New York Giants Official Website

Ready to roll
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

Take this story to go! -     RSS |  Podcast |  Mobile

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - His health is good, he's pleased with his new contract and he plays for a team that is a championship contender. So Brandon Jacobs is ready to establish deeper roots in the metropolitan area.

"I am going to hang around for another six years," Jacobs said on a conference call today.

His immediate focus is on the next four seasons, which are covered by the new contract he signed yesterday. The two-time 1,000- yard rusher could have been a free agent tomorrow. But two weeks ago the Giants designated him as their franchise player, all but ensuring he would play for them in 2009. That helped lead to the new agreement, which will expire after the 2012 season, when Jacobs will be 30.

That's an age when many running backs who aren't already retired are well into or beginning a decline. But Jacobs expects to play out the contract and then some, even if he has to change his role.

"With the mentality of a football player, as you get older, you get everything you can get while you are young," Jacobs said. "And when your first two contracts are over with, if you are in good enough shape and your body is good enough and holding up well enough, you can go and do it and be a starter and do all those things. If not, you lower your standards and you play special teams and do stuff like short yardage and goal line and things like that. I am going to hang around for at least another six years."

Jacobs is a long way from playing a reduced role in the Giants' offense. His 421 rushing attempts the previous two seasons are 114 more than runner-up Derrick Ward. And Ward - who also topped the 1,000-yard mark last season - is a free agent who could join another team as soon as tomorrow.

Jacobs and Ward totaled 2,114 rushing yards last season, the fourth-highest total by a running back tandem in the NFL. They were just the fourth set of running backs from the same team to rush for at least 1,000 yards apiece. But Jacobs thinks the partnership is about to end.

"With the nature of the business, I don't expect to see him back," said Jacobs, mindful several teams might want Ward to carry the load for them that Jacobs handles for the Giants. "But with the way things can go I think they (the Giants) are going to take a crack at him, no question, I think they are going to give it a shot. I don't know what he is asking for, I don't know what he wants, that all depends on him and what he is asking for. If it is fair, they may be able to or if they can do it, they may do it, but if they can't do it, they can't do it. I would love to see him back here."

Ward called Jacobs last night after the Giants announced that the fifth-year pro has signed his new contract.

"He told me congratulations and he was so happy for me," Jacobs said. "We had been talking for a long time about money and so on and so forth and it has finally happened for me and his time is coming. I said, 'Just keep doing what you are doing and make sure you have some good people working for you and make sure you get every dollar you deserve.'"

Even if Ward departs, the Giants' backfield is staffed with a lot of talent in Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Danny Ware and fullback Madison Hedgecock. And that's before the beginning of the player acquisition season.

Jacobs has a chance to be one of the most productive backs in Giants history. Although he has been a starter for only two seasons - he backed up Tiki Barber his first two years - Jacobs is 10th on the Giants' career rushing list with 2,620. If he matches his 2008 total of 1,089 yards this season, he will climb to sixth, directly ahead of Hall of Famer Frank Gifford.

Jacobs and Barber both have career per-carry averages of 4.7 yards, the highest among the top 10 rushers in Giants history.

Last year, Jacobs rushed for 15 touchdowns, increasing his career total to 35. That leaves him tied in fifth place with Ottis Anderson and just 20 behind the team-record total Barber compiled in a 10-year career.

Jacobs missed five games in 2007 and three last season with injuries, whch he said are all behind him.

"My knee injuries are no more," he said. "They are recovered and everything is fine. I am ready to go."