SPIN DOCTOR: D.J. Ware expects to continue his familiar role of being the Giants’ safety-valve option on third down. (AP)
ALBANY — When discussing the play of running back D.J. Ware in the Giants’ preseason opener last Friday, coach Tom Coughlin made note of “a couple of very, very nice decisions with the ball’’ and Ware “ran hard, ran powerful.’’ Coughlin, though, saved his most interesting observation for last.
“He has a very good attitude,’’ Coughlin said. “I kind of like what I see.’’
There’s a bit of a different air to Ware this summer, his sixth with the Giants. As usual, there are backs lined up in front of him but this time, one of them, David Wilson, is a first-round draft pick, a steep hill to climb over. One of these years, Ware is not going to be able to survive a training camp battle, but based on what he has put on display thus far, this is not the year.
“I have had guys who have been in front of me longer than me,’’ Ware said. “It’s kind of one of those things where you have to wait your turn. I feel like I have waited my turn and my turn is here.
“But at the same time, you have a first-round draft pick. I came in with the mind frame that it was going to be my year. Until they prove different, it’s going to be in my head.’’
In some ways, Ware is like the furniture, always there, rarely noticed. He’s entering his sixth season with the Giants, a rarity for a player who has never broken into the lineup and really hasn’t done a whole lot of anything other than finding a way to stick on the roster.
Last season was the most rushing attempts he has had in a season, a mere 46 for 163 yards. His greatest contribution was as a third-down back as a blocker and receiver out of the backfield, where he accumulated 27 of his 37 career catches.
It is that skill, plus a revamped attitude, that keeps Ware around. It might be a niche role, but it’s his alone.
“We feel he’s our best route runner out of the backfield and catches the ball well,’’ Eli Manning said. “I think that’s something that he’s worked hard on and understands our concepts and how to get open versus different techniques.’’
Coming out of the backfield as a safety-valve target to haul in a few short-range passes doesn’t sound all that difficult, but it’s more complicated than it sounds. Knowing when to stay in and block and when to take off and get open are concepts many running backs find difficult to master. Wilson is a gifted back with the ball in his hands, but he’s not close to NFL-ready when it comes to the nuances of the passing game.
“It’s a little bit more to it than just, ‘Hey here’s your route, go do it,’ ’’ Manning said.
Ware, 27, was quite good in the Giants’ 32-31 loss to the Jaguars, rushing five times for 30 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run — a play Coughlin said Ware could have made easier on himself.
“I think he could have scored without running into trouble by just being a little wider on his touchdown run there,’’ Coughlin said. “But he’s playing well for us, he’s playing hard. He ran hard. He ran powerful. He really did make a couple of very, very nice decisions with the ball.’’
Ahmad Bradshaw remains the starter and his repaired feet have allowed him to practice every day. Wilson showed great explosion rushing for 43 yards in Jacksonville. The other backs in camp, Da’Rel Scott and Andre Brown, are unproven. For the immediate future, it looks as if third down is Ware’s down.
“I hope so,’’ he said. “I pride myself on being a good blocker and run routes on third down. If that gives me the extra edge, then, hey, I am with it.”