The New York Giants Are 2-0, but Where's the Running Game?

Well, it’s a good thing that Eli Manning has been worth every penny of his seven-year $106.9 million contract, otherwise the New York Giants might very well be 0-2 on the season.

Brandon Jacobs has rushed for only 104 yards on 32 carries this season.

Even more amazing, in two games, Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw have combined to gain 201 yards on 53 carries. 

Just to put that into perspective, there are currently seven running backs in the league that have, on their own, rushed for more yards on fewer carries this season than Jacobs and Bradshaw combined.

If Manning hadn’t thrown for 586 yards and three touchdowns during the first two games of the season, New Yorkers would probably be calling for calling for Tom Coughlin’s head again.

Last season, Justin Tuck approached Bradshaw during the fourth quarter of the Giants’ 41-13 win over St. Louis and told him that the backfield reminded him of the musical group Earth, Wind & Fire.

"Everybody goes Thunder and Lightning, but we've got three of them," Tuck said. "So I call them Earth, Wind, and Fire. I think Earth is Brandon. I think Fire is Ward. I think Wind is Bradshaw."

Fire, otherwise known as Derrick Ward, followed the money down south to Tampa Bay after literally running himself out of the Giants' price range.

Ward rushed for over 1,000 yards last season, thus making him a reasonably hot commodity for those NFL teams looking for a potential starting running back.

So, the Giants were left with Earth and Wind—only Earth and Wind have looked more like two clunkers the Giants are now stuck with, being that the window for the cash for clunkers program has closed.

In fairness, Jacobs and Bradshaw haven’t had much room to run this season.

For two weeks now, it has appeared that the Giants’ offensive line is referring to one playbook while Jacobs and Bradshaw are referring to another.

Jacobs and Bradshaw have constantly been on the lookout for holes that simply don’t exist.

The offensive line has done an excellent job protecting Manning and his $106.9 million arm. However, they are having a very difficult time moving defenders off the ball.

So far, the Giants’ ineffective running game, particularly in the red zone, has been largely overshadowed by the team’s 2-0 start.

However, there’s only so long any team can survive without a running game.

No matter how well Manning is playing right now, unless the Giants can start moving the ball on the ground, the offense is eventually going to struggle, and losses are likely to follow.