A bigger role for surgically repaired Bradshaw?
Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw celebrates his second-quarter touchdown against the Washington Redskins, Monday, Dec. 21, 2009, in Landover, Md. Credit: AP
ALBANY - Don't read anything into it. That's what the Giants are saying about the role Ahmad Bradshaw has had so far this summer.
Whereas Brandon Jacobs has always taken the first snaps of offensive team drills in the past - technically "the starter" - in this camp, Bradshaw has been popping up for that inaugural play.
A change to the depth chart? Maybe.
"It just comes that way," Bradshaw said of the rotation that always seems to start with him in the backfield. "I'm expecting a lot more from the offense, and I'm expecting to help out a lot."
The Giants are expecting that too. And so far they like what they've seen. Bradshaw had three surgeries in the offseason to correct cracked bones in each of his feet and an old ankle injury that had bugged him since college, but he has been on the field for every practice in camp.
For a team that shows patience and restraint with injured and post-surgical players to the point of near coddling, Bradshaw's number of reps this season are just as remarkable as the order in which he and Jacobs have taken them.
It was Bradshaw who pushed for such a grueling schedule. "I just felt like coming out and practicing twice a day would really help our team as much as possible," he said. "Sitting out practice would hurt myself. When you sit out of practice, and when you sit out for a day or two, it hurts to come back and get your feet back under you when you're a running back. I feel that practicing twice a day will keep my feet back under me."
The Giants have made it clear that one of their objectives this season is to get back to a physical running attack. They led the NFL in rushing two years ago, but with injuries dogging Bradshaw, Jacobs and the offensive line in '09, they did not produce.
Bradshaw has heard coach Tom Coughlin and others talk about re-establishing the ground game. But he also knows that when he hears coaches use terms such as "running game," what they're really talking about is "Bradshaw and Jacobs."
"We have some hunger in our room," he said of himself and camp roommate Jacobs. "We talk every day about how hungry we are and how excited we are to be running for this team."
No matter what order they come in.
