On Running Backs & Short Yardage.

A running back that has a gift for picking up short yardage is very useful. And hopefully, that same back can also offer more. Very often such RB’s are big and powerful. But from that truism two assumptions are often made that aren’t necessarily true:

A. That all big powerful RB’s are good at making short yardage, and –

B. That average size backs cannot be.

Examples of the former can be found in recent Giant history. Ron Dayne wasn’t a particularly good short yardage back. (Yeah, I guess I could have left out the short yardage.) But he was a big and powerful man. Our beloved Brandon Jacobs was hired to convert short yardage, and through enormous effort, since he was a VERY big and powerful man, he did OK for his first couple of seasons, but it was obviously not something that came naturally.

Point B is made eloquently by our own Ahmad Bradshaw. A truly fine RB, but certainly not as big or powerful as Brandon. Yet for much of their latter time on the same squad, Ahmad was getting the short yardage touches that Brandon had gotten previously.

All this comes to mind as a go through video of various RB prospects. I think the NY Giants need to upgrade their short yardage RB capability (Queue the “Fix the OL 1st folks!) irrespective of whatever RB talent there is now (I really like Perkins!) and what they do to fix the OL.

And as I look at prospects, I first check the usual suspects, the big, powerful guys. And what I find is that those most obvious, may not be, IMO, particularly good short yardage RB’s. I see things in each that are obviously going to be a problem with this in the NFL, or at least probably will.

So then I look at some other RB’s. Guys who aren’t as big, and don’t necessarily have a reputation for power. And what do I find, but a few all-purpose RB’s, who are also big ENOUGH, hard-nosed and seem to have a knack for getting the tough short ones, along with other RB skills. And they're likely mid to late round guys.

More later.