Bradshaw enters bye week as NFL's leading rusher

Ahmad Bradshaw is heading home to visit family in Virginia during the bye this week, and he plans on making a trip up to Huntington, West Virginia, for Homecoming at Marshall. Nothing really exceptional.

Except that this time, he's not going there as the guy who plays running back and gets a few carries a game for the Giants. This time, he's going there as the NFL's leading rusher.

"It's a joy to go back always," Bradshaw said this week. "But to go back at this moment and be on top of the league, it makes you even more proud."

You've heard of most of the guys near the top of the list. Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Steven Jackson. Even Arian Foster became a well-known player after he scorched the Colts in Week 1. But Bradshaw has them all beat with 708 rushing yards. Who would have thought that would be the case at the midway point of the season?

Bradshaw didn't. At least not when he was hanging out with Peterson this offseason. At that point he didn't even know he would become the Giants' featured running back, so he didn't get a chance to do any trash talking or make any wagers with the Vikings' star.

Even after that decision was made to make him the starter, though, Bradshaw wasn't sure how it would all work out.

"You always have those questions for yourself," he said. "I've been wanting this for years and all I can do is just take advantage of it. I'm happy for the responsibility to be the featured back here, but you always have those questions in your mind. How are you going to do? How you would act in different situations? All I can do is play my game."

It's that game that the Giants have been waiting to see since Bradshaw arrived as a seventh-round pick in 2007 and emerged as a playmaker during the Super Bowl run. Most "experts" projected Bradshaw as a change-of-pace back, not a starter, and his off-the-field issues certainly weighed his draft status down. Now, though, the Giants are getting the player they envisioned when they took a chance on him.

"My stance has been pretty consistent," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. "I've always thought that Ahmad could be a very good runner for us."

Running backs coach Jerald Ingram admired Bradshaw's toughness and ferocity on the field. He said that if he had to go into a dark alley, he'd pick Bradshaw to go with him. "The first, without a question," he said. "The guy has no conscience."

That's not to say there are no concerns. Bradshaw is listed at 5-9, 198 pounds, which is a lot smaller than other starting running backs. It's certainly smaller than Brandon Jacobs, who held the job as headliner prior to this season.

Bradshaw has never had this much work, either. He came into this season with 253 career carries. He's at 134 so far in 2010. Plus he is coming off of surgeries on his ankle and both feet.

"The injury concern is certainly something that had to be taken into account, there's no question," Gilbride said of the decision to promote Bradshaw. "I'm still holding my breath hopeful that he's going to be able to last the entire year."

Gilbride did say that he's not going to put Bradshaw on a "pitch count" or limit his carries in the second half of the season. "We're going to ride the horse right now as long as he's galloping pretty good," he said.

Bradshaw has some more galloping to do. He said he set a goal of 1,500 rushing yards for himself this season. That's pretty lofty. Only two Giants players - Tiki Barber and Joe Morris - have reached that plateau. He's on pace right now for about 1,600 yards in a full 16 games. And he might even do what no Giant has done since Eddie Price in 1951: Lead the league in rushing at the end of the season, not only near the midway point.

"I set my goals high," Bradshaw said. "All you can try to do is meet them and keep playing football. I plan on keeping running, man."