Brandon "The Beast" Jacobs takes home honor

Much has been made of the departure of former New York Giants' all-world RB Tiki Barber. From the announcement of Tiki's retirement plans midway through the 2006 season, through the offseason, and continuing into the present 2007 season, the critics have claimed that Giants would be unable to replace their loud-mouth retiree's production. Granted, Barber had a 4 year stretch in the NFL that few have been able to duplicate. He ended his career as 1 of 3 men(Marshall Faulk and Marcus Allen being the others)to gain 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards. During the 2006 season Barber accounted for over 60% of the Giants' total offense. To the casual observer and even to many "experts," the Giants were about to undergo a long, difficult year. But after a shaky start, the 6-2 Giants are one of the major contenders in the NFC, and boast the 7th ranked rushing offense in the NFL despite the absence of Barber... but how?



The reason is quite simple. The Giants have simply consistently fed the ball to their 6'-4" 264 lb. monster of a RB, Brandon Jacobs. Jacobs has had to deal with his own share of doubters and haters coming into the season. Common critiques included: "He's just a battering ram, he has no ability." "He's never carried the load before." "He looks for contact, and thus he's going to be injury prone." I personally believed that Brandon Jacobs was going to be a star in this league. He posesses physical capabilities that nobody else in the NFL has. He is not simply a "battering ram," but in addition to his size, also demonstrates quick feet, an ability to make cut-backs, and a timed speed of 4.4 in the 40 yd dash. But while my hopes were high entering the season, Jacobs was in fact injured on one of his first carries from scrimmage in week 1 against the Cowboys. Perhaps the whispers that he was too injury prone to carry the load were true.



I for one refused to believe that. Jacobs missed the next 3 games after the Dallas game, but then returned to the lineup for the the Giants' week 5 showdown with the New York Jets on October 7th. Jacobs led the way offensively for the G-men, running for 100 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. The following week against Atlanta, Jacobs only carried the ball 13 times largely due to a pass-heavy gameplan, but still gained 86 yards with a 6.6 yards per carry average. The next week against San Francisco, Jacobs again cracked the 100 yard barrier with 107 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. The Beast also added 3 receptions in this contest.

This past week, in a game (or match as the British call it) against the Dolphins played across the pond in London's Wembley Stadium, Jacobs true value to the team was unveiled. The weather was brutal- cold with scattered downpours throughout the game. The Wembley Stadium pitch (that's what the Brits call a field) may as well have been a swamp. A field typically used by 160 lb. soccer players, built in a stadium where the roof is closed half the time, simply could not handle the weather and the mammoth men which occupied it. In such conditions, a passing attack is rarely evident. In a game where QB Eli Manning only threw for 59 yards, the Giants were still able to pick up 19 first downs thanks to 13 from the running game. Brandon Jacobs simply put the team on his back this past Sunday in London, running for a career high 131 yards on 23 carries.

Over the past month, Jacobs has transformed the Giants into a power-running team. The early season offense was built on a pass-first approach, which included a lot of Eli to Plaxico. The running game consisted of draws and delays to Derrick Ward, which are typical running plays in a pass-heavy offense. The Beast has reconfigured the entire Giants offensive gameplan. And why not? How can you ignore the figures? In 4 games in October, Jacobs ran for 424 yards on 74 carries with 2 touchdowns, yielding a dazzling 5.7 YPC. Today, Jacobs received the award for NFC Offensive Player of the Month for October. I expect many more honors to be thrown Brandon's way in the future. Ladies and Gentlemen, you heard it here first. A star has been born in this league. There will be a new elite back in the NFL for years to come, and he comes in a 6'-4" 264 lb. package of pure and utter beastliness.