It's tough doing something like this. You see, I respect the hell out of Tom Herrera's writing and fantasy opinions. On the other hand, there is always room for a respectful disagreement. And I have one issue with Tom's running backs piece from last week. Just one. The rest I pretty much agree with. On Brandon Jacobs ("BJakes" from the title -- and I'm sure no one else calls him that), Tom stated:
There is such a thing as fantasy déjà vu. Last season, some were predicting 1,800 yards for "The Beast," and he wound up with 1,009 and missed five games. This year, people are flocking to hype Jacobs again, and it surely wouldn't be a surprise if he derailed and fell short of expectations. Watching a 264-pound running back plow into linebackers is fun to watch on Sunday ... until he goes down and spoils your squad. Both Bradshaw and Derrick Ward will be there again to change the pace.Count me among the people flocking to hype him. I loved him last year, and had it not been for an injury in week 1 the Giants never would have even tried the "change of pace."
But they learned things worked better that way, right?
Well, sorta.
Derrick Ward's big enough that the Giants could allow him to the be the lone back when Jacobs was hurt. A true mix was never realized until later in the season, when little Ahmed Bradshaw proved himself as the best compliment to the bruising Jacobs. Now Bradshaw is in trouble with the law, and you know how "lightly" (cough, cough) Commissioner Roger Goodell treats that business. If he's suspended for any amount of time, the Giants will not have the inside/outside options they'd like. That means Jacobs is the man, while Ward is the backup. Jacobs gets 25 touches to Ward's maybe 5 per game.
Even if Bradshaw avoids any type of suspension, Jacobs has the capability to explode. He'll be getting 20 touches a game in this case, including all the goal-line carries.
Look, he was never even healthy last season, and he still put up 1009 yards in 11 games with a 5.0 yards per carry average. He's huge and fast. If you prorate those stats alone over the course of 16 games you get a guy that runs for 1468 yards and scores 9 total TDs (he had 6). I'm expecting a TD rise -- to about 12 -- and that sounds about right for yardage.
Plus, it's the Christian Okoye factor. It's really cool to watch a dude bowl over opposing DLinemen or 'backers, and a bonus if he's on your fantasy team.
So, yeah, I heart BJakes.
You should, too.
