What is the deal with Brandon Jacobs?

He doesn’t look anything like the Jacobs of last year. The better RB from what I’ve seen so far clearly, right now, is Bradshaw.

We’ll be seeing a lot more of Gartrell in the coming weeks.

Real quick: Any news on Bradshaw’s sprained ankle yet???

As far as Jacobs goes: He’s too big, he’s going to break down quicker than most. We may be seeing evidence of this already.

Aching body + questionable desire due to franchise tag = 3.9YPC

Is a tough RB and runs bigger than his size. Sometimes I think he’s a more effective blocker as well. There’s where he broke off his route and put on a nice seal block.

That said I’d still like Jacobs to set the tone.

who thinks this is a non issue?!?!

How come after the first two weeks….the problem was our Oline…now all of a sudden it’s jacobs?!?!

What happens next week when jacobs goes off on KC and Bradshaw doesn’t???

are we going to start pointing the finger at AB?

Here’s an idea…stop running Jacobs outside the tackles…start spreading the field and pounding the ball up the middle.

How come when haynesworth was talking smack we were all like “yeah whatever…Jacobs cant’ get enough of a head start to plow Haynesworth” but now we expect him to not only run through defensive tackles but also his entire Oline who’s getting pushed back into the backfield and not opening up holes.

to suggest Jacobs can’t run through arm tackles…well that’s just foolish. Ask Brian Urlacher if he thinks Jacobs is running soft….

like a man possessed in Pre season….

but i guess now he’s worried about staying healthy???

I don’t believe it…

All I’m saying is a ‘non-answer answer’ like the one Coughlin gave today is one that can only lead to speculation. Which, of course, is our job!!

Touch Jacobs near the feet or ankles before he gets up to full-speed and he goes down. Still no need to worry. The assemble of role players with a void of “me” guys will have this team flying quietly under the radar all season.

The Giants are not built for fantasy, their thankfully built to crank out wins.

1) He seems to be a little too hesitant when picking a hole to run through. Is the O-Line not opening holes big enough? Doesn’t seem like it as Bradshizzle has been tearing it up. Is he trying to be too fine and break a big run every time?

2) He seems to be going to the turf A LOT easier now than in previous years. Is he now complacent with his big contract? Trying to avoid injury? I don’t know the answer to that. It used to take a lot more than one guy to bring him down, now he’s being brought down by corners and safeties more often.

3) Of course it probably all boils down to the perceived lack of receiving threats for Eli. Teams have been stacking the box because Mario/Smith/Sinorice/Hix/Nix don’t scare anybody…yet. I’m willing to wait a few more games with Manningham and Steve Smith running wild on secondaries and catching 20 balls before defenses start to wise up and drop a few more guys into coverage opening up running lanes for the big boss.

they are truly a testament to the caliber of the organization. Obviously the Giants are one of the best in terms of being classy. The media offered Coughlin a chance to rip Jacobs for running in such a tentative fashion but he chose not to take the bait. To me, its obvious that Coughlin would rather coach than get involved in a war of the words via the media. I don’t think there’s anything physically wrong with Jacobs; I just think that Coughlin knows that for whatever reason he isn’t running the way they’d like and he would rather not say something that quickly becomes a headline and might alienate Jacobs or others.

This is a class organization and TC is the right coach for this team, make no mistake. His unwillingness to comment on it is testament to that.

Sure we would all like to see the big man steamroll opponents but I want him in the line up regardless, if the coaches talked to Jacobs and had him tweek his style to preserve his body would they actually acknowledge it? No of course not, that’s bad strategy.

what I would love to see Jacobs do is adopt a running style similar to Roger Craig, formerly of the Cornhuskers and 49ers. Craig ran with his knees up high on each stride, so that anyone trying to take him low usually caught air or a knee in the face. It was wonderfully effective and would do away with any “ankle-biters.”

I agree a little with cassnovawong.
I feel that when you think of the Giants from your average person, you think… Eli, Plax, Jacobs. Now that we are down to just two ‘thought of guys’ Eli and Jacobs, defensive can move focus from 3 people to 2. Could be a partial reason why his carries are down.

Coughlin’s comments, in my opinion, make me think that Jacobs has some personal issues going on that the press are not entitled too?

Thoughts?

Boy all these injuries have me longing for the days before the internet when I didn’t have instant access to all this information.

Every time I turn on pc I’m reading about another injury and it makes my hurt head.

they must have tried something out with Jacobs in order for him to take less punishment and not wear down.

Maybe that’s it, I dunno.

But I can tell you that if people keep knocking him this week he’s gonna go out and beat the hell out of someone on Sunday afternoon.

They spoke in the offseason, both Coughlin and BJ about him taking a slightly different approach to the contact, trying to play a full 16 (plus playoffs!), etc. I remember more than a few comments after games 1 & 2 about how the RBs were over anxious and not waiting for the OL to open holes for them, now BJ is too tentative and waiting too long… I just don’t buy it. I bet TC and BJ are laughing themselves silly watching everyone try to dissect their “problems.”

Please keep in mind:

1) The turf was wet, tall man = higher center of gravity = slips easier

2) Why do we want him risking getting hurt blasting someone for 5 extra yards when the opposing O has 30 yards TOTAL going into the 4th Q.? Save it for when you need it.

3) It’s 3 games and in the first 2, opponents were CLEARLY stacking the box to stop the run, both the Cowboys and Skins feature above average NTs as well.

4) Before no one blocked that safety coming off the corner, Jacobs had a full head of steam and a hole and was about to blast into the end zone and then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

I thought we all agreed that we wouldn’t call our star beastback “BJ”… it just doesn’t give the man the respect he deserves from us. It’s like calling LT “happy ending” or something… it aint right! lol.

but seriously… I don’t think that TC would have answered that way unless there was somethign actually wrong with him. But I have so much faith in this team that I know Bradshaw, Ware and possibly Johnson will fill in well for the destroyer if he has to miss any time.

The one injury I’m actually very worried about is KP. I don’t care what Rosenhaus says, people who are familiar with patello-femoral arthritis will tell you that knee replacement is the only way to effectively cure it and allow the person who has it to move at full speed.

Gmen are 3-0 with 2 wins in the division and with injuries to key players that would have hobbled a lesser team. Why? Balance. TC is a maestro.

As long as he’s in the backfield the other team has to honor the run, this keeps their linebackers close to the line of scrimmage and opens up the underneath passing game. I don’t think there is anything to worry about.

I don’t think you have to be a scholar to conclude there is something wrong with him from that statement from Coughlin. That statement is actually pretty ominous. I have no idea what is wrong with Jacobs but one thing is for certain after what Coughlin said: there is unequivocally something wrong.

Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said Jacobs has looked energetic this season.

“If there is an error that is slowing him down, it is because he wants to be perfect,” Gilbride said. “He is trying to make the perfect read, if that is it. If there is anything, that would be it, he is just trying so hard to do everything perfectly. Sometimes you just have to trust your instincts and go out and play. But I certainly don’t see anybody that is tiptoeing.”

So, Gilbride is acknowledging that something’s different. He even sends a little hint to Jacobs that if he’s hesitating because he’s trying to make the perfect read of the defense, it’s better to just get basic and run.

Nothing here to worry about.