Why is Everyone so Quick to Put Bradshaw Ahead of Ward? (1 Viewer)

[KoolKat]

Last season Derrick Ward put up these stats:

G GS Att Yd YPC TD Rec Yds YPC TD

8 5 125 602 4.8 3 26 179 6.9 1

Break that down and you have 75.25 rush yards per game, even if you factor in the games when Jacobs was healthy. You also get 3.25 receptions per game for 22.375 yards per game. He also averaged a TD in 50% of his games. So, you have a guy who is scoring, on average, 12-13 points a game in a standard league and 15-16 points a game in PPR.

Now, the main knock on Ward will be the injury he sustained. However, he took the first handoff in the team period Tuesday, according to the New York Post. Working with the first team, to me at least, tend to tell me that he is healthy, or at the very least will be 100 % come the beginning of the season.

I think the most important thing Ward showed last season was that despite his relatively large size (5' 11" 228) he is suprisingly quick and elusive and a very capable receiver out of the back field. The only other possible reason I can see for the complete write off of Ward is that he is a bad blocker. I am not aware of any reports, but only saw a few NYG games last season, and those are fuzzy in my memory. Perhaps a Giants homer can chime is on Ward's blocking abilities.

Who is to say that had Ward been healthy, he wouldn't have been the one getting those carries in the Super Bowl, and the rest of the playoffs? And why is everyone so quick to pen this guy as the third best NYG RB to have?

My inclination is that people will be suprised by the production of Ward next season, and even moreso if Jacobs gets injured. I am also inclined to believe that Ward was #2 on the NYG depth chart last season, because he showed more in practice than Bradshaw.

 

[B Maverick]

What I have to wonder is why it took so long to resign him? If he truely is their #2 and better then Bradshaw why didnt they sign him right away and make sure he didnt get away. Seems they let him test the market and then resigned him for depth more then anything.

He and Jacobs have had the injury bug and Bradshaw is young. Bradshaw looked just as good later in the year so maybe he just needed some time to learn and grow and he has done that enough to be their #2.

I was hoping Ward would go elsewhere in the offseason but didnt. The backups here are a mess and it could be a "hot hand" situation behind Jacobs. Heck, it could even be the same if Jacobs is healthy.

 

[MAC_32]

I believe the Giants want a running game with a thunder & lightning-like attack, Jacobs fits perfectly into the thunder role, Bradshaw the lightning - a perfect CoP back. Ward? His game reminds me of Rudi Johnson's, more of the 3 yards and a cloud of dust runner, a guy who may get a few carries here and there but his role just seems undefined on this team. He'll get Jacobs or Bradshaw's carries if one were to get injured, I doubt you'll see many games in which one Giants RB gets significantly more touches than the other regardless of who's active of the three.

 

[ThePittbully]

I think, should Jacobs go down, Ward will be the primary back and split with Bradshaw in a RBBC. But I also believe Bradshaw is clearly the guy you want to own in a dynasty. I just drafted both of them in a startup draft last week.

 

[bcr8f]

I think, should Jacobs go down, Ward will be the primary back and split with Bradshaw in a RBBC. But I also believe Bradshaw is clearly the guy you want to own in a dynasty. I just drafted both of them in a startup draft last week.

That's true but unless it happens Bradshaw will see more plays. It probably will happen though.

 

[Andy Herron]

Flavor of the week.

Training camp will help clear the picture, one way or the other.

 

[ThePittbully]

I think, should Jacobs go down, Ward will be the primary back and split with Bradshaw in a RBBC. But I also believe Bradshaw is clearly the guy you want to own in a dynasty. I just drafted both of them in a startup draft last week.

That's true but unless it happens Bradshaw will see more plays. It probably will happen though.

I agree that Bradshaw is probably a better COP to Jacobs than Ward, but Ward looked like the better pass catcher and 3rd down back last season. So Im not so sure about that comment

 

[by_the_sea_wannabe]

Earlier discussion on the situation

 

[Michael Fox Fan]

I believe the Giants want a running game with a thunder & lightning-like attack, Jacobs fits perfectly into the thunder role, Bradshaw the lightning - a perfect CoP back. Ward? His game reminds me of Rudi Johnson's, more of the 3 yards and a cloud of dust runner, a guy who may get a few carries here and there but his role just seems undefined on this team. He'll get Jacobs or Bradshaw's carries if one were to get injured, I doubt you'll see many games in which one Giants RB gets significantly more touches than the other regardless of who's active of the three.

You must have missed the part where he averaged 4.8 yards per carry last year.

 

[Banger]

They'll all be in the mix, that's why I'm avoiding the whole situation.

 

[MAC_32]

I believe the Giants want a running game with a thunder & lightning-like attack, Jacobs fits perfectly into the thunder role, Bradshaw the lightning - a perfect CoP back. Ward? His game reminds me of Rudi Johnson's, more of the 3 yards and a cloud of dust runner, a guy who may get a few carries here and there but his role just seems undefined on this team. He'll get Jacobs or Bradshaw's carries if one were to get injured, I doubt you'll see many games in which one Giants RB gets significantly more touches than the other regardless of who's active of the three.

