Brandon Jacobs Has MRI on Knee

Brandon Jacobs spent the first half of yesterday's game laying waste to the notion that it was impossible to attack the Ravens on the ground. He piled up 73 yards, scored twice and seemed a sure bet to snap the Baltimore streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher. Somewhere along the way, though, he dinged his knee and only carried twice in the second half before leaving the game for good.

After the game all seemed fine with Jacobs, he even took in the Knicks-Mavericks game last night, but today he went to the hospital for an MRI anyway. Tom Coughlin didn't sound overly concerned about the injury when he spoke with reporters at the Giants headquarters this afternoon. "Hopefully we can get this under control," Coughlin said. "Hopefully this isn't going to keep Brandon out at all.''

There isn't much reason for Coughlin to wring his hands, even if Jacobs does need to miss some time. The Giants could certainly survive without Jacobs. Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw would be starters on several other teams and are both capable of carrying the load in the running game.

One of the most impressive things about the Giants run this season is that they're doing it without, arguably, the two best defensive players from last year's team. That speaks to how good a job general manager Jerry Reese and his predecesor, Ernie Acorsi, have done in building the team's depth. On most teams losing Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora would be traumatic, the Giants have barely missed a beat. They can suspend Plaxico Burress and see no detriment to the passing game and lose Jacobs without hurting the run game.

The only places the Giants would be really vulnerable to injury are at quarterback and on the offensive line. Eli Manning has his shaky moments, but David Carr is shaky every moment. The line, which functions as a seamless steamroller, would probably suffer if they had to ingratiate a new member at this point in the season. At this point, though, it's hard to see any one player on this deep, talented roster as irreplaceable.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us