Ward's Starting To Look Like a Poor Man's Tiki Barber

Last season, the Giants used a one-two running back punch, with Tiki Barber as the starter and Brandon Jacobs coming in for short-yardage situations. This season Barber is retired and Jacobs is hurt, but the names on the jerseys are all that has changed in the Giants' running game.

As a team the Giants are off to a shaky start, but running back Derrick Ward has been a pleasant surprise. Since assuming the role as the Giants' primary ball carrier when Jacobs got hurt in the first game of the season, Ward has quickly blossomed into a player much like Barber, with the speed to break long runs and a natural feel for the passing game.

That's why Ward should keep the starting job, even after Jacobs returns from the knee sprain he suffered Week 1.

When Barber retired, it was just assumed that Jacobs was next in line as the Giants' starting running back. The Giants' coaching staff never seriously considered giving a shot to Ward, who has played for the Giants for four years (longer than any other running back on the team) but has rarely contributed on offense. But the264-pound Jacobs is at his best as a change of pace, coming in to pick up a tough yard on third-and-short against a worn-down defensive line. Ward is a more complete player than Jacobs and although he's not yet as good a player as Barber, he can do most of the things Barber did in the Giants' offense.

In three games, Ward has 54 carries for 273 yards, an average of 5.1 yards per carry — the same yards-per-carry average that Barber recorded last season. And, just as Barber always was, Ward is an important part of the Giants' passing game. Ward already has 14 catches, putting him on a pace for 75 catches in a 16-game season, which is more receptions than Barber ever had in his 10-year career.

Currently, Ward is usually Eli Manning's final option in the passing game: When everything else breaks down, Manning throws the ball to Ward to try to pick up a few yards. But that mostly demonstrates that Manning and Ward have spent so little time working together. Once they've developed more chemistry, expect to see Ward running deeper pass routes and improving on his current average of 6.3 yards per catch.

Ward's versatility as a running and receiving threat makes him a better fit than Jacobs for the no. 1 running back role, but that's not to say Jacobs doesn't have a part to play in the offense. Although Reuben Droughns played the short-yardage role to perfection Sunday against the Washington Redskins (two one-yard touchdowns and a first down on third-and-1), Jacobs is one of the best short-yardage backs in the league, and when he's healthy enough to play (which should be in a couple of weeks) he should get that job back.

And Jacobs should also spell Ward just to keep him fresh. Ward looked exhausted by the end of the Redskins game, and after picking up 91 yards on his first 20 carries, he totaled just three yards on his remaining six carries. The right mix for the Giants might be 50% of the carries going to Ward, 40% to Jacobs, and 10% to Droughns. The Giants should also consider formations with both Ward and Jacobs on the field at the same time, a running back combination that could pose matchup problems for opposing defenses.

Ward has had an unusual journey to a starting job in the NFL. He began his college career at Fresno State, but a knee injury and academic problems forced him to transfer to the tiny Ottawa University in Kansas. In his one season at Ottawa, he ran for 2,061 yards, and on the strength of that season, the Jets chose Ward in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL draft. The Giants signed him off the Jets' practice squad in 2004, and he's been with Big Blue since then.

But until this season, he had carried the ball only 35 times in his career. Now he's finally getting the opportunity to start and making the most of it. He shouldn't lose that opportunity, even when Jacobs returns.

Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com