New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs will be uphill battle for Cleveland Browns
If they don't improve a lick over the next 12 games, the Browns' 22nd-ranked defense against the run would be their best standing in their expansion era.
Residing near the bottom third of league is no reason to brag, of course. But when you've been 27th, 29th and 30th in the preceding three years, 22nd is rare air.
Residing near the bottom third of league is no reason to brag, of course. But when you've been 27th, 29th and 30th in the preceding three years, 22nd is rare air.
The addition of linemen Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers was supposed to have a domino effect on the defense, particularly against the run.
"To a degree, it's happened,"
coach Romeo Crennel said. "We have seen what impact Shaun can have on an offense. They have to double-team him, he makes tackles in the backfield. I think the inside linebackers have benefited from what he's able to do."
"Run defense is not just one person, it's several guys. But I think overall our run defense has improved. The numbers say what they say, but they're better than what they were last year, and I think the guys are more confident in playing run defense."
The New York Giants now stampede into this story.
And stampede is what they do.
The Giants are first in the NFL in rushing - by a mile. Their team average, which includes quarterback kneel-downs and such, is 5.8 yards a rush. Their true average is 6.1. That's the combined mark of a three-man rotation of Brandon Jacobs (5.8), Derrick Ward (6.6) and Ahmad Bradshaw (6.6).
"I've never known a team that had all their backs average over 6 yards a carry,"
said defensive lineman Shaun Smith. "That says a lot about their offensive linemen and their backs."
Jacobs is the meal ticket. At 6-4 and 264 pounds, he is a load who runs through arm tackles and seldom is brought down by one man.
"He's an offensive lineman with speed,"
Crennel said. "And they don't just run him inside. He has a burst. He runs outside and that stretches the defense. [But] when he goes downhill, he's hard to stop."
Jacobs had 1,009 yards last season despite missing five games and most of a sixth with knee and hamstring injuries. The Giants seek to keep him fresh by interspersing Ward, a 5-11, 228-pound slasher, and Bradshaw, a 5-9, 198-pound speedster.
"They're very basic,"
said Browns linebacker Andra Davis. "They do what they do and you have to stop them. Seattle gave them a lot of plays, much like the game when we played them. They didn't physically manhandle us. They do what they do so well. They're very disciplined."
Jacobs makes the running machine go. The one time this year Jacobs struggled, so did the Giants' offense. He was held to 35 yards on 14 carries by, of all teams, Cincinnati. The Bengals were unusually physical on defense that day and took the Giants to overtime before losing, 26-23.
"His whole thing is, if you let him come out and get a 7- or 8-yard run, get his confidence level up high, then he can be effective,"
said Browns defensive lineman Corey Williams. "But if we can come out and hit him in the mouth from the jump, he tends to slow down and do some tiptoeing. You've got to swarm him, swarm to the ball."
Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said, "Big guys like that, you have to get him going lateral. If he has a full head of steam going downhill, he's going to get 3 or 4 yards. If we can allow him to redirect, or someone just stop his initial movement, we'll win that battle, because he's a big guy. He's not as shifty. He's a north-south type of guy."
Jacobs was not a factor for the Giants when they ran up a 30-3 lead into the second quarter in the Aug. 18 preseason game at East Rutherford, N.J. That Monday Night Massacre set the Browns on a descent from which they have not recovered.
On that night, Jacobs ran for 4, 3 and 6 yards on his first three attempts. On his fourth carry, Jackson stopped him for no gain and forced a fumble, which the Giants recovered. After the play, Davis drew an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for what referee Walt Coleman described as "swinging and missing"
at Jacobs.
Davis said on Wednesday he was retaliating for Jacobs going after safety Sean Jones a few plays earlier.
"He threw Sean Jones down when Sean was running to the ball,"
Davis said. "It was an out route and Sean was running to the ball and he came behind Sean and just flung him down. It was an illegal block. At that point, everybody got frustrated and it was like our whole challenge was to go after him, which was the wrong thing to do."
With the game out of hand, Jacobs was pulled after seven carries for 24 yards. As a team, the Giants totaled 201 yards rushing.
For the Browns, Rogers sat out the game with sore knees.
