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Should The Giants Re-Sign Brandon Jacobs?
By Anthony
October 7, 2008 12:00 pm
This is the main question that is going to bug Jerry Reese from now until the off-season. That means that I’ve been thinking about since his career game on sunday. We’ll break this down nice and simple by listing the pros and cons of each path of action.
Pros:
- You won’t find another back like Jacobs anywhere else.
The man we affectionately refer to as tha Juggernaut is truly completely unique. At 6′4, 264lbs, he’s the biggest runner in the league. Hell, he’s bigger than most linebackers. However, he’s not just a big guy who is good for short yardage. His speed is what makes him elite. He’s no Usain Bolt, but he is fast enough to get to the edge and turn the corner. Once he gets going, there is no linebacker, corner or safety in the league that wants to see Tha Juggernaut coming at him.
- He Gives the Giants Offense an Identity
While Eli Manning is the most important cog in the Giants offensive machine, I would argue that Jacobs is currently second. He may not be more talented than Burress, but he does make the Giants offense work. When you can run a punishing guy like him 20 times a game, it opens up the whole offense. It tires out the defense in addition to making them put an eighth defender in the box and opens up the passing game. Considering how often the Giants play action, they would be lost without a power running game.
- They don’t have anyone else to re-sign
Well, Almost. Here’s the list of free agents from KFFL.com
Pos Player Name FA Status Previous Team Current Team
QB Anthony Wright UFA New York Giants Free Agent
RB Brandon Jacobs UFA New York Giants Free Agent
RB Danny Ware RFA New York Giants Free Agent
WR Amani Toomer UFA New York Giants Free Agent
C Grey Ruegamer UFA New York Giants Free Agent
CB Kevin Dockery RFA New York Giants Free Agent
CB R.W. McQuarters UFA New York Giants Free Agent
Assuming that Toomer, Dockery and Ruegamer are re-signed to small to medium sized deals and Danny Ware isn’t signed to an offer sheet by anyone else, that would leave a lot of room to wiggle with the cap. Oh, and if they re-sign McQuarters I’ll actually kill myself.
Negatives:
- Running Backs are the most replaceable members of a team
Every year, some one gives their star runner a huge contract and ends up regretting it because guys like Tim Hightower and Matt Forte end up being big contributors to their teams. This year it was former New York Giant Ryan Grant receiving a 4 year, 20 million dollar deal from the Packers. Now, he splits carries with Brandon Jackson and has struggled through most of the beginning of the season.
Jacobs himself was drafted in the fourth round out of Southern Illinois. This year, there is a senior runner out of Liberty name Rashad Jennings who is seventh on Scott Wright’s (He’s awesome, if you didn’t know) list of senior runners. He could probably be had in the fourth round.
- The Giants are super deep at the position.
Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw or Earth, Wind and Fire as people have begun to affectionately call them form the best running back combination in the league. Ward is currently on a one year deal and will be a free agent at the same time as Jacobs, but will likely come back at a much cheaper price. Bradshaw is stuck running with the third team right now, and is being used mostly in the fourth quarter as a “breakaway threat.” The theory is that with defenses being so tired from stopping Ward and Jacobs that they can’t stop the speedy Bradshaw. I’ve said before that I think that this an a ludicrous underuse of a talented back. Even if the Giants were to lose both Ward and Jacobs, they could be ok with Bradshaw, Danny Ware (who as productive in the preseason) and a mid-round draft pick.
- The Giants O-Line Breeds Running Backs
The best in the league always do. That’s the thing: Why pay a guy 20 million when the five guys in front of him are really the people who make him?
- Jacobs isn’t Perfect
The truth is that his complete lack of receiving skills keep him out of the top level of running backs. Seeing that he is going to want Money similar to Grant, or even worse a guy like Steven Jackson (4 years, 46 million.) That Money could be better spent elsewhere. Just because the Giants don’t have many players to re-sign doesn’t mean that they can’t improve their team. They could still use a playmaking outside linebacker as well as a strong safety to replace James Butler.
Topics: NFL, New York Giants |