Jacob is getting Frustrated

[NeMesiS]

Criticism beginning to annoy, frustrate Jacobs

 

Criticism beginning to annoy, frustrate Jacobs

 

What's expected of Brandon Jacobs is about as clear as what's expected of a wrecking ball. So when Jacobs tries to do more than just barrel into the line of scrimmage and push piles 4 or 5 yards at a clip, it can frustrate fans and onlookers. And that is beginning to frustrate Jacobs.

 

"I get the ball, I get in there, I'm supposed to run smack dead into somebody and I get criticized if I don't do that," Jacobs said Monday in an interview with Brandon Tierney on 1050 ESPN Radio.

 

"Right now, my stats aren't very good, and people want to know why. Well, that's why. I have the ability to make plays with my feet, but when I try to, it's the worst thing, I'm scum of the Earth when I do that. So I go ahead and do what I can do."

 

Jacobs has gained 355 yards on 100 carries this season and had 67 yards on 21 carries against the Raiders. That's on pace for his third straight 1,000-yard season, but his yards-per-carry average this season (3.6) is about a yard and a half shy of what he averaged the previous two.

 

"I'm just being patient and trying not to get frustrated," Jacobs said. "Frustration is very close up on me, I'm going to be honest."

 

He is being criticized by some for being patient and waiting for holes to open, but there are others who believe he isn't patient enough. And the comparisons with Ahmad Bradshaw (375 yards on 58 carries) certainly aren't helping with Jacobs' identity crisis.

 

"Ahmad is more, he can bounce around in those little creaks and cracks that he gets and make a lot of big plays," Jacobs said. "Do I have the ability to do that? Yes. But if I try to, I'm wrong. If I try to make plays like that, because I'm 265, 275 pounds, I'm not supposed to be doing that. Hit it up in there, go in and hit somebody, that's what people want to see me do. If I don't do it, I get criticized. If I do do it, I get criticized. I can't win."

 

[Lubeck]

When you try and make plays happen with your feet nothing happens. That is why people are pissed. They see holes you could be hitting hard and you don't. And personally I believe it is because he is afraid of getting injured. I think this new contract of his makes him actually try and stay healthy to justify it. And in doing so he is not playing in the same fashion that got him that contract.

 

All of that said the way Bradshaw has been playing only makes it worse for Jacobs. Bradshaw has an uncanny knack to be able to stop in place, throw his legs around not giving defenders any clue where he is planning on going, and then dart to an opening with tremendous speed.

 

Alternatively we see Jacobs get the ball and head for the line and as soon as he hesitates to let a hole open or find an opening he just doesn't have the acceleration needed for that role. Jacobs has always been a "Take the ball and attack the hole" runner. He has decent top end speed but horrible speed recovery once he has to stop.

[Iceman_NYG]

5-0 dude. Dont worry about. You are just one breakaway game from getting back to normal. Maybe its this week against the Saints.

[BlueInCanada]

When you try and make plays happen with your feet nothing happens. That is why people are pissed. They see holes you could be hitting hard and you don't. And personally I believe it is because he is afraid of getting injured. I think this new contract of his makes him actually try and stay healthy to justify it. And in doing so he is not playing in the same fashion that got him that contract.

 

All of that said the way Bradshaw has been playing only makes it worse for Jacobs. Bradshaw has an uncanny knack to be able to stop in place, throw his legs around not giving defenders any clue where he is planning on going, and then dart to an opening with tremendous speed.

 

Alternatively we see Jacobs get the ball and head for the line and as soon as he hesitates to let a hole open or find an opening he just doesn't have the acceleration needed for that role. Jacobs has always been a "Take the ball and attack the hole" runner. He has decent top end speed but horrible speed recovery once he has to stop.

 

You have to keep in mind as well is that Bradshaw is playing for a contract too, so hes running for the big money like Jacobs was years back. I'm not saying thats the only reason why Bradshaw is showing flashes, but it's probably one of them.

