NFL

Andre sees bright future as RB with Giants

The best is yet to come.

While Andre Brown has performed exceptionally well in the four games he has played for the Giants since returning from a broken left fibula, the fifth-year running back expects to see even more improvement.

“I still feel like I’m just scratching the surface of what my potential can be, and that comes with more playing time, more experience, more games,” he said after practice on Friday as Big Blue prepared to fly west and face the Chargers on Sunday. “I look at it, I’m still young because I haven’t been playing that many years. [My] first year [playing] was last year, but this is my fifth if you look at it in the league.”

“When you get your opportunity, you take advantage of it. When I’m healthy, I feel like I’m up there with the best of them. I’m going to continue to go, week after week.”

Brown, 26, a fourth round pick of the Giants in 2009, began the season on injured reserve after suffering his second broken leg in as many years in the team’s preseason finale against the Packers. He enters the home stretch of the season as the Giants’ feature back, the sixth back they have used this year, and possibly the team’s future tailback, too.

To say it has been a strange year for Brown would be an understatement.

Brown has given Big Blue a huge boost since his return Nov. 10, running for 343 yards on 83 carries, which equates to 4.1 per carry, and scoring three touchdowns.

It’s no coincidence the Giants have won three of the four games he has played, and even in the lone loss, to the Cowboys, Brown ran for a career-high 127 yards.

“My confidence is really rising because each week I’m going out there I’m getting better, I’m showing improvement, I’m gaining confidence in my body,” he said. “Or I’m out there not thinking, running good routes, picking up pass protecting, being an all-around good back, and that’s what I plan on doing.”

Brown has proven to be a more than adequate runner, mixing speed and power, a capable receiver out of the backfield and a quality blocker. In the eight games before he returned from injury, the Giants averaged 17.6 points. In the four games since, they have averaged 21.5.

Yet Brown is far from satisfied.

“I feel like I can always go out there and play better than what I’m doing,” Brown said. “You always can run the ball better, you always can pass protect better. … I had a couple of drops this year I wish I had back. My goal is to continue to improve every week and continue to show I’m capable doing the job.”

His emergence, combined with second-year back David Wilson’s fumbling problems and neck injury, likely puts Brown in the driver’s seat to be the Giants’ every-down back next season. For now, however, he’s focused on the present, continuing to be productive as he hopes to lead the Giants to a strong finish and put himself in a good spot next season.

“Most important thing, I just have to show them my endurance, my durability,” he said. “As long as I stay healthy, I feel like everything else will fall into place. I just take it one game at a time. Come out healthy, that’s all I want.”