopping the Giants from running the ball with the extra player at the line of scrimmage. And that has allowed for some impressive passing numbers by Eli Manning in recent weeks. But the Giants' inability to push even a little bit on the run is quickly becoming a serious problem.
"It's basically getting your nose dirty and digging them out," Beatty said of what has to improve. "You know they have big guys on the line, but it's just who can run the ball better . . . Running the ball, it gives you such a boost, it's palpable."
And not running it well is frustrating. Bradshaw rushed for 58 yards on 17 carries and had a long run of 13 yards. The Giants were without Brandon Jacobs, who sat out with a knee sprain, and D.J. Ware did little to impress, carrying four times for 3 yards. He also was crushed at the goal line for a safety on a play in which Anthony Hargrove came through virtually untouched.
The Giants' ability to run won't get any easier. Jacobs could miss another game, starting center David Baas (neck) could be out against the Bills, and right guard Chris Snee spent the night in a hospital for observation after suffering a concussion.
Through five weeks, the Giants are averaging 3.2 yards per carry and 83.8 rushing yards per game.
The Seahawks rushed for 145 yards on 29 carries, a 5.0-yard average, led by Marshawn Lynch's 98 yards on 12 carries. "The team that has the most rushing yards [usually] wins the game," Beatty said.
The Giants proved that one Sunday.
