RUNNING IN PLACE
Coach: Everybody needed to help horrid rushing attack
Thus far this summer, Paul Perkins has dodged questions more effectively than he has eluded tacklers.
Consider, when Perkins, following a second consecutive poor performance, was asked about the malaise that is the Giants’ offense in general and running game in particular, he responded: “We have to keep making plays.’’
No one was quite sure what plays Perkins was referring to, considering he has 11 rushing attempts in two preseason losses and has managed to gain just 13 yards, a microscopic 1.1 yards per attempt. He was named the starting running back way back in the spring, but has shown nothing to indicate he is worthy of the role Ben McAdoo bestowed upon him.
The Giants were 29th in the NFL last year with an anemic 3.5 yards per carry. They actually have been worse so far this preseason, gaining just 138 yards over the first two games. It’s a clip of just 3.2 yards per attempt.
“I don’t take this lightly.’’ Perkins said after gaining just 10 yards on six carries in Monday night’s 10-6 loss to the Browns. “I’m taking it serious, everything serious, studying film seriously. The good thing is it’s preseason so we can learn from it, but I don’t take it lightly.’’
There is only so much Perkins can do. He is supposed to provide a spark and a few yards, yet he also is a byproduct of the sagging offense around him. If McAdoo decided to send every underperforming player to the bench, the Giants might not be able to field a representative team on offense.
“For us to have a chance, we need all 11 knowing what to do and how to do it,’’ McAdoo said Tuesday. “And, it takes everybody to run the ball, not just the offensive line. The receivers have to be better versus slam corners. The tight ends, in-line and from the backfield, need to do a better job. They weren’t even close [versus the Browns]. The running backs have to take the right footwork at the right pace and, of course, have to be on point and read their cues. And our perimeter, they need to do a better job of taking care of each other on the bubble
screens.’’
It is more of the same from last summer, when McAdoo took over as head coach and the offense never looked right. That was dismissed as preseason growing pains, but the offense never got entirely right. Reminded of this, guard Justin Pugh was quick to point out, “We went to the playoffs last year, too.’’ True enough, though the defense carried the team on the way into the postseason, often having to play lightsout football to make up for the failures and low-scoring traits of the offense.
“We flush this one and get ready for the next one,’’ Pugh said.
If only the Giants could flush this away. These issues on offense are not easily sent down the drain. The push in the interior of the offensive line is often nonexistent. Center Weston Richburg and right guard John Jerry have not shown any semblance of dominance in the preseason and, as a result, the Giants’ quarterbacks have felt too much pressure up the middle. Ereck Flowers’ development at left tackle had made infinitesimal gains. Bobby Hart, on the right side, must overcome physical limitations with his smarts.
McAdoo praised the play against the Browns of backup center Brett Jones and backup guard D.J. Fluker, and did not dismiss a possible lineup change.
“We’re gonna look at those options and talk through them as the week goes on, see how it shakes out,’’ McAdoo said. “But we have not lost confidence in John Jerry or anybody on the offensive line, for that matter.’’