The news went from bad to worse for the Giants this morning as the team found out that Derrick Ward, the latest jockey in the Giants’ RB merry-go-round, has suffered a broken bone in his left fibula. And though head coach Tom Coughlin stopped short of saying that Ward’s season was over Monday morning, this injury typically takes months to heal, even though surgery doesn’t appear to be necessary. The team has been without Brandon Jacobs, who has missed parts of the past three games after pulling his hamstring against the Lions.
The PFW spin
Jacobs is expected to play Sunday against Philadelphia, but there was a thought he’d play this week against the Bears. Still, Coughlin seemed optimistic this morning. “If Jacobs can come back and play and play through the end of the season without other injury, we're in good shape,” Coughlin said. “We’ve had four ballcarriers, with three involved every week. I think we’d be OK if Jacobs can come back and stay on the field.”
If not, the job would go to Reuben Droughns, whose high carry total for the season in a game is 15 in the loss to the Vikings two weeks ago, and Ahmad Bradshaw, the change-of-pace rookie who has a total of five carries, all in the past two weeks. That’s not to say that Droughns isn’t capable of a workload for a game or two — he has four 30-carry games in his career and has done well this season as the short-yardage guy. But the Eagles pose a tough run defense and held the Giants to 88 yards on 24 handoffs in the first meeting with Ward and without Jacobs. Droughns ran five times for eight yards in the game.
The Giants are 8-4 and are probably one win from locking up a playoff bid. But so much is hanging in the balance. With QB Eli Manning’s play changing like the wind each week and with more strain put on a defense that has done a great job keeping the team in the race, a solid run game would be a big lift down the stretch as the weather gets colder. The good news is that the line has run-blocked well most of the season. But having Jacobs would make the RB chain of command a far more stable group.
Our fantasy take
Best to play it day by day. Even if Jacobs plays, he’s about a C-plus option against the Eagles, although slightly better if DT Brodrick Bunkley can’t play. The Giants would love to get physical and run the ball 35 times. The game plan was to bury the Bears with the run — partly because it was the smart plan against a smaller front and partly because Manning has been so shaky of late. Jacobs would help tremendously. Droughns is what he is. Don’t overvalue him or Bradshaw, who might flash but won’t star.
Any updates on today's practice?
Any updates on today's practice?
ecember 6, 2007Q: How is Brandon Jacobs doing?A: Good. He is making progress, good progress.
