Week 3 Giant RB distribution (1 Viewer)

[Biabreakable]

Giants did a exceptional thing last week against the Rams in having 3 RB all have over 50 yards rushing. Something that does not happen often.

Week 1 Bradshaw did not have any carries against the Redskins. That puzzled me at the time but now in retrospect I think he wasn't used for 2 reasons.

1. Disciplinary action for being in Jail this offseason.

2. Redskins are a division opponent so in week 1 attrition (hard straight forward running and hard hitting defense) was more a priority. Bradshaws game is not pummeling defenders as much as Jacobs and Ward do.

Now in week 2 against a inferior opponent in the Rams the Giants unleashed more of their diversified running attack. Bradshaw showed his talent by amazingly scoring 2 TD on only 6 touches (one out of 3 times he got the ball).

Now the Giants play the Bengals. A team who's defense is even worse than what the Lambs have. And a offense that has struggled to get on track.

I wonder how people see the carries between the RBs being distributed? Will we see more of a week 1 or week 2 game plan or something a bit different?

I have some theories but curious what the rest of you see happening here.

 

[Boone22]

I think the reason Bradshaw didn't see any time in week 1 was more because he had a slight ankle injury. Jacobs and Ward were running so well that they didn't need Bradshaw. Why risk aggravating the ankle when they didn't need him?

Edited to actually add my thought about the carry split... If I remember correctly from week 1 & 2, Ward was rotating into the line-up every 3rd series so Jacobs would play 2 series and then Ward would come in for a series so without Bradshaw it was roughly 66% Jacobs and 33% Bradshaw. I'd expect with Bradshaw more in the mix for it to work out closer to 50% Jacobs, 25% Ward & 25% Bradshaw. But I also think individual performance and injuries will play a role. If Jacobs isn't getting the job done then I could see more of a shift toward Ward or Bradshaw based on which of them was performing well.

 

[meanjoegreen]

1. Disciplinary action for being in Jail this offseason.

I don't think this was an issue. He was in jail for something that happened before he was an NFL player, and the team has known about it since drafting him. As another poster said, he had an ankle injury.

 

[ELI2TYREE]

the Giants like to wear down defenses with the big guys and then BRadshaw comes in later to provide change of pace and take advantage of their debilitation. In one league I am starting AB this week over Jamal Lewis and LJ. My other starter back is Reggie Bush. I expect mucho garbage time points and maybe even a kick return TD.

 

[Tat]

I just want a TD out of Jacobs this week...... PLEASE

 

[habsfan]

It seems logical that there would be a connection between Bradshaw's kick return duties and his carries as well. When the Giants are giving up more points, I think he will be seeing more action in one role and less in the other.

 

[remote controller]

If the running is as easy as expected, the Bengals will get a heavy dose of Jacobs. I see him getting 75% of the carries. The part of the game that I am not sure of is when they run out the clock in the 4th quarter. I just don't see them pounding Jacobs with the game in hand. I see Ward taking care of that.

 

[Biabreakable]

Some good comments.

I also agree that the Giants like to mush up the defense with hard nosed running from Jacobs early on in games. This ushually gets defenders on their heels a bit and looking to tackle low. Something Bradshaw with his agility skills can then take advantage of.

I was looking at what the Titans did against the Bengals last week with their combination of Lendale White and Chris Johnson.

They started the game with Johnson. In the 1st 2 series his best run was only 2 yards (4 carries).

The 3rd series they used White who chipped away at them a bit better (not much) but 3 yard carry and a 5 yard carry. This drive led to a TD.

4th possesion back to Johnson. They went 3 and out.

5th Possesion was Johnson again who breaks free for a 51 yard TD.

The rest of the possesions were mixed between the 2 and a few carries from Hall as well.

I only point this out to say that the Giants have been studying the Bengals defense from this game. Suprisingly the Bengals defense actually did fairly well against the run on a very windy day when the passing game for both teams was largely ineffective.

Johnathan Joseph starting cornerback for the Bengals is out with an injury. This makes the Bengals even more susceptable to the passing game and Joseph is a solid tackler who holds his own against outside runs. This leaves another weakness in the Bengals defense.

So this is what I think the Giants will do.

They will start out the game with Jacobs but don't be suprised to see more off tackle and outside runs with him than normal to Joseph's side. Also expect some early play action passing as this will likely lead to a big play(s).

I can see this game getting out of hand quickly and the Giants resting Jacobs much of the 2nd half because they won't need him. I am predicting 35-40 runs from the Giants for the game as I think the long passing game will lead to TDs as the Bengals focus too much on stopping the run.

Jacobs 15-20 carries Ward 7-12 carries Bradshaw 7-13 carries for the game. Most of Ward/Bradshaws action will come in the 2nd half.