Okay, so Bradshaw had some help from the other 44 players suited up, and the New York Giants beat the pulp out of the St. Louis Rams 41-13. (See last paragraph for more Ahmad.)
The Giants showed up for 4 quarters and kicked some a**. The Rams are a bad team but the Giants are a good one too. I do not care who you beat, when you win on the road it is a very nice win. The NFC East will be 6-2 after this weekend and both losses will be at the hands of other NFC East teams.
Justin Tuck is on a magic carpet ride to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl as long as he stays healthy.
The Giants had a Jerry Rice (Jan '87) moment when, early in Q1, Steven Jackson is about to score a TD but the turf stops him.
The Giants announced after the game that they released Plaxico Burress because of his personal foul for excessive celebration. Okay, that was a joke merely to point out that that 15 yarder was probably the only real blemish on an otherwise great team performance. The Giants dominated the Rams on both sides of the ball. Two FGs by the Rams at 54 yards masked the difference. We know it is a dome, but if either is missed the Giants have field position at the freaking 44 yard line. The Rams kept themselves in the game with those scores, and then needed another piece of freakiness when Phillips played great on turning himself around to bat away a bomb to Holt- only to see that the the ball deflected right into Holt's fallen body for a TD. Meanwhile, there was little the Giants did not do right today. Domenik Hixon was a beast. Plax and Amani were terrific. Was Smith touched on that play his YAC was called back? I thought he was not. Manning (outside of a few poor passes that may just as easily have been poor routes run) was solid. Webster and Ross were good. No, I do not like it when nickel Dockery hands off coverage to Butler, let me not watch that too often. Clark (nice play to set them back 3 yards for a 54 yarder which still made) and Pierce were effective. The defensive line was dominant, with Robbins and Tuck (who even Aikman admits, was being held the entire game) both collecting two sacks. Perhaps the only lineman who was having a tough day was Kiwi, who was playing on a gimpy ankle. (Wonder told me the Giants should bench him this past Friday, he was right as usual... that call was based on a belief the Rams were putrid and that the gmen would win without him. Looked like that was exactly what took place.) The offensive line protected Manning well for most of the game.
And then there is our friend #44. The guy plays for the last 10 minutes of the game, he gets 5 carries for 52 yards and 1 TD, 1 pass for 18 yards and 1 TD, hmmm 1/6th of the game, 70 yards 2 TDs. On the play where he runs for 31 yds and the score we are still waiting for Jacobs to get back to the line of scrimmage. Carl Banks: "shot out of a cannon... just another dimension to this running game." On the play where Bradshaw does the catch and run, this is precisely the open space playcalling which can make this guy a menace, because his scamper is textbook. This play ended the game, folks. And Ward and Jacobs are not able to score on that play. What about having this guy in on 3rd down? Now you have him out of the backfield, Smith, Toomer and Burress all who can move the sticks. Lethal. Kind of remarkable that this guy goes the first 110 minutes of regulation not even taking a snap. Will someone please tell me when this guy starts? Hey, Jacobs went 15 for 93 yards, and Ward went 8 for 58 yards. Both looked very good. But Bradshaw is still this team's best back.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Ahmad Bradshaw 14 Rams 13
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8 comments:
i posted last week that 44 has blazing speed and someone said its was quickness lol LIKE I SAID speed, i watch the game again on DVR and the think there are always 2-3 runs that 44 would of took to the house
that was me :-))
it just looks blazing compared to Ward and Jacobs! lol. yes, some of that is my stupid semantics, but we are in 110% agreement that he gets to the line of scrimmage and gets to the hole a lot faster. He has moves too, as his 31 yarder today was also a little juke on the safety inside and then out to get the extra separation needed for the left corner TD. Cannot teach that, either you have it or you don't.
wow, bradshaw did look fast. part of that was he was fresh and everyone else tired and beat up. i think it's a great strategy to have jacobs and ward pound the opponents defense and then drop bradshaw on them and watch him go bye-bye. but i also say use him earlier in the game. i would rather have hixon on kickoffs too. rbs already take enough hits.
Mr. 44 showed me a lot on and off the field today. His speed and natural field vision are undeniable. He gets to the LOS and explodes through the hole better than Jacobs and Ward. His TD catch out of the backfield reminded me of westbrook. He needs to take Ward's carries pronto. (Hixon should take bradshaws special team touches)
Also, his post-game interview was great! He attributed his success to TC, the o-line and his fellow running backs for setting him up in the 4th. Seemed very humble. As long as he keeps the ball off the ground he's a total stud.
When will Bradshaw start, you ask?
I think we have now found out what Coach Coughlin's plans are for our 3 headed running attack!
It is the "Earth, Wind and Fire" backfield.....
"Did you see the score?" said running back Derrick (Wind) Ward, who came up with the nickname. "As long as we keep getting those scores and those yards, there's no telling what we can do."
There was no stopping any of the elements Sunday, as the Giants' three-headed running back monster ran all over the St. Louis Rams for 203 yards in the 41-13 win. Brandon (Earth) Jacobs led the way with 15 carries for 93 yards. Ward contributed 58 yards on eight carries. And Ahmad (Fire) Bradshaw closed things out with five carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
"I'm very glad I've got those guys on my team," said defensive end Justin Tuck. "It's the best of all three worlds."
It was the perfect world for the Giants, just one week after Tom Coughlin had left Bradshaw out of the offense completely (and inadvertently). All summer long, Coughlin had been vague about how he would keep all three running backs happy. Clearly the plan is to ride Jacobs early, using the 6-4, 264-pounder to soften up the defense.
Once Jacobs had sufficiently battered the Rams, the smaller Ward was brought in during the second quarter to take advantage of a defense that was on its heels. By the time Bradshaw entered with 10:36 left in the fourth quarter, the Rams were too winded to handle the Giants' shiftiest back.
"I just feel the coaches will put me in at the correct time," he said. "I don't mind waiting for my opportunities."
None of them do, which is the beauty of the Giants' crowded backfield.
"I feel good about it," Jacobs said. "I feel so good about it. I knew it wasn't going to be a problem."
"We all know we can go out and contribute," Ward added. "But we don't play for ourselves. We play for our team."
It's mindboggling to me as well as other gmen diehards, how Coughlin and Gilbride continue to negate the talents of Bradshaw who is clearly OUR BEST ALL-AROUND BACK!! Why he isn't starting is mind-boggling. Hey listen, I love big Jacobs I really do, but next year I would use him as trade bait to move up towards the top of the draft and take Rey Maualuga as the incumbent for Pierce.
Also I'm so happy for Robbins, who is finally getting the credit he deserves playing at a high level. As I stated a few weeks ago, our interior d-line would more than step up with the loss of Osi. Now the 2 teams we played are average at best the the good things is I really believe Spags is still running a basic defense and won't pull out the heavy artillery unless needed. I love it
One more thing. Why so many deep balls to Toomer and not to Hixon or Moss??
the deep balls to Toomer are because defenses are playing him for his bread and butter shorter stuff, so an offense has to break tendency once in a while and mix it up.
Robbins was always good but he was inconsistent. So far he has been consistently excellent in the first two weeks.
Bradshaw looks like Dave Meggett and Joe Morris wrapped into one.
I swear when this tall guy leapt up to bring down the high pass, I thought it was Burress... and when it was Hixon I was #$%&*@ in my pants. Burress is going to stay healthy all season, because he knows he has Burress2 right on his heels and because that depth means we won't need it.
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