Everyone knows having Reuben Droughns play fullback for the Giants is not an ideal situation. What once was a fleeting notion at the moment is reality, and don’t put it past his teammates from finding humor in his predicament.
“We heard a couple of jokes,” right guard Chris Snee reported yesterday after practice. “I heard Amani (Toomer) say, ‘Wait, wait, we don’t have a fullback in the huddle,’ and Reuben was standing right there.”
When it comes to imagining a big, bruising fullback capable of opening holes and paving the way for big, bruising Brandon Jacobs, it’s understandable why Droughns fails to impress. The Giants on March 9 traded disappointing receiver Tim Carter to the Browns in exchange for Droughns, envisioning him as a nice complement in a reserve role to Jacobs. After all, Droughns, in his previous seven years in the NFL, assembled a track record of churning out yardage in steady though certainly not eye-opening fashion.
The 1-2 punch of Jacobs and Droughns may still be on the horizon, but in a vastly different formula. The Giants were trying to decide if rookie Robert Douglas could handle the full-time fullback job, with no one else on the roster fitting that job description other than another rookie, Michael Matthews, who really is a blocking tight end. Douglas at 250 pounds looked the part, although the jury was still very much out on his ability to be anything more than a stalemate lead blocker and a decent receiver.
Evaluating Douglas became a moot point when he sustained cartilage damage in his knee during last Saturday’s preseason game against the Jets. The Giants will not know the full extent of the injury until after Douglas undergoes arthroscopic surgery, but it’s unlikely he will be on the active roster this season.
There’s certainly a chance the Giants will find a living, breathing fullback on the waiver wire and bring him in for a look. For now, Droughns gets the assignment, starting with the past few days of practice and continuing tomorrow night in the preseason finale at New England.
“He looked better today because he did a better job of coming through the line of scrimmage,” Tom Coughlin said of Droughns. “He knows what his assignment is, but can he maneuver his way through?”
Droughns yesterday left the locker room before commenting on the move. During training camp, he expressed no displeasure at backing up Jacobs even though Droughns, 29, has 844 NFL rushing attempts compared with Jacobs’ 134.
“This whole team has one common goal, which is to make it to the top,” Droughns said. “So we’re willing to do whatever it takes to help each other out.”
Droughns previously played fullback in 2003 with the Broncos when he blocked for Clinton Portis, Quentin Griffin and Mike Anderson. After that, Droughns got a chance to carry the ball on a full-time basis and produced consecutive seasons of more than 1,200 yards for Denver in 2004 and the Browns in 2005.
“He knows what he’s doing, he knows the offense well enough where it will be an easy transition,” Eli Manning said. “He knows all the blocking schemes and protection-wise, he catches the ball well out of the backfield, and he can do some good stuff in the open. It’s time where you got to make some adjustments and it’s good for him to step up and try to help the team.”
Droughns is listed at 5-11 and 220 pounds, quite light for a fullback, especially one asked to clear out the congestion for Jacobs, a 264-pound running back. Coughlin did not agree with that assessment, saying Droughns yesterday weighed in at 231 pounds.