I wrote about the Packers' running back, who used to be a Giants running back - sort of - for my newspaper column today.
What appeared to be a relatively minor transaction last Sept. 1 now could turn out to be the difference in Sunday's NFC Championship Game. I'm sure there will be some folks out there who think that Giants GM Jerry Reese should not have pulled the trigger on that trade, but my contention is that, given the circumstances, the deal made complete sense. Read the column to find out why in more detail.
Bottom line: Yes, Grant has powered the Packers' running game the second half of the season and into the playoffs. But the Giants' running game is completely sound, and even more balanced since Tiki Barber's retirement.
Had the Giants' running game been left in shambles, perhaps the Grant trade looks different in hindsight. But that's clearly not the case. Just the opposite, in fact.
Comments (2)
Nice story about Grant. He wears same number as Dorsey Levens and he runs smooth and hard, just like Levens. Grant gives the Packers explosiveness at the running back position. Hopefully he will hang on to the ball this Sunday.
It was a good move at the time, and I think it still is. Reese got a 6th round draft choice for an unproven RB coming off of being out of football because of injury. Grant played well in the preseason, but there were five RBs for four spots. BJ, Ward, and Droughns were all locks. The choice was between Grant and Bradshaw for that last spot. Bradshaw was the right choice because as we see now his speed and cutback ability perfecetly compliment BJ. Grant is more of a straight ahead, grind it out type runner.
Also let's not assume, Grant would have had the same success running for the Giants in a different system with a different Oline. Not to mention, opposing teams were game planning near exclusively to stop GB's passing attack.