BACKUP PLAN
Bradshaw’s hand OK, but Giants want to establish backup backs
Giants hope to find reliable depth at RB behind injury-prone Bradshaw
Ralph Vacchiano,
THE GIANTS seem to believe that Ahmad Bradshaw will be fine, that the hand he injured Saturday night was just a bruise. But it’s fair to consider the injury a warning to the defending Super Bowl champs.
Bradshaw has a long history of injuries. The Giants will need another running back to share the work load.
With two preseason games remaining and only 16 days until the opener at home against Dallas, it’s not clear who is ready to fill Brandon Jacobs’ shoes as the No. 2 running back behind the injury-prone Bradshaw. It figures to be either D.J. Ware or first-round pick David Wilson, but they combined for a measly 41 yards on 19 carries in the Giants’ 26-3 win over the Jets on Saturday night.
Each of them did some good things. Neither did anything that made Tom Coughlin comfortable enough to say they had the job.
“We didn’t have any really breakout runs to speak of,” the coach said on a conference call on Sunday. “It was pretty inconsistent, and some choppiness. Each one of the guys seemed to have a play or two that was good and a play or two that was bad.”
Ware came in after Bradshaw left with just two yards on three carries and a burst cyst on his right hand that caused it to swell. The projected third-down running back in the Giants’ offense, Ware started strongly, but ended up with just 15 yards on 11 carries – a lousy 1.4 yards per rush.
Wilson was better, rushing eight times for 26 yards and proving something even more important to Coughlin by delivering a strong block on a blitz pickup. But he did all that in the late third and fourth quarter against the Jets’ third and fourth-stringers.
Even he knows he still has a ways to go.
“Right now, not playing until after halftime, you’re not going against the starters,” Wilson said. “I’m just trying to get better. I really don’t know what to expect until after we play the Cowboys or, if I’m fortunate enough to play against the first-team defense i n the preseason games, and see how I do. Then I will have a real grasp on what to expect.”
That may be true, but there isn’t much time for Wilson to learn. The Giants have not said yet how long Bradshaw might miss with his injured hand, which he had wrapped in a brace after the game. Even if he doesn’t miss much time, Bradshaw has a long history of foot and ankle injuries, including a broken foot last year that required him to have a stemcell injection to help with the healing during the offseason.
Bradshaw’s fragility is why he’s only topped 200 carries once in his career – in 2010 when he rushed 276 times for 1,235 yards.
Ware, now in his sixth season, never carried the ball more than the 46 times he did it last season and seems more suited to the third-down role than Bradshaw’s primary backup. Wilson is more likely, even though he’s currently running behind Andre Brown on the depth chart.
And if Bradshaw is out for any length of time, Wilson – who now has 69 yards on 15 carries (4.6 yards per carry) in two preseason games — will get a chance to learn the job quickly.
“Yeah, I always have to stay ready,” he said. “You never know when you’re going to be called. Even when we’re going into these games and Coach tells you that you’re not going to play until after halftime. I still stand on the sideline with my helmet on. You never know if he’s going to want to throw you in.”