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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants fans rejoice: The four-man running back committee is over. Such is the plan of the team for now after watching its running game struggle through 10 games last year to rush for 3.7 yards per carry under a four-man committee consisting of Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, Shane Vereen and Orleans Darkwa.
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According to Giants running backs coach Craig Johnson, the committee came about in part due to the team's inability to find a consistent hot hand from among their top three backs: Jennings, Williams and Vereen.
Enter Darkwa, who got an opportunity in Week 7 and took advantage. Over the next four games, Darkwa was the Giants' most productive runner, his per-carry average spanning from 3.0 to 6.0 over that stretch.
"I don't think anybody wants to play too many backs, because every back will tell you, I mean I've never met a back that has said, 'I don't need more carries so I can get in the rhythm,'" Johnson said.
"Every time I've ever seen a back, they've all said that and I agree. But when you have some players who are going to be playing some, we're going to also try to do what's best for this team."
Another benefit of the committee approach was that it helped keep all the backs fresh. However, with so many options from which to choose, the distribution of carries appeared to have no rhyme nor reason.
When the committee was ditched in the last four games of the season, the results started improving. New York rushed for 4.8 yards per carry, with Jennings recording two 100-yard performances in the team's final four games.
Having seen what Jennings, who also made it through his first 16-game season as a pro last year, was able to do, the team plans to continue to ride that train.
"Obviously if it was like we finished the year - like Rashad finished - that would take care of a lot of problems," said Johnson. "I thought at the end of the year he was probably playing as well as any back in football."
Although the Giants added to their running back stable - they drafted rookie Paul Perkins and signed veteran Bobby Rainey - the lessons learned from last year's failed experiment have stuck with Johnson and the Giants.
"What I've learned is you can have a couple of guys that are playing a lot and then maybe a spare," Johnson said. "(Last year) we just, for whatever reason, weren't getting a lot of production. And runners, like with a lot of positions, obviously you want to be productive, you want to be trustworthy and consistent so when I put you in there I know what you're going to do, and you've got to be available."
While the plan sounds good on paper, the big question is whether Jennings, whose career-highs in both carries and rushing yards came last season when he ran 195 times for 863 yards, can handle a potentially increased load over the course of a 16-game season that could swell upwards of 200 or more carries.
"Well that's something that has to be determined," Johnson said. "He has not had that kind of workload in his career, obviously. That's why a lot of teams go more towards playing two so you can have a guy playing fresh for your fourth-quarter run, like in December when the postseason is on the line. So we'll start.
"We'll see how it goes. I certainly think the way it ended last year he deserves an opportunity to go out there and be the starter, which is what he is."
--Defensive tackle Damon Harrison practiced in pads for the first time Tuesday after missing three practices with swelling in his knee. He passed his physical and was activated from the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
"Great to have 'Snacks' back," coach Ben McAdoo said. "We had to yank him out of some drills, he was chomping at the bit to get going. Jumped right back in there, seems to be in pretty good shape."
