The season isn't turning out the way New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs planned.
This was supposed to be his bounce-back year. The season the 29-year-old split carries with good buddy Ahmad Bradshaw and he returned to being a 1,000-yard rusher.
Heading into the bye week, Jacobs has gained 116 yards on a paltry 38 carries. He has played in only four of the Giants' six games, missing the last two with a swollen knee. There is no guarantee that he will be ready to go when the team returns on Oct. 30 against the now winless Miami Dolphins.
Jacobs expects to play, but in almost the same breath he adds he will not go unless his knee is 100 percent. The seven-year veteran played on a subpar knee two years ago and struggled, and he has vowed not to make the same mistake again.
"I got most of the swelling down, so now I am just working on flexing and being able to do certain things," Jacobs said Tuesday after sitting out the team's final practice before scattering for a five-day vacation. "I am not worried about it. I will be back when I need to be back."
Jacobs hasn't played since getting hurt in a game against the Cardinals in Arizona on Oct. 2.
Sitting out hasn't been easy.
"You have your team out there fighting and scratching as hard as they can fight and scratch for 60 minutes and you want to be out there helping," he said. "That is the hard thing about it because you have your teammates and you want to be there for them. It's (bad) when you are hurt."
Listening to Jacobs, it seemed obvious that he wants the ball more than the nine-plus carries he was averaging before being hurt. He also made it clear that he was not going to rock the boat.
"Listen man, I don't know," he said. "With the way things go, I take what I'm given and I try to make it the best I can."
NOTES: DE Justin Tuck, DE Osi Umenyiora, S Kenny Phillips and G Chris Snee did not practice on Tuesday. The Star-Ledger reported Snee passed a concussion test. ... The Giants were supposed to get a contract-mandated four days off because of the bye week, but coach Tom Coughlin gave the team an extra day because they were "organized" and got everything done early.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
