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Justin Tuck is not sure about the sustainability of the read-option, jet-quick offense the Giants will see for the second time when they face Robert Griffin III and the Redskins on Monday night.
After all, as fast as RG3 is, he doesn’t operate in a protective bubble.
“If RG stays healthy, then I think this offense will continue to roll,’’ Tuck said yesterday. “The thing about it is: Who wants their franchise quarterback getting hit every game like that? That’s what it’s gonna come down to: If they had a second RG to back him up, which there is none, then you can say then the shelf life of this offense is a little bit longer. If he pulls a hamstring or has an ankle injury for a couple of weeks, where do you go then?’’
That’s a debate for another time because in the here and now the Giants have to deal, again, with Griffin, and they speak of him in such reverential tones it is easy to forget he is a rookie on a 5-6 team trying against all odds to plow into playoff contention.
The first time around, on Oct. 21, Griffin passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 89 yards and put his team ahead 23-20 with 1:32 remaining before Eli Manning and Victor Cruz came back to steer the Giants to a 27-23 victory. The Giants were torched in the first half by rookie running back Alfred Morris for 94 yards, but clamped down and held him to 26 rushing yards in the second half.
The second time around should be much different, the Giants figure, because the Redskins run such an unconventional attack and in Griffin have such a physical marvel that they needed to see it and feel it to believe it.
“He’s very fast, he’s much faster on the field than he is on tape,’’ defensive tackle Chris Canty said. “Their whole operation is faster than you see on tape. You don’t have an opportunity to get a feel for that just watching, you have to be out there, you have to have experienced it.’’
Or, as linebacker Spencer Paysinger said, “After playing him once it’s not like we’re going in there sort of blind.’’
The Giants wish they didn’t see some of the damage RG3 did to them. Tuck has always maintained Michael Vick is the fastest player he’s ever seen with the ball in his hands. Now he’s pining for a match race between a young Vick and Griffin.
“That would be exciting to watch,’’ Tuck said. “I’d pay to see that.’’
The one play that should be ingrained in the minds (and fears) of the Giants was Griffin’s fourth-and-10, fourth-quarter completion to tight end Logan Paulsen for 19 yards after escaping the pocket, eluding several defenders, sidestepping Osi Umenyiora and firing a dart to extend a drive.
“One thing about RG3 is how poised he is in a situation like that,’’ Tuck said. “He stayed back there, kept his eyes downfield and found a wide open tight end after eluding myself, [Jason Pierre-Paul], our whole D-line it seemed like.’’
As much of a highlight that play was, it isn’t the play Tuck remembers most.
“Actually the most impressive play I saw from him was incomplete, he threw the ball away,’’ Tuck said.
It happened late in the first quarter, with the Redskins facing third down on the Giants 2-yard line. RG3 was flushed out of the pocket, rolled to his left and, back-pedaling with Michael Boley and Pierre-Paul bearing down on him, threw the ball out of the end zone. Let Tuck take it from there.
“He broke contain and guys were chasing him and I saw him do a backwards carioca (a hip-swinging motion exercise) to get away from somebody, running full speed, flip his hips and do a backwards carioca,’’ Tuck said. “Me and Osi were watching film and we were like ‘Did he just do carioca, full speed?’
“If I tried to do a backward carioca while walking, I might fall. He did it doing it full speed. He did it full speed to outrun us, flipped his hips and did a backwards carioca. That was pretty impressive. If I tried it I would have fell flat on my ear.’’
paul.schwartz@nypost.com