New York Giants: Throw it over the brick wall
The New York Giants running game needs to be better this season. There really isn’t denying it because no team can truly afford to abandon the running game. That being said the Giants shouldn’t be determined into the brick wall. When you have the Seattle Seahawks running back and offensive line you can force the issue. When you have the Giants crew, you have to be a little more creative.
Related: Breaking Down Ben McAdoo And The West Coast Offense
The whole point of the West Coast offense boils down to taking what the defense gives you. Ben McAdoo is a methodical offensive coordinator, everything he does has a purpose. One thing McAdoo needs to do this season is get all the advantages of having a thriving rushing attack through their short passing game.
The whole point of the rushing attack is to pick up a few yards, while keeping the defense honest and taking some pressure off of the quarterback. Eli Manning doesn’t need to hand the football off to Rashad Jennings or Shane Vereen to accomplish this.
With short high percentage passing pays you nickel and dime teams down the field. You negate the pass rush because the ball comes out of the quarterback’s hand so quickly. Blitzing players that don’t get to the passer are just wasted defenders and vacated windows in which to quickly make a completion. While a running game is a quarterback’s best friend, the short passing game will not only make Manning’s life easier but it will give him a rhythm… and once he has that he’s awfully hard to stop.
If the defense wants to take the short pass away, that’s even better. If you want to press Odell Beckham Jr. he is going to burn you. If you want to bracket Larry Donnell, Vereen will be wide open in the flat. If you bite on the short routes, McAdoo will dial up a sluggo or a hitch and go and Rueben Randle is off to the races.
The Giants cannot abandon the running game but they also cannot force themselves to run into a brick wall. The Giants have to use the short passing game to throw it over the brick wall that the Giants running game faced all of last season.
Next: Shane Vereen has a big advantage with the New York Giants