It seems that the
Brandon Jacobs saga continues to unfold. Since Dan Benton posted the original news that Jacobs' injury would not impact his game time, reports are surfacing all over the place indicating that the Giants Mack Truck RB will likely sit out this week's game against Arizona.
It is true that the MRI came back showing that there was no structural damage in Jacobs' knee, however, according to #27, he may take a seat against the Cardinals just to be on the safe side. Jacobs shared:
"We have a stable of horses lined up and ready to go. So I could play if I wanted to and I needed to, but I don’t know if they’ll let me.”
Perhaps this is the best time for Jacobs to take this break, however. The Cardinals have been doing well, but their defense is not one of the more elite in the league and with Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw waiting to carry the load, the Giants could run an interesting experiment.
Not too long ago I reported a rumor that the New York Giants organization was going to be faced with two, big free agents after this off-season. Derrick Ward and Brandon Jacobs will both come to the end of their contracts with Big Blue and Jerry Reese will be forced to make a tough decision. Keep Jacobs and drop Ward? Keep Ward and drop Jacobs? Keep both and trim some fat elsewhere?
Odds are that the final decision will be one of the first two...essentially, Giants fans will probably be saying goodbye to Jacobs or Ward after the 2008 season. As sad as it is, the Giants have a powerful and extremely capable Ahmad Bradshaw just waiting to get his shot as a 40% (more or less) RB.
This weekened's matchup against the Cardinals will give the Ward/Bradshaw duo a shot at demonstrating why they should be the tandem for next year. While Ward is a terrific RB who did carry the Giants for a few games last year and Bradshaw can certainly do the job, I do not think the Giants will be letting go of Jacobs any time soon. He's a RB phenomenon that defense's fear, runs through defenders without any trouble, is younger than Ward and quite simply is the Giants feature back.
If I had my wish, I would hang on to all three. I am of the mind-set that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The trio of Jacobs, Ward and Bradshaw (aka...Earth, Wind and Fire) has been working for going on two years now. While it would be great to work Bradshaw in a bit more, the current scheme is the ultimate knockout punch against almost any defense. Even the ESPN "experts" have been calling the Giants (who usually are subject to ridiculous ridicule) "the most complete team in the NFL." I believe this is largely due to the knockout combo that the Big Blue Running Crew brings to the field each week. Jacobs wears them out, Ward gets them winded and Bradshaw comes in for the knockout.
The fact is that Brandon Jacobs will probably ride the pine this weekend. If he is in any danger, it is not worth it to put him in a position where one of the most lethal RBs in the NFL could end up out for the final games of the season and potentially the post-season. Additionally, this will allow the Giants organization some time to see where they stand with Ward and Bradshaw in charge...where they stand without a Mack truck paving the way for them. In all reality, this may be Ward's last chance to prove his case that he is the RB the Giants need to pay up the big bucks for this off-season.
As I said, I want to keep all three of them...but then again, perhaps that's why I don't get paid the bucks. I just hope the Giants bring the same pain to the Cardinals that they would have if Jacobs were in the game. Time will tell...