The New York Giants’ running backs have, over the past decade or so, periodically had nicknames. With Ron Dayne and Tiki Barber, it was “Thunder and Lightning.” In 2007, Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, and Ahmad Bradshaw provided “Earth, Wind, and Fire.”
A new nickname could be in the offing for Bradshaw and rookie first-rounder David Wilson. As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post explains it, the two-headed tailbacks could turn into an inside-and-outside combination.
Bradshaw would be the between-the-tackles pounder, and Wilson would be the guy who finds space beyondthe tackle box.
“What happened the other day was [Wilson] was able to get outside and in so doing helped a whole schematic approach to it,’’ coach Tom Coughlin said. “If we can get a guy to get outside, maybe that will give us some opportunities up inside and hopefully that’s the direction we’re going. We’ll have a better mixture as we get going in terms of the ability of going inside and outside.’’
Whether inside or outside or anywhere else, the Giants need to do something on the ground. In 2011, the Giants ranked dead last in the league, with an average of 89.2 yards per game.