The New York Giants’ offense is built upon a run game that has helped them to a 3-1 start by grinding out first downs and controlling the clock.
A closer look at the numbers, though, shows that the Giants have not actually run the ball well. They have simply run the ball a lot. And ground the play clock down to the nub as much as they can.
Through four games, the Giants have run the ball 49.17% of the time, sixth-most in the NFL. They are fifth in the league with 29.8 rushing attempts per game. They are second
in the NFL in time of possession at 32:41 per game. They are also second in the NFL in seconds used per play at 32.4.
The Giants, though, are 23rd in the league at 3.7 yards per rush. The Giants’ rushing Expected Points Added (EPA) is -15.6, 26th, per NextGenStats. Their 37.8% success rate is 22nd. The Giants are at -45 in rushing yards over expected, 26th in the league. The Giants have eight runs of 10 yards or more. Only five teams have fewer.
Over their last three games, without Jaxson Dart’s ability to energize the offense with his running ability, the Giants’ average of 3.4 yards per carry is 28th.
The Giants have just one run of more than 20 yards, a 22-yard run by Dart. Their second-longest run? A 15-yard scramble by Jameis Winston. The longest run they have from a running back is a 13-yarder from Cam Skattebo.
Head coach John Harbaugh was blunt on Wednesday when I asked him about the state of the running game.
“We’re just not good enough yet,” Harbaugh said. “Defenses are playing us pretty well. As we get better, we’ll probably have more longer runs. Also, if we make them pay a little more with play action, I think that’ll loosen them up a little bit, probably. But we just got to keep getting better. I think the guys are working hard at it. We’re playing very hard. We’re trying to play very physically. So, all the elements are there. We just have to get better, keep getting better.”
How can the Giants get better?
It is fair to ask how much more explosive the Giants can get running the ball with the personnel they have in the backfield.
Skattebo is a bulldozer with 4.65 40-yard dash speed, slow for a running back. In 169 rushing attempts over two seasons, he has one run of 20 yards or more, a 24-yarder. Still, he did average 4.1 yards per carry last season and 50.5% of his runs were considered successful. Those numbers through four games this year are 3.5 yards and 44.1%.
Najee Harris had 1,000-yard rushing seasons in each of his first four seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he has just 4.57-second 40-yard dash speed and a 3.9 yards-per-carry average for his career. In 1,134 carries, his longest run is 37 yards.
Perhaps more rushing opportunities for Tyrone Tracy could be part of the solution. Tracy has just four carries for 16 yards this season. In 372 career rushing attempts, Tracy has nine runs of 20 yards or more.
Mostly, though, the Giants are going to have to get better at executing their run game. Fullback Patrick Ricard, a central figure in run games with Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens since 2017, knows what Harbaugh is talking about when he says the Giants are “not good enough” in their run game.
“I think he’s talking about how we can fit it up as an offense better in terms of how to execute the run play. It’s not the scheme. It’s not the coaching,” Ricard said. “I feel like it’s just us executing the play correctly with the fronts. Like ID’ing it correctly. All of us being on the same page in terms of who we’re going to [block]. And then just applying our techniques and letting it go.”
Ricard said one mistake in a “very detailed” running attack designed by senior offensive assistant Greg Roman can impact the success of a play.
“We’ve had instances where maybe the tackle/guard on the play side went to the wrong guy. And if they went to the right guy, then the play would have had more yards,” Ricard said. “Or, it’s like one person didn’t hear the play call correctly. Because we have a lot of check-with-me’s. Maybe one guy didn’t hear it correctly.
“So it’s just communication with all of us being on the same page. It’s like those growing pains you have when you have a bunch of new coaches. A new offense. A running game that’s very detailed with Greg Roman.”
Ricard said he sees it as “growing pains of just learning together.”
“If you’re having 5 yards, 4 yards of carry, I think that’s a pretty good run game,” Ricard said. “But we’re striving for explosive runs. So if you’re not having those explosive runs, it’s just going to be you can’t have negative plays.
“But we’re striving; we’re working every day at trying to all play together to where we can get those explosive plays.”
Let’s see if they can get it figured out by Sunday against the Washington Commanders.
