Ahmad Bradshaw, Giants look to get running game on track

The last time Ahmad Bradshaw faced the Bills, he entered the game as a rookie with six carries. He left with 151 yards and an 88-yard touchdown on 17 rushing attempts in a playoff-clinching win for the 2007 Giants.

"It put me on the map," Bradshaw said, recalling what still stands as his career-best rushing game. "It put me into this offense and it gave the coaches a lot of confidence in me."

It was the breakout performance of his career.

"I remember Bradshaw hit the power off tackle [for the touchdown] and he was running so fast he blew the 'NY' off his head," said Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, who held that position with the Bills at the time.

Bradshaw is an established running back now, fresh off a 1,200-yard season with a healthy new contract. But it's been a while since he ran out of his helmet decal. So once again he's looking for a breakout game, and once again it's against the Bills.

The Giants' running offense has been slow to take shape. The blame for the lack of production, most coaches and players say, is not Bradshaw's. It's the blocking. With new faces and new positions on the offensive line and young players at fullback and tight end, the holes haven't been there.

Bradshaw, known for explosive runs and turning dead plays into big gains, has only one run of more than 15 yards this season, but he said he is not frustrated. "As a running back, you just hope they come," he said. "I believe in my line and I figure that they get better every week, and hopefully this week they are 10 times better."

Tom Coughlin agreed Bradshaw is not getting frustrated. In fact, he said he'd like Bradshaw to "take whatever energy [he has] and pump it into his teammates." But offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said Bradshaw has shown signs of impatience on the field lately.

"That's normal," Gilbride said. "That's like anything else. You have to stay within the dynamics of the play, the scheme, and just trust that the blocking is going to open up. If it hasn't been there for a few times, it's easy, it's natural, it's human to say, 'I'm going to make my own play.' If you do that, it usually leads to more problems."

Bradshaw has been in the backfield at times when the running game churned out yards no matter how many defenders were at the line of scrimmage. He said the offense "could be" close to regaining that kind of stride.

"We have a lot of people out of position," he said. "Hopefully, everybody can get on task and handle business."

Bradshaw likely will carry the running game mostly by himself again this week. Brandon Jacobs, nursing a mildly sprained MCL in his left knee, has been recovering slowly. He did not practice Thursday, and Coughlin said the Giants are trying to keep him off his feet to avoid swelling.

"In the beginning, I was not thinking it would be an issue like this," he said of Jacobs, who also missed last week's game.

Coughlin did not seem to have any urgency about getting D.J. Ware more carries. That means Bradshaw will have to be a one-man show, unlike the 2007 game, when Jacobs added 142 yards on 25 carries.

What else does Bradshaw remember about that game?

"We ran a lot," he said. "Our line blocked it up great. Hopefully, the same schemes come and the same techniques come and we can do the same."