Brandon Jacobs is putting up Ahmad Bradshaw-like numbers through the season's first five games. But luckily for the Giants, Ahmad Bradshaw has been putting up Brandon Jacobs-like numbers in those same five games.
In what appears to be a reversal of roles, the "Earth" portion of last season's "Earth, Wind and Fire" tandem that the G-Men created between Jacobs, Bradshaw and now-Buccaneer Derrick Ward has gone unnoticed in the Giants' run to a 5-0 record. And the problems with Jacobs are beginning to frustrate the supposed No. 1 running back.
"I expect more as well," Jacobs told The Brandon Tierney Show on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York. "I don’t know what it is. I’m going in, working hard, I’m working hard at practice. I go out in the game and give it my all, man. I’m just waiting for it all to come together, just trying to be patient and hang in there."
Through five games this season, Jacobs has rushed for 355 yards and just a single touchdown. Last season, he had 447 yards and four touchdowns through the Giants' first five games. Bradshaw has rushed for 25 more yards than Jacobs this season and has had just half the amount of carries.
"This year, people know what we like to do,"Jacobs told ESPN Radio. "And Ahmad is more … he can bounce around in those little creases and cracks and make a lot of big plays. Do I have the ability to do that? Yes. If I try to make plays like that, because I’m 265, 275 pounds, I’m not supposed to be doing that. Get it up there, hit into somebody, that’s what people want to see me do. If I don’t do it, I get criticized, if I do do it, I get criticized. I can’t win."
No one can complain about the Giants as of now, given their undefeated record and league-leading plus-80 point differential. But with the cupcake portion of their schedule coming to a conclusion and the Saints looming in Week 6, the Giants will need an outburst to remain on top.
