If he could do it again, Jacobs would handle knee problem differently

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Looking back on it now, Brandon Jacobs wishes he had handled his knee injury differently.

Jacobs suffered a partially torn meniscus in the opener against the Redskins and finally had it repaired after the season. If he had the chance to do it over again, he would.

"I honestly thought it was just a little thing that would get better," Jacobs said Friday at the Super Bowl media center, where he was making radio appearances promoting a line of clothing from Under Armour. "Once I realized, though, it was too late. By the end of the season, I said I might as well go ahead and do something now."

Jacobs said he didn't feel any pressure to play from the coaching staff but will listen more carefully to his body next time. "We were trying to make that run for the playoffs," he said. "Honestly, it took that long to figure out what was wrong."

Jacobs had his least effective year since becoming a starter in 2007, rushing for 835 yards on 224 carries.

He said his injury was complicated by the presence of cysts, as well as the torn meniscus.

"I was trying to protect it the best I could," he said.

He said he is fully healed and will be ready to start the team's offseason conditioning program next month.

"I'll be ready to go," he said. "The knee feels great."

As for the Giants, Jacobs anticipates a bounce-back from the 8-8 disappointment in 2009.

"I just think that us as a team, we'll be a lot better," he said. "We've got a chance to make a run. Guys will come back, guys will be healthy. Of course we've got new faces, but we'll be fine. We've just got to get things back together."