You must have missed the part where he averaged 4.8 yards per carry last year.

He must fall forward very well.

 

[Michael Fox Fan]

I believe the Giants want a running game with a thunder & lightning-like attack, Jacobs fits perfectly into the thunder role, Bradshaw the lightning - a perfect CoP back. Ward? His game reminds me of Rudi Johnson's, more of the 3 yards and a cloud of dust runner, a guy who may get a few carries here and there but his role just seems undefined on this team. He'll get Jacobs or Bradshaw's carries if one were to get injured, I doubt you'll see many games in which one Giants RB gets significantly more touches than the other regardless of who's active of the three.

You must have missed the part where he averaged 4.8 yards per carry last year.

He must fall forward very well.

Did you see Ward play at all last year?

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I own all 3 in Hyper/Active 1...let me explain what the roles are...

Going into the 2008 season you are likely to see somewhere between a 60/40 and 75/25 split between Jacobs and Bradshaw with Jacobs getting the higher percentage of carries.

Ward is Jacobs back up...Bradshaw is not Jacobs back up so you need to differentiate the two.

Ward will spell Jacobs form time to time but barring injury, Ward will not be starting, period.

Ward is definitely worth a roster spot if you own Jacobs.

Ward played when Jacobs was out last season...nothing has changed. In fact, Ward went out to test the waters and ended up signing with the Giants because he didn't get any bites on the free agent market.

Carry on

 

[MAC_32]

I believe the Giants want a running game with a thunder & lightning-like attack, Jacobs fits perfectly into the thunder role, Bradshaw the lightning - a perfect CoP back. Ward? His game reminds me of Rudi Johnson's, more of the 3 yards and a cloud of dust runner, a guy who may get a few carries here and there but his role just seems undefined on this team. He'll get Jacobs or Bradshaw's carries if one were to get injured, I doubt you'll see many games in which one Giants RB gets significantly more touches than the other regardless of who's active of the three.

You must have missed the part where he averaged 4.8 yards per carry last year.

He must fall forward very well.

Did you see Ward play at all last year?

Yes, a lot. He did his job of plowing into the hole and driving through until he fell over or someone hit him very well, quality run blocker too. I think you took my 3 yards and a cloud of dust comment too literally, I was referring to his style of running, not his ypc.

 

[Liquid Tension]

Last season Derrick Ward put up these stats:G GS Att Yd YPC TD Rec Yds YPC TD8 5 125 602 4.8 3 26 179 6.9 1 Break that down and you have 75.25 rush yards per game, even if you factor in the games when Jacobs was healthy. You also get 3.25 receptions per game for 22.375 yards per game. He also averaged a TD in 50% of his games. So, you have a guy who is scoring, on average, 12-13 points a game in a standard league and 15-16 points a game in PPR. Now, the main knock on Ward will be the injury he sustained. However, he took the first handoff in the team period Tuesday, according to the New York Post. Working with the first team, to me at least, tend to tell me that he is healthy, or at the very least will be 100 % come the beginning of the season.I think the most important thing Ward showed last season was that despite his relatively large size (5' 11" 228) he is suprisingly quick and elusive and a very capable receiver out of the back field. The only other possible reason I can see for the complete write off of Ward is that he is a bad blocker. I am not aware of any reports, but only saw a few NYG games last season, and those are fuzzy in my memory. Perhaps a Giants homer can chime is on Ward's blocking abilities.Who is to say that had Ward been healthy, he wouldn't have been the one getting those carries in the Super Bowl, and the rest of the playoffs? And why is everyone so quick to pen this guy as the third best NYG RB to have?My inclination is that people will be suprised by the production of Ward next season, and even moreso if Jacobs gets injured. I am also inclined to believe that Ward was #2 on the NYG depth chart last season, because he showed more in practice than Bradshaw.

As poorly as Jacobs caught the ball early in the year, Ward has the worst hands of all 3 out of the backfield. Ward had the worst drops of all the guys and didn't make any tough catches (Jacobs did). I think ward is 3rd in line as well. That being said he is a decent RB.

 

[Liquid Tension]

I own all 3 in Hyper/Active 1...let me explain what the roles are...Going into the 2008 season you are likely to see somewhere between a 60/40 and 75/25 split between Jacobs and Bradshaw with Jacobs getting the higher percentage of carries.Ward is Jacobs back up...Bradshaw is not Jacobs back up so you need to differentiate the two.Ward will spell Jacobs form time to time but barring injury, Ward will not be starting, period.Ward is definitely worth a roster spot if you own Jacobs.Ward played when Jacobs was out last season...nothing has changed. In fact, Ward went out to test the waters and ended up signing with the Giants because he didn't get any bites on the free agent market.Carry on

 

[H.K.]

As poorly as Jacobs caught the ball early in the year

OK, time for Mythbusters!Fact #1: Jacobs had two passes thrown to him the first six weeks of the season, he caught one.

Fact #2: The first seven games he played in (through Week 13), he had 15 targets and 11 receptions

Fact # 3: The final four games he played in (Weeks 14-17), he had 23 targets and only 12 receptions.

