Tough Ahmad Bradshaw revitalizes Giants' run game

• Bradshaw rushed for a career-high 200 yards and a touchdown against the Browns.
• Giants coach Tom Coughlin says Bradshaw is as physically tough as anyone he's been around.
• Teammate calls Bradshaw "a tough little bastard."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tom Coughlin had just watched Ahmad Bradshaw run through, and past, Cleveland Browns defenders all day long, on his way to a career-high 200 yards rushing and, in turn, a 41-27 New York Giants victory.

Coughlin took the time to ponder and answer the question about Bradshaw's toughness, so it wasn't like he was just caught up in the moment. No, the veteran coach of over four decades made quite the statement for a Sunday afternoon in Week 5 of the 2012 NFL season.

Or ever.

"He's as physically tough and as competitive as anybody I've ever been around," Coughlin said of Bradshaw.

A moment here to remind folks about the players Coughlin has "been around" since his days as a running back at Syracuse: Larry Csonka, Floyd Little, Lawrence Taylor, Mark Bavaro, Harry Carson, Michael Strahan, and Jeremy Shockey, just to name a few.

Tough, gritty, competitive players, all of them. "Way up there" with those names and more, according to Coughlin, is Bradshaw.

"It's an honor for me. It's a blessing," Bradshaw told USA TODAY Sports of Coughlin's statement as he made his way out of MetLife Stadium. "He's been around a lot of great people, a lot of great players. To know I'm one of the toughest guys he's seen, it just …"

Bradshaw took a moment, letting the compliment settle in. He stopped walking for a beat, smiled and took comfort in the fact one of the toughest coaches around considers him one of the toughest players around.

"It, I don't know, excites me," Bradshaw said, grinning wider now. "I just try to play my hardest and give Tom Coughlin my all."

Bradshaw gave this team his all Sunday and, in doing so, lifted a running game that's been struggling to be as consistently dominant as they're used to it being around these parts. Entering Sunday's game, the Giants were 23rd in the league in rushing yards per game, a ranking that will rise after Bradshaw and rookie David Wilson combined for 244 yards.

Plus, Bradshaw's fire helped get this team going after an early 14-0 deficit. He's tried it in the past to varying degrees, and TV microphones caught him yelling at left tackle Will Beatty during a game last season.

With Brandon Jacobs no longer around to serve as a vocal presence, Bradshaw's had to take on that role. On Sunday, he expertly motivated the offense and inspired the guys in front of him, whom he praised as soon as he walked into the postgame locker room.

"He's been sticking with us throughout the struggles we've had, so it was good to get him to (200 yards)," said right guard Chris Snee, a tough guy in his own right, as he's playing through a partially torn labrum in his hip. "That's a tough number to get to. I'm happy for him."

Giants tight end Martellus Bennett loves the way Bradshaw runs, almost as if he's "grunting" the whole time.

Bennett, a member of the Dallas Cowboys the previous four seasons, used to watch Bradshaw's "angry" running style and think, "Man, he's so reckless." In fairness to Bennett's assessment, Coughlin had to teach Bradshaw (15 fumbles in his first four seasons) how to hold the ball tighter while fighting for more yards.

"I thought he was running angry on the first play (Sunday)," Bennett said. "I thought that's why he fumbled."

Bennett and Coughlin would learn later the ball actually popped out because Bradshaw had hit Snee. The fact it was friendly fire didn't quell Bradshaw's competitive nature.
"He was hard on himself and we said, 'We've got your back,'" center David Baas said. "He doesn't want to let the team down, and that's a great quality about him. Hey, a little encouragement and he's back at it, going tough. That's who he is."

Bradshaw's a tough runner, much tougher than his 5-10, 214-pound frame indicates. He's played through painful foot and ankle issues in the past and has been effective while doing do. He's run around tacklers, but he's also run through plenty of them.

As a few lunging Browns defenders learned, including on Bradshaw's 38-yard run on a well-designed counter play, arm tackles won't get it done.

"No, you've got to hit him low and hold on for dear life," said Carson, the 2006 Hall of Fame inductee, on hand to watch Sunday's game. "He has a lot of power, and he has agility. He doesn't shy away from being hit or hitting someone, and he doesn't lie down unless it's intentional."

Like he tried to do on his Super Bowl XLVI-winning touchdown and did successfully on a run in the fourth quarter Sunday.

"He's a throwback kind of runner," Carson said.

He's many things. To Bennett, he's "a tough little bastard."

With a tender side.

"When I came in the huddle, I was rubbing my knee, and he just started rubbing it for me like, 'Hey, you're going to be all right,'" said Bennett, who got hurt while slipping on the slick turf. "I'm like, 'All right, man. It's looking kind of weird right now.'

"But he's one of those guys where you love his attitude and you love his work ethic."

Everyone in blue certainly did on Sunday.

"I love this game more than anybody," Bradshaw said. "I put all my heart into it and I just feel I'm one of the toughest out there on the field, so I just try to play with it."

Not just one of the toughest on this field, but on any one Coughlin has set foot upon.