 

However I do agree Jacobs does look off this year and I believe it's just the injuries catching up to him. I said in previous threads that Jacobs only has one or maybe two years left before those knees/ankles/legs of his start to push back against all those hits he put on defenders. I knew then we would need to move him to the change of pace back and have another RB step in to carry the bulk of the carries. I mean Jacobs still makes the good hard runs and pushes defenders acouple yards forward from where they tried to tackle him but at the same time you notice that he isnt running with the same speed he used to. That was his best trait that a guy his size could go from zero to 40 in a few steps, now you see him being chased down by LBs/CBs and not having that momentum to break out of the tackles. I say give Jacobs till week eight of the season and see how it goes, maybe all this talk about changing RBs pisses him off and he starts running like before. I think we just have to realize that Jacobs is going to become our change of pace back/short yardage/3rd down RB if not this season, then maybe next.

[Ditto]

I think we just have to realize that Jacobs is going to become our change of pace back/short yardage/3rd down RB if not this season, then maybe next.

That's my main problem with him. It would be nice if he could get those 1, 2 or 3 yrds, but a Larry Csonka he's not.

[fringe]

Give it to the hot hand- that's what they did with Jacobs/Ward, that's what they'll do for Jacobs/Bradshaw.

It's nice to have these kind of problems.

[Sephiroth]

It's frustrating for ME to watch a 270-lb halfback run like a twelve-year-old schoolgirl.

 

WAY too tentative hitting the hole, and has failed to deliver the big hit this year.

 

If you wanna talk the talk, Brandon, you had best walk the walk.

[ksm7]

The dog has said all along that jacobs is overrated in the same way that people used to critique Terrell Davis - anyone can run behind those lines...etc...Jacobs was great when the line was blowing open holes. he has never been good at creating anything, and over the last 2-3 years he has been consistently unimpressive when it comes to short yardage...for all his gum flapping, size and suppossed power, the dog has always found him to be less than impressive, or at least less then what you would expect. this year is more obvious because the line play has been good, but not as dominate to date. once they start blowing open truck-sized holes, he will start running hard and attacking the 185 pound d-back again, and everyone can go back to ignoring his inability to create yardage as a back, inability to pick up a needed yard in no less than three attempts, and inability to play a season without a 4 game hiatus...if his mental state takes another small step back, he can qualify as the new shockey...

[Storm]

It's frustrating for ME to watch a 270-lb halfback run like a twelve-year-old schoolgirl.

 

WAY too tentative hitting the hole, and has failed to deliver the big hit this year.

 

If you wanna talk the talk, Brandon, you had best walk the walk.

 

Yah, that's my problem with this statement by Jacobs. Brandon, you do not possess the agility to be patient and wait for holes and then be able to go from stop to full speed. He obviously isn't a cutback runner and he's attempting to do just that. It's not his forte and we already have Ahmad to do that. I hate whenever they send Jacobs to the outside because he can't make it out of the backfield before he's getting hit.

 

I do, however, like how we run the ball with Bradshaw, we send him off tackle and allow him to cutback against overpursuit and go the opposite way of the blocking, which works because he's patient and does have that stop and go speed (not to mention some sick moves to make people miss once he does get going).

 

Bradshaw has been looking like Tiki....Jacobs has been looking like Dayne would have behind an excellent line. Mediocre.

[Storm]

The dog has said all along that jacobs is overrated in the same way that people used to critique Terrell Davis - anyone can run behind those lines...etc...Jacobs was great when the line was blowing open holes. he has never been good at creating anything, and over the last 2-3 years he has been consistently unimpressive when it comes to short yardage...for all his gum flapping, size and suppossed power, the dog has always found him to be less than impressive, or at least less then what you would expect. this year is more obvious because the line play has been good, but not as dominate to date. once they start blowing open truck-sized holes, he will start running hard and attacking the 185 pound d-back again, and everyone can go back to ignoring his inability to create yardage as a back, inability to pick up a needed yard in no less than three attempts, and inability to play a season without a 4 game hiatus...if his mental state takes another small step back, he can qualify as the new shockey...

