Last Sunday was hopefully the beginning of the coming-out party for Arizona Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love.
In the 36-30 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Love rushed 21 times for 90 yards (4.3 average) and caught five passes for 19 yards (3.8 average) and a touchdown.
In a season that started slowly for him thanks to a high-ankle sprain suffered in the Aug. 13 preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Love has totaled 160 yards rushing on 41 attempts (3.9 average) and one touchdown. He has 10 receptions for 44 yards.
The thing most everyone is awaiting is an explosive play, which appears on the verge of happening. Love’s long run is 18 and it was eight against the 49ers. His longest pass play is nine yards.
The New York Giants are surely
aware of what Love is capable of. Head coach John Harbaugh was asked about Love twice this week in the run-up to Sunday’s game.
In the first, Harbaugh was asked what intrigued him about Love during preparation for the draft.
“That he was great,” Harbaugh said. “Hard to tackle. Fast. Tough. Had great hands. Could line up as a wide receiver. Good in pass protection. Impossible to tackle, it seemed like. We're going to have to really bring our tackling abilities. Not just him. They've got another back, No. 22 (Tyler Allgeier), who is really hard to tackle too.
“He's different. He's downhill, physical. They're running kind of what you saw with the Rams offense, is really what the Cardinals are doing, not surprisingly. And they've got backs who are like hitting it. Double-team offensive line. Play-actions off of that. We've got to do better than we did out in L.A.”
In their Week 2 loss (28-6), Rams running backs Kyren Williams rushed for 85 yards, averaging 7.1 yards on 12 attempts, and Blake Corum averaged 6.6 yards on 12 carries for 79 yards. They combined to rush for 164 yards on 24 carries. The long runs were 20 for Williams and 18 for Corum, accounting for 23.2 percent of their total yards.
Later in the week, Harbaugh was asked about the key to stopping Love, or at least containing him.
He said, “That's a great question in terms of the challenge of it all. Because it's not just him; it's their offense. He's obviously capable of house-calling it or making big runs at any time. He's running very aggressively and trying to make those plays. He's a bounce threat. He's a cutback threat. He can spin. He's strong. But not just him. I think their offensive line is very physical. Their blockers block. Their wide receivers insert, kind of like the Rams offense. They can put three tight ends out there at any time.
“It's going to be a challenge. And not just him. I mean, Allgeier is – we played him a couple times. This dude, he brings it. He's 230 pounds (listed at 225), twisted blue steel coming through there. Remember Don Nottingham (Colts 1971-73, Dolphins 1973-77)? Tyler's not exactly like that, but he is downhill and he is hard to tackle. So, a lot of respect for their run game.”
Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson also referenced the Rams when asked what stands out about the Cardinals offense.
“It's very similar to the Rams' offense,” Wilson said. “Obviously, (Mike) LaFleur has been around (Rams head coach) Sean McVay for a long time. It's the West Coast offense. The running backs are very good. Both backs are good; downhill runners. Love is a guy that can bounce the ball, but he has patience, can hit it up in the A and B gaps. I think he's a hell of a player. They have a very good receiving corps, and their tight end is one of the best tight ends in the National Football League.
“So, I have much respect for this team coming in here. I understand they're still trying to chase wins, just like we're trying to chase wins. Our big thing is being 1-0, and I'm sure they're trying to be 1-0. Right now, we're undefeated in our stadium, and it's our objective to go out there and try to be undefeated coming out of this game.”
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: New York Giants show love for Arizona Cardinals RB Jeremiyah Love
