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Rashad Jennings’ Return Will Give New York Giants Huge Lift

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By @Bigwoolf5

Rashad Jennings. New York Giants

Brad Penner-USA Today Sports

Since Rashad Jennings went down with a knee injury in Week 5 against the Atlanta Falcons, the New York Giants have failed to win a game. This is definitely not a coincidence, so Jennings’ return is a huge deal for the Giants this week.

It is not a guarantee that Jennings returns this week, but all signs point to that being the case which will help the Giants and their offense a lot. As many Giants fans know Tom Coughlin is always fully committed to the running game regardless of how poorly it is performing, and that was very evident the past few weeks.

Rookie Andre Williams has filled in for Jennings and has not been very effective. This can be seen clearly in the difference between their yards per carry numbers. Williams has averaged 2.9 yards per carry on 114 carries while Jennings has averaged 4.4 yards on 91 carries.

This was to be expected of course, because Williams was a fourth=round pick this year and still has a lot of developing to do in order to become a solid NFL running back. He has a bright future once he learns to read defenses better and develops as a pass catcher, but right now he should not be an every down back.

With Jennings returning the Giants now have a reliable back to hand the ball off to which should lead to less third and long situations. Add Jennings to an improving passing game where Eli Manning is having a great year and Odell Beckham Jr. is emerging as a star, and the Giants have something cooking.

It may be too little too late for the Giants this season, but Jennings is also signed for the next three years, so these final seven games are important for the Giants’ future. Jennings has proven, albeit in a small sample size, that he can be a reliable every down back. If he can continue to do that when he comes back and for the next few years, it looks like the Giants’ offense has a few really solid pieces moving forward.

As for this year, Jennings will immediately provide a huge spark to the Giants, something they desperately need at this point in the season. The coaching staff should be very excited about Jennings coming back, because his presence may lead to some more wins and save quite a few jobs.

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