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Only Dayne is not that big. He's 235 pounds or 40 pounds lighter than when Coughlin met him at the news conference to announce his hiring. Coughlin didn't say much to Dayne then, but he did tell him he didn't want to see him again until he was down to 245. Dayne nodded and reappeared at the team's first minicamp at 245 pounds.
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"All this is about is getting an opportunity," said Dayne." All I could ask was to get out and play and show (last year) wasn't really me. I did everything I was asked to, so I won't pass the blame on anybody. I take it all on myself. All I want to do now is go out and win. I don't feel I have to prove myself anymore. I just want to go out and win and let everything fall into place."
Dayne is right about getting the opportunity but wrong about proving himself. He has to prove himself to his teammates, the Giants and the rest of the league. He's in the last year of his contract, and he has a chance to demonstrate to the Giants or anyone else looking for a running back that he's worth hiring in the future. The Giants believed that once, and they could believe it again.
But it's up to Dayne.
"He knows this is it," said Childress. "He's playing for a contract, either there or somewhere else, and he's going to be given a shot. I know he feels like he's reborn."
Dayne's development is critical to a team struggling for an identity. For years the Giants won with a combination of great defense and sound running, but the great defense is gone -- the lineup that faced Kansas City surrendered 311 yards and 19 first downs in the first half. The Giants are in trouble if they have to lean on that unit, which is why Dayne gets the chance he didn't have a year ago. Figure it out: If you want to keep your defense off the field you control the clock, and to control the clock, you control the ball -- usually by running it.
A year ago the Giants controlled almost nothing. They were 28th in rushing and 27th in time of possession. Compare that to the last time they were in the playoffs (2002) -- and the last time Ron Dayne played -- when they were 14th in rushing and eighth in possession, and you understand why Dayne could be a factor.
The plan is to use him with running back Tiki Barber, much as the Giants did in 2000 when they went to the Super Bowl with a "Thunder and Lightning" offense. Dayne was the thunder; Barber was the lightning, and the combination seemed to work well until last year. But when Dayne bowed out, Barber suffered -- scoring twice while rushing, fumbling nine times -- and this year is all about making improvements.
The key, of course, is for Dayne to respond to a new coaching staff that's willing to give him a chance. It is, as Accorsi said, "all up to him," and Dayne seems to understand. That is a start. Let's see where he -- and the Giants -- go from here.
"Once I get the opportunity to play," Dayne said, "I will be ready."
