The running game — stopping it on defense and working it on offense — has been a problem for the Giants this year.
Head coach Tom Coughlin knows that sorting out the run is the key to earning a win over Tampa Bay on Sunday.
"We need to get the run game going," Coughlin told The New York Daily News. "Let's face it. We do. We need to run the ball and stop the run. That's what we do every week. So that's the challenge. The guys know the challenge. They know what it is."
The Buccaneers, who will try to earn their first win of the season against the 2-0 Giants, may be the perfect opponent to get the Giants' game back on the mark. But New York's defense has taken a number of big hits over the first two weeks of the young season. The Giants have already lost safety Kenny Phillips for the rest of 2009, and they will likely be without cornerbacks Aaron Ross and Kevin Dockery on Sunday, plus defensive end Justin Tuck and tackle Chris Canty.
So if the running game can help run some time off the clock and keep the ailing defense off the field, that would be helpful.
Last year, New York boasted the No. 1 rushing attack in the NFL, but the Giants have since lost one of the key components — Derrick Ward — to Tampa Bay. As a result, they have rushed for just 200 total yards in two games this year.
But not everyone is seeing a problem with the rush.
"Defenses are worried about our running game," quarterback Eli Manning told the Daily News. "It can be very explosive. That's why we probably had some success throwing the ball [the Giants boast the NFL's ffith-best passing game]. We're going to try to get the running game going, get that established."
And once the passing and rushing attacks get going at the same time — well, then things could get dangerous for the rest of the NFC East.
