Giants hit the ground running

ALBANY -- That parade for the Giants a few months ago? It wasn't to celebrate their achievements as a running team, that's for sure.

The Giants finished last in the NFL in rushing during the 2011 regular season, averaging only 89.2 yards per game. They improved in the postseason, upping that average to 116.5 during their Super Bowl run, but the bad feeling stemming from their inability to move the ball on the ground lingers as they start training camp.

"Being 32nd, that's devastating for us," Ahmad Bradshaw said Friday.

So when Tom Coughlin spoke to the team about improving areas in which they faltered in 2011, the running game was first and foremost on his mind.

"We're going to get a better running game coming out of this camp, I really believe that," Coughlin said. "We definitely have got to rush the ball better. We rushed it down the stretch, in the last six games at the end of the year, better than we did throughout the whole year, but we didn't have the number of big plays from the run. It was way down. The balance factor has always been something we've been able to count on. We've got to get back to that."

The Giants' first-round pick in April was David Wilson, a speedy, explosive running back who can add big-play impact. Bradshaw will be the main back, though, just as he was last year.

"That's a tough thing as a running back, actually being the starter and being a big part of it," Bradshaw said of last season's missteps. "We've got to look forward to this year and doing a whole lot better up front, all together as an offense. I think it'll come."

One of the reasons for the lack of production in 2011 was the fluid state of the offensive line because of injuries and personnel changes. This year, the Giants have some players in new positions but no new faces up front, even though they did not re-sign veteran tackle Kareem McKenzie. David Diehl will move to right tackle to replace him.

"For us, especially as an offensive line group, it's a huge thing to get the run game back going, get it back to the top of the league because that's a standard that we set around here," Diehl said. "It's important to an offense, especially with the weapons we have. If we can get that balance together, there is no telling how good our offense can be."

Notes & quotes: CB Terrell Thomas' back tightened on him and he could not complete his first practice since tearing an ACL last August. Coughlin stressed that his knee is fine . . . Coughlin had said T Will Beatty (back) would be limited in camp, but he was with the starting group Friday . . . S Antrel Rolle's glow-in-the-dark haircut is generating a stir, even though he's not sure what the design is supposed to be. "I just told my barber to do something different," he said. "This time we wanted to do something that glows in the dark, so this is what you got."

. . . LB Michael Boley, CB Prince Amukamara and rookie LB Jake Muasau each had an interception in practice.