Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Giants are going to have to abandon the run this year. Many experts and analysts love to talk about how teams need to run the ball well to win, but it simply isn’t true. Just look at the past winners. The Baltimore Ravens ran the ball well, but none of the New York Giants in 2011, Green Bay Packers in 2010, or New Orleans Saints in 2009 could run the ball at all. In the old NFL it was necessary, but not anymore.
That is not to say running the ball is bad; many teams are built around a strong offensive line with a great running back.
Not the Giants. The Giants have no trustworthy running back as of now and will not find one in free agency. What they do have is a two time Super Bowl MVP quarterback, two Pro Bowl level receivers (Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz), a solid tight end in Brandon Myers, and a budding star at wide receiver in Rueben Randle. That screams pass the ball. Sunday night the Giants started the game running fairly often, but soon they realized they need to pass.
When they did great things happened. The Giants averaged ten yards per pass and less than four yards per run. With David Wilson’s ball carrying issues and Andre Brown out, the Giants need to lean on Eli Manning and the wide receivers to move the ball. That means over 70 percent of their plays need to be passes if they want to move the ball. Many teams aim for a 50-50 split and Coughlin has said he would like to do that, but with the Giants personnel there’s no choice but to just go deep.
Jay Cullen is a New York Giants writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him on Google.
