And then there was Danny Ware.
That might be the sum total of the completely healthy running backs for the Giants for tomorrow night’s game against the Broncos.
Already hobbled with a bad right foot and ankle, Ahmad Bradshaw has a new injury that will almost definitely keep him from playing and probably from even making the trip. And Brandon Jacobs was forced out late in the third quarter of last Sunday’s overtime victory over the Falcons after getting hit on the right knee, although he says he’s fine.
Bradshaw sustained a new injury, a sprained left ankle, against the Falcons. He had been wearing a boot on his right foot to protect a cracked fifth metatarsal bone outside his right foot. Yesterday, Bradshaw was wearing the protective boot on his left foot and walking with the aid of two crutches. He did not practice this week and might miss more than one game.
“Right after the game they thought he had an ankle sprain,” Tom Coughlin said. “Evidently it’s more serious than that.”
Ware is in line for his first extended playing time of the season. He dislocated his left elbow on the season-opening kickoff, causing him to miss the remainder of that game and all of the next seven. Ware has four rushing attempts for 24 yards all season and was strong last week in picking up the blitz.
Jacobs practiced fully this week and said he’s fine. Coughlin said he was told by the medical staff that Jacobs could not return to that game, but Jacobs didn’t agree.
“Yes, I could have gone back into the game,” he said. “We had two solid backs in the game doing a really good job of pass protecting and running the ball. So there was really no need.”
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The weather in Denver should not be a factor. The forecast is a high of 59 degrees with a low of 38. There is no chance of rain. . . . Tiki Barber on Monday paid a visit to the Timex Performance Center to tape an extensive interview with Bob Papa that will air on the Giants’ Web site. Barber and other key members of the 2000 team that won the NFC title will be saluted in a ceremony before the Dec. 6 game against the Cowboys. Barber got a tour of the team’s new facility and exchanged pleasantries with Eli Manning, Rich Seubert and Jacobs, among others. . . . LB Michael Boley, playing against his former team for the first time, was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after amassing a team-high 13 tackles (11 solo) and his first sack of the season.