 

Well said. Jacobs doesn't possess the ability to make things happen on his own...unless he's one on one in the open field against a 5'9 180 lb defensive back....and even then, he's going to bowl said D-back over, trip over him, and still get tackled anyway. Whereas Bradshaw could have just outrun the back.

[Mr. P]

“I don’t know what people keep talking about, ‘turn it around,’” Coughlin said. “I mean the guy had some outstanding runs the other day. He had the numbers in terms of rushes, (and) the usual number of power runs. I don’t think there’s anything for Brandon to be down on. I don’t know what the expectations are. He’s a power runner, and that’s what he does.

[Steitzenhaus]

I know they're only 5-0 and Bradshaw has been running great and picking up the slack but hey, people have to complain about something right? Jacobs certainly hasn't been running like I expected, but he has a great opportunity this week in a game where he will be needed to set the tone. It's imperative that the running game is firing on all cylinders to control the time of possession and keep Brees and company off the field.

[Martin]

From Jacobs point of view I guess he is seeing Bradshaw be a major force

something that he had been when the holes were bigger or when D's

were not putting 8 / 9 guys in the box. Bradshaw has the ability to find cracks,

run low with power and make awesome cuts. He is a more well rounded back.

 

Jacobs is still powerful once he gets through the line of scrimage and does wear

down the D. In fact the combination right now is excellent and aside from his ego

there are no problems that I can see. There will be times when the line will open up

holes that will let Jacobs do his thing. Other times he just falls foward for 3 yds when

being stopped at the line. If anything this may motivate him to really ramp up.

I see some intense running on his part this Sunday!

[mastershake]

I think a lot of this has to do with the playcalling.

 

Jacobs has decent speed, especially for his size, but it's definitely straight line speed. He gets in trouble when he tries to run laterally and when he tries to dance around the hole and juke defenders. He's best when the playcalling, even on a stretch play, has him making only ONE cut or purely running straight to the hole.

 

Someone else pointed out quite accurately that he can't stop and start well. I was watching him at the Oakland game, and he tried changing direction several times, it just wasn't working for him. He needs to get back to what he was doing in previous years which was that one cut or no cut, run straight and gather up a full head of steam.

[Sephiroth]

he has never been good at creating anything, and over the last 2-3 years he has been consistently unimpressive when it comes to short yardage...for all his gum flapping, size and suppossed power, the dog has always found him to be less than impressive, or at least less then what you would expect. this year is more obvious because the line play has been good, but not as dominate to date. once they start blowing open truck-sized holes, he will start running hard and attacking the 185 pound d-back again, and everyone can go back to ignoring his inability to create yardage as a back, inability to pick up a needed yard in no less than three attempts, and inability to play a season without a 4 game hiatus..

 

Jacobs has been an AWESOME short-yardage guy until this year.

 

He's also consistently "created yardage" when he runs over a back or LB, or drags them for five extra yards... umm... La Ron Landry? Brian Urlacher?

 

It's only recently he's been running like a chump. Let's keep it real... though I agree he's injury prone.

[fringe]

The dog has said all along that jacobs is overrated in the same way that people used to critique Terrell Davis - anyone can run behind those lines...etc...Jacobs was great when the line was blowing open holes. he has never been good at creating anything, and over the last 2-3 years he has been consistently unimpressive when it comes to short yardage...for all his gum flapping, size and suppossed power, the dog has always found him to be less than impressive, or at least less then what you would expect. this year is more obvious because the line play has been good, but not as dominate to date. once they start blowing open truck-sized holes, he will start running hard and attacking the 185 pound d-back again, and everyone can go back to ignoring his inability to create yardage as a back, inability to pick up a needed yard in no less than three attempts, and inability to play a season without a 4 game hiatus...if his mental state takes another small step back, he can qualify as the new shockey...

what agenda?

