New York Giants: Brandon Jacobs Is Finally In His Proper Roll

Brandon Jacobs is angry that he will not begin the 2010 season as the Giants’ No. 1 running back, and who could blame him?

Jacobs has been the Giants’ go-to guy for the past few years and now he’s being replaced in that role by Ahmad Bradshaw.

Earlier in the week Jacobs angrily stormed away from reporters after being continuously grilled about his thoughts on being demoted.

No one likes to be demoted and no one likes to see their job in jeopardy.

So, Jacobs’ displeasure at being demoted to the Giants’ No. 2 back this week should come as no surprise to anyone.  

What’s surprising, however, is that it’s taken the Giants this long to realize that Jacobs is not the right guy to carry the load in the backfield.

Despite every attempt to turn Jacobs into an all-purpose, explosive back, he is not, and has never been that guy.

Jacobs is a bruiser that can be counted on to gain a few yards on third and two or second and three.

But handing Jacobs the ball on first and 10 or second and eight is an absolutely pointless exercise that the Giants have attempted for three consecutive seasons now.

Bradshaw may not be the next coming of Walter Payton, but he has the potential to be a lot more explosive than Jacobs.

Bradshaw is at least a threat to break away for a 30-yard run while Jacobs is lucky to gain 10 before being run down by linebackers or quick defensive backs.

One of the biggest problems the Giants had on the offensive side last year was that opposing defenses were able to focus all of their attention on stopping the Giants’ passing game.

The defensive strategy was obvious—give up a three yard run to Jacobs in exchange for shutting down the risk of Manning unleashing a 50-yard touchdown pass.  

The Giants simply didn’t possess any kind of threat with their running game last year, thus it was not something opposing defenses really needed to worry about.

Is it surprising that Jacobs is an extremely angry man right now?

Absolutely not.

The only surprising aspect of this whole ordeal is that it’s only taking place this week.

It’s something that should have taken place years ago and been all but forgotten about at this point.

Jacobs may not be happy about it, but he’s finally the role that he should have been in all along, and the Giants’ offense will be a lot better for it.