No Tiki, No Problem: How the Giants Ran Their Way to the Playoffs

Heading into their 2006 season finale, the New York Giants had once again completely collapsed.

After starting 6-2, the Giants had won only one of their past seven games, and needed a win in Washington to even make the playoffs.

Their defense was ravaged by injuries, and their quarterback looked more like the brother of Tim Couch than Peyton Manning—so the Giants turned to their most dependable player over the last five years, retiree-to-be Tiki Barber.

Barber not only led his team to the playoffs—he ran for a franchise-record 234 yards.

As the clock ticked down, Giants fans were left with one question:

How will we possibly win a game without this guy next year?

It was a question that Giants management was pondering too.  It was impossible to simply replace Barber with one guy.  He was so versatile, it was as if the Giants had three players on the field.

And so the Giants decided to replace him with four.

The first order of business was to analyze in-house talent.  The obvious choice to succeed Barber was mammoth backup Brandon Jacobs.  In relief, Jacobs had shown flashes of brilliance. Because of size and durability issues, however, New York realized that they'd have to get the big man some help.

Giants brass didn't have to look far before deciding that Derrick Ward should become a focal point of the offense.

Ward, who once gave up on football to pursue acting, had never impressed NFL coaches.  Finally he met Tom Coughlin, and the Giants coach recognized that the back had plenty of talent.

Part two in the project to replace Tiki was complete.

The next place to look was the NFL Draft.  With holes all over the place, the Giants realized that they couldn't gamble a first-day pick on a running back.  Instead, their goal was to discover a steal in the draft's later rounds.

When the dust had cleared, the team had two new running backs: Ahmad Bradshaw, a converted DB from Marshall, and Ryan Grant, the backup from Notre Dame.

With so few spots on their roster, the Giants only had room for one rookie back.  New York chose Bradshaw for his breakaway speed and kick return potential. They would have loved to have kept Grant too, but were forced to trade him to Green Bay for a sixth-round pick.

Even after seeing Grant thrive in a starting role for the Packers, the Giants still think they found something even more special in Bradshaw.

Given their youth and inexperience in the backfield, the Giants also felt they needed a veteran in the mix.  In that spirit, they traded oft-injured wide receiver Tim Carter to the Browns for former 1,000-yard back Reuben Droughns. Droughns had excelled in Denver and Cleveland—and seemed like a perfect fit for the Giants.

And so, after months of hard work, the Giants had their four running backs.

Critics around the NFL were skeptical, but the Giants remained confident. Now, 17 weeks later, we know why.

In Tiki Barber's final season, he accumulated 2,127 yards and five TDs.

The Giants' four running backs this season finished with 2,490 yards and 17 TDs.

Each back brough something special to the table.  Jacobs finished over 1,000 yards despite missing five games. Ward produced at an extremely high level when he was called on. Bradshaw averaged an amazing 8.3 yards per rush. And Droughns proved to be one of the better goal-line backs in the NFL, finishing the season with six touchdowns.

Whenever the offseason begins for the New York Giants, there will once again be plenty of holes to fill.

Due to an incredible eye for talent, though, none of them will be at the running back position.