Let’s get the New York Giants a running back

Sure we’re only two weeks into the NFL season but it’s starting to look like the New York Giants are in for a rough season.

While New York’s defense has been average so far in terms of yards allowed, their offense has been a disaster. Like full blown, jump off the Titanic into the frozen water disaster. They currently rank 28th in the league in yards per game (251.5) and are above only the Bengals and 49ers in points per game (4.5, 6, 6.5 respectively). I would of course love to pin this on Eli Manning and forever shut up the “Eli Manning to Canton” talk, it hasn’t been entirely the quarterback’s fault—despite what Ben McAdoo might say.

It’s much harder to have an effective passing attack when your team can’t run the ball worth a darn.

The Giants are currently the worst team in football at running the football, mustering only 97 yards on the ground... THROUGH TWO GAMES! They are also bottom of the league in attempts per game (15), and before you jump to the conclusion that “of course they’re last in rushing yards because they just aren’t running the football”, the 49ers have only two more rushing attempts yet have 113 more yards on the ground. It is sooo much more than just an attempts thing.

Having just a decent running game would help the Giants’ offense on every level. It would help their offensive line who’s struggled to keep Manning up so far this season. It would help their passing game as teams would have to commit the occasional resources to stopping the run, meaning less safety help deep. It would mean pay action shots downfield would suddenly be a reliable playcall.

Since clearly the combo of Paul Perkins, Orleans Darkwa and Shane Vereen isn’t cutting it, I decided to look around the NFL and randomly speculate about which running backs could be on the trading block and if they’d make sense in New York.

Mark Ingram

Adrian Peterson is probably the name that’s on everyone’s lips as his time with the Saints has been about as awful as everyone except me expected. (Yea, I thought Peterson wasn’t done yet. Oops.) If the Saints do what they really should and release Peterson, then Ingram’s going nowhere. But if for whatever reason the Saints are like “let’s keep AP and ditch this Mark Ingram guy”, then the Giants should get in the phone booth and start negotiating harder than Stuart Shepherd.

Ingram has been one of the more underrated running backs of the last few years and is coming off his best season where he rushed for 1,043 yards and six touchdowns. He has power on the ground but also is a weapon in the passing attack, something that will neatly plug into New York’s pass happy offense.

DeMarco Murray

The running back renaissance is on and popping in the NFL and the Titans are the most recent team to be feeling it. Murray was the Titans workhorse last year but his 2017 season hasn’t been off to the greatest start. He’s rushing for 3.3 yards per carry and has already been bitten by the injury bug. This has made room for second year back Derrick Henry to shine. Henry has looked great through two weeks, tallying 117 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown.

Would the Titans look to move on from Murray? Doubtful. They love to run the football and their exoctic smashmouth offense works best with two productive backs. But if the Giants come calling, I could see the Titans willing to part with the veteran. It would make sense for New York as Murray would be an instant upgrade at the position.

Ready for a banger?...

LeSean McCoy

BOOM! BANGED!

Hear me out on this. The Bills are looking to take. That much is fact. Not only are the tanking, but they have also spent the offseason collecting every draft pick they can get their hands on. The only issue with their tanking plans is that their fellow AFC East member the Jets are tanking and are doing a much better job at it. Welp, imagine how many more picks they could add to their treasure trove and how much worse they’d be by trading LeSean McCoy?

It’s really a full proof plan.

New York would suddenly have a legit running threat, and one who can work without the greatest of offensive lines. Plus we all know what Shady can do in the passing game as a receiver. Will this happen? Almost certainly not. Would it be awesome? Oh yea. Who wouldn’t want to see an offense with Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall and LeSean McCoy all fighting one another for touches. That, my friends, is a recipe for success.

What do you think the Giants should do to address their running situation? Do you think Perkins is about to put together the greatest 14 stretch of football the NFL has ever seen? Let me know in the comments.