GOING TO PERK’
Young running back heads group hoping to carry Giants to playoffs
There isn’t an Ezekiel Elliott in the back field and the Giants don’t have the Cowboys offensive line.
That won’t stop the men in the Big Blue running backs room from believing they can run enough to see a Lombardi Trophy in the distance.
Ben McAdoo is counting on the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, with Paul Perkins heading a Running Back By Committee that will be better than 29th in the NFL in rushing as long as Eli Manning’s passing game is more explosive and left tackle Ereck Flowers answers the call.
“It seems like we’re running out the ball well so far,” Manning said Monday.
“We are taking a lot of pride in ourselves and in the run game and working very hard at it,” Shane Vereen said.
Perkins is the starter. He won’t divulge his personal goals, but showed as a rookie last season (112 carries, 456 yards) that he has 1,000-yard talent.
“I feel like my intuition’s a lot higher than it was last year, so it’s gonna allow me to play a lot faster,” Perkins said.
Orleans Darkwa (leg) spent last December on injured reserve and has just 75 carries over four seasons. He is 218 pounds and more of a power back than Perkins.
“He’s a little bit shiftier,” Darkwa said. “I kind of have a mindset as far as going into a game — it’s been a long time since college [Tulane] — but going into a game where you get a consistent amount of carries is kinda my style. At the end of the fourth quarter, I kinda want to wear a defense down and then make a one-cut, ’ cause defenses are expecting you to truck ’em every time.”
Rookie Wayne Gallman, a fourth-round draft choice, can detail the differences between Perkins and Darkwa.
“Paul is a very patient back ,” G all man said .“He really takes a lot of notes, he’s really into his detail and knows what he has to do, foot- work-wise, because he knows the line’s gonna block. But it’s always about reading what safety’s coming down, where’s the blitz coming from, where can I work the run?” And Darkwa? “He’s a good all-around back,” Gallman sa i d. “He’s a more physical back. He’s a bruiser. And I’ve learned a lot from him on special teams.” And himself ? “Getting better each and every day,” Gallman said. “Going out there having fun, and really making sure that I learn something new every day.
“I think I can do anything you want — I can run outside, inside, I can catch, I can block, I do whatever you need me to do. I just have to know what I’m doing. It’s all about gaining the coaches’ trust before you go out.”
Shane Vereen (494 yards on 59 carries with four TDs in 2015) is the pass-receiving threat out of the backfield. He caught 11 passes in five games last season, which was cut short because of a t wi c e - torn triceps.
“He knows pretty much this whole offense by the back of his hand. I can ask him anything, and he can answer it,” Gallman said. “He does everything where, if you were grading it, it’d be an A-plus.”
“He can run the ball just as good as anybody on this roster,” Darkwa said.
Gallman, a 213-pounder, has impressed Darkwa.
“He’s gonna be a promising player,” Darkwa said. “Obviously as a rookie, there’s so much coming into this offense, this is an adjustable-based offense, so you make a lot of audibles, you make a lot of calls, and so for any rookie it’ll be tough, but he’s grabbing on quick. I can tell when we get the pads on, he can put his head down. He’s gonna be a pretty good rookie, I feel like.” Perkins seconds that emotion. “The game is definitely slowing down for him,” Perkins said. “He’s seeing the holes, making better reads, catching the ball very well. He’s versatile, he’s quick, he’s agile, he’s everything, he’s fast, he’s really good, I like him.”
Perkins and Darkwa have grown close, but that isn’t stopping Darkwa from trying to unseat him as starter. “I feel like I can do everything that the coaches need me
to do ,” Da r k wa said. “When I’ve been out there on the f ield, I’ve been productive, and I feel like it’s just a glimpse of what I can do, and so I h ave high expectations for myself and the biggest thing is just making sure I stay healthy and I’m feeling 100 percent going into each and every game.” Perkins said he views Darkwa as more than a short-yardage weapon. “I think he’s making humongous st rides from last year ,” Perkins said. “He’s very diverse also in his running style. He can switch it up.” It isn’t as if Perkins tiptoes through the NFL tulips. “I’m not a push-around,” he says, and laughs. Perkins, 21 3 pounds, ended last season at 205 pounds. “So keeping this weight is gonna be important for me,” he said. Asked what he learned about the playoffs last season, Perkins said: “Everything amps up — speed, intensity ... every possession really matters.” Perkins caught 30 passes at UCLA in 2015 and 15 as a rookie, and following a practice last week when he lost concentration and dropped a pass he befriended the Juggs machine. “I think all of us complement each other well. ... We kinda have our own like different style, but at the same time, we can do everything,” Darkwa said. Run RBBC.