[Treehugger]

Bradshaw is 5'9" 198 lbs. Jacobs is 6'4" 264 lbs. Physics dictates they have two completely different running styles. You simply can't measure one against the other.

[Tempest]

There be no room on this thread for common sense Tree. They are busy ripping him.

 

Bradshaw is 5'9" 198 lbs. Jacobs is 6'4" 264 lbs. Physics dictates they have two completely different running styles. You simply can't measure one against the other.

[Storm]

There be no room on this thread for common sense Tree. They are busy ripping him.

 

Who is though??

 

I think most are just saying Jacobs is trying to be that patient back that only Ahmad can really pull off...which isn't comparing one to the other, it's simply saying Jacobs needs to get back to what he's doing best...whether he's changed his style to avoid injury, because of the playcalling, or because he's trying something different this year. He simply needs to get back to running straight ahead and pounding guys. He also needs to work on running less straight up.

[Tempest]

Don't concern yourself with yards when things are going right. Jacobs isn't frustrated with his production, just the criticism. There is nothing wrong with the playcalling, or we would be 0-5. Take the 5-0 and don't worry about the 3.6 until we have a problem. There are definitely other things to be concerned about.

[JackStroud]

The dog has said all along that jacobs is overrated in the same way that people used to critique Terrell Davis - anyone can run behind those lines...etc...Jacobs was great when the line was blowing open holes. he has never been good at creating anything, and over the last 2-3 years he has been consistently unimpressive when it comes to short yardage...for all his gum flapping, size and suppossed power, the dog has always found him to be less than impressive, or at least less then what you would expect. this year is more obvious because the line play has been good, but not as dominate to date. once they start blowing open truck-sized holes, he will start running hard and attacking the 185 pound d-back again, and everyone can go back to ignoring his inability to create yardage as a back, inability to pick up a needed yard in no less than three attempts, and inability to play a season without a 4 game hiatus...if his mental state takes another small step back, he can qualify as the new shockey...

 

I agree.....as a Rookie I was his biggest supporter....comparing his 6 yd averag to Jim Brown's 6.1 yd average.......boy does that ever look stupid now

 

something has gone from his game....he just is not hitting the hole with any impact........CBs are bringing him down

He used to run over those guys and leave cleat marks on their chests

Sad to see this

 

I'm looking for the return of Danny Ware.......but the dreadlocks guy is not chopped liver either

[NightFire]

Although clearly the Giants are doing well this thread is how Jacobs is definitely not hitting the hole like the fist of an angry god. Either he is hesitant due to injuries or a coach is playing with his mechanics. Either way it is nice to have a backup to Jacobs again play very well.

[Martin]

Saw and interview with Carl Banks and what was interesting was Carl's take on this.

 

Carl said that from his analysis he see's that because BJ is tall with a long stride he is

hitting the hole too soon. He goes on to say that he needs to wait a sec more for the play to

develop. When BJ hit the line sometimes its too fast and he must wait that slight pause.

 

Banks also comments on how the line is not blocking in the same fashion as last year in

combination with defense's stacking the box. He said nothing is wrong with BJ and that Tony Saragoosa's

comments were not true that his is running hard.

 

He also commented that with out BJ's pounding style Bradshaw would not be as effective.

[fringe]

Saw and interview with Carl Banks and what was interesting was Carl's take on this.

 

Carl said that from his analysis he see's that because BJ is tall with a long stride he is

hitting the hole too soon. He goes on to say that he needs to wait a sec more for the play to

develop. When BJ hit the line sometimes its too fast and he must wait that slight pause.

 

Banks also comments on how the line is not blocking in the same fashion as last year in

combination with defense's stacking the box. He said nothing is wrong with BJ and that Tony Saragoosa's

comments were not true that his is running hard.

 

He also commented that with out BJ's pounding style Bradshaw would not be as effective.

You start listening to Goose, you're cooked.