Giants determined to fix issues plaguing dormant running game

Just because they wanted to do it and were determined to establish that this would be their identity did not make it so.What comes next, when the plan is not working, is what separates the good coaching staff from the very good coaching staff.Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.

“You got to be able to be flexible with the players, with your scheme, with the coaches,” Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said.“You can’t be stubborn.

That’s … one of our greatest strengths as coaches that I’ve noticed since I’ve gotten here is we got some coaches that really want to do what’s best for the players and for us.”There is a fine line between trying to make it work and plain-’ol-stubborn.It was no secret not long after John Harbaugh arrived that he wanted to put on the field a physically imposing team that on offense featured a power running game.

No pass-happy, shotgun-formation, empty-backfield emphasis for this group.What Harbaugh wants and what he is getting are not one and the same.Heading into Sunday’s game with the Saints, the ground game is not stuck in neutral, but it is plodding along in the right lane.The Giants are 16th in the NFL in rushing offense, averaging 109 yards per game.That is a misleading ranking, considering the Giants’ 147 rushing attempts is tied for the seventh-most in the league.

Their rushing average of 3.7 yards per attempt is tied for 25th.Their one rushing touchdown (from Cam Skattebo) is tied with the Steelers for fewest in the league.

Their one run of 20 or more yards puts the Giants tied for 29th.Their five rushing fumbles is tied for second-most in the NFL.“A little bit of a work in progress,” Nagy said.

“What we want to do is be able to look into why that is, and we think we have some answers.I’m not going to get into that publicly, but I do believe that we’re on our way into doing some things, and so that’ll be good.

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