Time for Giants' running game to assert itself
It only seems as if the Giants' dead-last rank in rushing offense should be an unprecedented underachievement for a franchise long known for grinding out victories the old-fashioned way.
But no! It's happened before. Remember 1953? If not, a refresher:
The Giants averaged 87.4 yards per game that fall, led by Sonny Grandelius' team-leading total of 278. They ranked last in scoring with 179 points and last in yards per rush at 2.6.
Net effect: A 3-9 finish, including five losses in their last six games, during the time of year when running the ball is most important.
That would seem to bode ill for the current Giants, given their dismal average of 89.2 rushing yards per game, added to the wintry forecast for Sunday's wild-card playoff game against the Falcons.
The good news is that times have changed since '53, when quarterback Charlie Conerly passed for 1,711 yards with 13 touchdowns and 25 interceptions.
In 2011 another Ole Miss alumnus, Eli Manning, finished with 4,933 passing yards, 29 TDs and 16 interceptions, which helps explain how the Giants overcame their anemic ground game to qualify for the playoffs.
It's a passing league now and has been for a while. Two of the previous three teams that finished last in rushing -- the 2008 Cardinals and '09 Colts -- reached the Super Bowl.
Asked Wednesday whether the traditional playoff formula has changed, allowing a hot quarterback to carry a team, coach Tom Coughlin said, "Well, it definitely has. It's evidence. It's fact.''
The bad news is that, well, rushing still counts, especially in some of the short-yardage situations that have bedeviled the Giants. That includes third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 stops of Brandon Jacobs against the Cowboys on Sunday night.
Guard Kevin Boothe said the team was "fortunate'' to get away with such failures Sunday night and recalled instances during his five seasons with the team when it cost games
"We're not happy with where we are,'' Boothe said. "I don't think anybody on offense is really happy with where the running game is, including the receivers, believe it or not. It's vital, especially this time of year.
"The margin for error becomes even smaller, and if you become one-dimensional now you can be in big trouble, especially in unforeseen weather conditions."
Fellow guard Chris Snee said, "There's no doubt that topic is a frustrating one to deal with . . . It's close [to being solved]. I'm not lying to you when I say that. It's close."
Ahmad Bradshaw ranks 20th in the league with a .714 batting average on third-and-1; Jacobs is 24th at .667. Shouldn't the 6-4, 246-pound Jacobs be all but automatic?
"That fourth-and-1 [Sunday] was an unblocked linebacker who was right there at the line of scrimmage,'' Snee said. "[Jacobs] is a big man and in most situations I'll take him in that, but we have to get to that linebacker."
The running game has been on the upswing, totaling more than 100 yards in four of the past five games, a figure the Giants reached only four times in the first 11 games. "Hopefully we will run the ball better than we did last weekend," Coughlin said. "Consistency is the word.''
So, to review: A strong running game no longer is essential for NFL success, even in the playoffs. But it couldn't hurt.
