New York Giants Ben McAdoo Still Confident In Andre Williams
New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo is high on third-year running back Andre Williams and believes he is in for a bounce-back season.
The New York Giants had a busy offseason, as they had a ton of money to spend in free agency and holes to fill during the NFL Draft. They spent big time on the defense, bringing in Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison and Janoris Jenkins on big deals and re-signing Jason Pierre-Paul. They also selected cornerback Eli Apple with their first round pick, so the defense should be much improved this season.
While the Giants defense on paper looks much better, the same cannot be said about other positions. The offensive line didn’t see many improvements outside a couple of depth additions.
Because of that, there are questions surrounding the Giants running back group. The running game was disappointing last season, as they relied too much on a running back by committee approach before giving Rashad Jennings shoulder the load.
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Many people would think that Jennings would receive the bulk of the work again this season, but the Giants only muddled their running back picture more, bringing in Bobby Rainey and selecting Paul Perkins in the fifth round.
In addition to those three, the Giants also have Orleans Darkwa, Shane Vereen and Andre Williams on the roster. Vereen probably has the clearest path to playing time, as he should be locked into third down and passing situation work. But, the same cannot be said for the others, especially Williams.
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Williams has struggled mightily his first two seasons in the NFL, averaging only 3.2 yards per carry in his career, and 2.9 last season. Despite having some size at 5-feet-11 inches and 230 pounds, Williams has shown very little power in the NFL after leading the NCAA in rushing yards in 2013 despite facing eight and nine man boxes consistently at Boston College.
Williams shows no vision or feel in the backfield, as he constantly runs into and up the backs of his offensive lineman, unable to find holes being made for him. In addition to his struggles rushing the ball, Williams provide almost nothing in the passing game; he has only 19 receptions on 40 targets.
Despite all of the struggles, it sounds like Williams will receive yet another chance this season with a role in the Giants offense because he is someone that new head coach Ben McAdoo likes. According to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, McAdoo has praised Williams and believes that he is primed for a bounce-back season.
Many people will say this is coach speak, as everyone is always talked about in a positive light during the offseason. But McAdoo is fooling no one hyping up Williams, as he has been a disaster through two seasons.
Giving him work at the expense of anyone on the roster, especially Jennings or Perkins, makes no sense as he has proven time and time again he is not an effective NFL running back. Maybe McAdoo knows something that we don’t and will tweak things that Tom Coughlin was unable to find, but it is unlikely.
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The Giants need to give Jennings the early down work and not force him to split it with two or three other players like last season. The Giants running game finally got going when Jennings was used as their bellcow, and putting him into the role from the get go should help get the Giants running game going sooner this season than in 2015.