Giants' Jacobs has a lot left in the tank

Brandon Jacobs insisted this was not the plan -- and it certainly was not his preference. But he admitted that after a relatively light workload during the regular season, he is in the freshest possible state at the best possible time.

"Oh, no question,'' he said Thursday. "I feel really good. I don't know the reason for that, but I feel good.''

Jacobs may not know, but the rest of us can assume. He rushed a mere 152 times in regular-season games, only 22 in the final three. That was five more carries than he had in 2010 but down from 200-plus in 2007, '08 and '09.

This did not always sit well with the Giants' 6-4, 264-pound back, whose struggles contributed to their finishing dead last in rushing yards per game. His 571 yards were his lowest total in the post-Tiki Barber era.

But Jacobs found an excellent outlet for his frustration by battering the Falcons for 92 yards on 14 carries in the wild-card playoff round.

Next up: The Packers, against whom Jacobs ran eight times for 59 yards -- a season-high average of 7.4 -- on Dec. 4.

"We just have to go in there and bang,'' said Jacobs, describing his approach most games. But the challenge figures to be greater this time because the Packers are healthier at linebacker.

"I don't care who's going to be in there,'' Jacobs said. "That's just the way I feel, and I hope everybody else on our football team feels the same way. I don't know who's back. I don't care who's playing. It doesn't bother me one bit.''

Every team that faces the Packers is aware that keeping the ball on the ground can keep Aaron Rodgers and his friends on the bench. Enter Jacobs and his partner, Ahmad Bradshaw.

"The less opportunities they have as an offense, the better our chances are of winning,'' Jacobs said. "They have some heavy guys in there . . . It's going to be a dogfight, but a dogfight I think we can win.''

Think? What about Jason Pierre-Paul's proclamations Sunday and Wednesday that the Giants will win?

Jacobs said he supports the sentiment. "He's my teammate,'' he said. "I'm riding with him, whatever he said . . . I'm very confident. I feel good about our opportunity. I wake up every morning feeling so good about this game.''

Some Packers surely remember Jacobs setting the tone for the NFC Championship Game four seasons ago, when he rammed into cornerback Charles Woodson early in the game. Said Jacobs, "We got the ball and that happened and the sideline got up and everybody got pumped up, and on it went.''

Jacobs likely is one loss from the end of his Giants career, so every game means a little extra. But he said he would be happy to keep splitting the work with others.

"We have a lot of different situations and we have different running backs that do different things, and that's the only thing that can stop me from getting as many carries as I would like,'' he said.

"No one plans for me not to get this or get that. If the game goes our way, we both can have a lot of carries.''