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New York Giants’ Run Game A Big Question Mark For 2015

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By @Bigwoolf5

New York Giants, Andre Williams, Rashad Jennings

Brad Penner-USA Today Sports

If New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin had things his way, the Giants would play good defense and run the ball effectively every year. That was the key to the two teams Coughlin coached to Super Bowl victories. Unfortunately, over the past couple of years the Giants’ run game has been among the very worst in the league, and things don’t look great going into next season either.

I wrote recently that the Giants’ pass offense is going to be prolific in 2015, but in order for that to be the case, their running attack is going to have to be more formidable to open up the play-action and not become one dimensional. As we have seen in the past couple of seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, being one dimensional on offense doesn’t give your team a very high ceiling, even if your quarterback is Andrew Luck.

Going into the 2014 season it seemed as though the Giants had some nice depth at the running back position until former first-round pick David Wilson was forced to retire due to chronic neck issues. Even with Wilson’s retirement, the Giants still had Rashad Jennings, rookie Andre Williams and Peyton Hillis on their roster, but they were unable to get anything going on the ground all season.

All of the blame cannot be put on the running backs themselves, though; the offensive linemen deserve some of the blame. They were unable to open up holes consistently, but going into next season the line should have a different look.

John Jerry started all 16 games for the Giants last season, but he will likely not start one next season without injury. Geoff Schwartz was out for the vast majority of the season and should help open up holes for the backs. Weston Richburg will probably move to center, his natural position, with a year of experience under his belt which should help him improve. Re-shuffling the offensive line is a likelihood for next season and that should help the running game.

But regardless of the line, the running backs are also question marks. Williams led the team in rushing yards last season, but he looked like a rookie most of the season. He looks like a back with the potential to be a useful runner in the league, but he is raw and still needs more time in the NFL to reach that potential. Williams doesn’t seem like he will be ready to start when next year begins.

Jennings was brought in to be the starter for the duration of his four-year contract, but in the first year of said contract, he battled injuries. He will be 31 when next season starts, so that has to concern the Giants. It can be argued that the Giants don’t have a starting running back on the roster right now, and that may hinder their potential for the 2015 season.

The Giants have a ton of weapons on offense, and their passing game could be fun to watch next season; but the reality is that won’t matter if they can’t run the ball well. Balance is essential in the NFL, and with all of the question marks the Giants have in their run blocking and their backfield, it is hard to see them as a successful running team going into next year with the roster as is.

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