Ward had the worst drops of all the guys and didn't make any tough catches (Jacobs did).

Searches for "worst drops" and "tough catches" as NFL stats categories came up empty. Please provide a link to an unbiased and credible third party to verify your statement. However, we do know that STATS, LLC keeps track of dropped passes.

They substantiate that Jacobs had the most dropped passes on the Giants with eight (on thirty eight targets), Toomer had seven, Burress had six. No other Giants are among the worst offenders in that category. link to NFC leaders

Ward has the worst hands of all 3 out of the backfield

Footballguys.com tells us that among Giant RBs, Ward had the highest total receptions (26 on 40 targets) and highest percentage of receptions per target at 65%. Myth: Busted.

 

[KoolKat]

I own all 3 in Hyper/Active 1...let me explain what the roles are...

Going into the 2008 season you are likely to see somewhere between a 60/40 and 75/25 split between Jacobs and Bradshaw with Jacobs getting the higher percentage of carries.

Ward is Jacobs back up...Bradshaw is not Jacobs back up so you need to differentiate the two.

Ward will spell Jacobs form time to time but barring injury, Ward will not be starting, period.

Ward is definitely worth a roster spot if you own Jacobs.

Ward played when Jacobs was out last season...nothing has changed. In fact, Ward went out to test the waters and ended up signing with the Giants because he didn't get any bites on the free agent market.

Carry on

This where I am having trouble. Why is everyone so quick to say that Bradshaw will be the lightning to Jacob's thunder? Last season, the Giants had Ward as that "lightning" up until he was injured. Only because Ward was injured did Bradshaw get an opportunity in that role. I think that because of Ward's size, people assume he is a bruiser. However, from what I saw of him last year he plays more like a scat back. That is he uses his quickness and vision more than his power, and is also very good coming out of the backfield to make plays through the air. Anyone who says Ward has bad hands must have not seen him play last season. Additionally, anyone who says Ward is a bruising back is also way off base. We'll see how this shakes out this season, but I am going to call it now, and say Bradshaw will be overvalued this year and Ward will be very undervalued.

 

[H.K.]

This where I am having trouble. Why is everyone so quick to say that Bradshaw will be the lightning to Jacob's thunder? Last season, the Giants had Ward as that "lightning" up until he was injured. Only because Ward was injured did Bradshaw get an opportunity in that role.

This may help answer the question -When Ward and Jacobs both were playing in the same game (Weeks 5-7) Here was the distribution betweeen them for those three games:Jacobs 51 Carries (65%) for 293 yards and a 5.7 YPCWard 28 Carries (35%) for 95 yards a 3.4 YPCAlmost a 2 to 1 advantage for Jacobs, and Jacobs was putting up better numbers.However, when Bradshaw was used in the rotation starting with Buffalo in Week 16 and through the playoffs, here was the distribution:Jacobs 86 carries (57%) for 342 and a 4.0 YPCBradshaw 65 (43%) for 359 yards and a 5.5 YPCMuch closer to a shared workload, and Bradshaw completely outplayed Jacobs.

Anyone who says Ward has bad hands must have not seen him play last season.

Agree 100%.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I own all 3 in Hyper/Active 1...let me explain what the roles are...

Ward is Jacobs back up...Bradshaw is not Jacobs back up so you need to differentiate the two.

This where I am having trouble. Why is everyone so quick to say that Bradshaw will be the lightning to Jacob's thunder? Last season, the Giants had Ward as that "lightning" up until he was injured. Only because Ward was injured did Bradshaw get an opportunity in that role. I think that because of Ward's size, people assume he is a bruiser. However, from what I saw of him last year he plays more like a scat back. That is he uses his quickness and vision more than his power, and is also very good coming out of the backfield to make plays through the air. Anyone who says Ward has bad hands must have not seen him play last season. Additionally, anyone who says Ward is a bruising back is also way off base. We'll see how this shakes out this season, but I am going to call it now, and say Bradshaw will be overvalued this year and Ward will be very undervalued.

Bradshaw was not asked to do anything because the coaches did not trust him early in the season...he was a 7th round pick...not many RB start when being drafted in the 7th round...in fact they are lucky to make the team. There was a big article a few weeks back talking about Bradshaw and how basically the coaches were wanting him to get better quickly last season but he had a small fumbling problem and the coaches did not trust him. They made him carry a football around everywhere he went, and he had to hold it like he would in a game. They prepped him to be ready because they felt his time was coming. That happeend at the end of the season. Going into 2008 it will be the Jacobs and Bradshaw show.

I also like DWard, this is not a Ward hater as I own all 3 in the H/A 1 league...but you have to be realistic about what is going to happen. Jacobs will get somewhere between 15-20 carries a game for however many he is healthy. Bradshaw will get between 8-15 touches a game when you add his runs and catches together.

Ward is Jacobs back up...that's what he is. Bradshaw is a different type of back.

I like Ward and would like to see him land somewhere he can actually start...he is no Spring Chicken though and the clock is a running. I believe this will be his 5th or 6th NFL season...he was injured much of his early career.