The New York Giants have been one of the worst teams in the NFL this season and one of the main reasons for their 0-6 record is an inability to rush the ball consistently and after losing Brandon Jacobs and David Wilson to injuries this season, the team has brought in free agent running back Peyton Hillis on a contract.
According to ESPN.com and Pro Football Talk, Hillis was one of a number of backs the team brought in to try out, including Ryan Torain and DJ Ware, but they opted to bring in Hillis after the team felt he fit their offensive style best. The Giants are hoping for some lightning in a bottle after getting Brandon Jacobs to rush for over 100 yards last week with Wilson injured, as he is now hurt and the team needs another veteran to take over, the same move Jacobs had with Wilson.
Hillis comes to the team after previously being cut by the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now he will get another chance in the league with the Giants. Hillis has done basically nothing after having a breakout season with the Browns in 2010, as he rushed for over 1,000 yards and had 11 touchdowns while making the cover of Madden, but now he has basically washed out of the league. The Giants like his size for their offense and they desperately need someone to rush the ball consistently after ranking 30th in the NFL so far this season with under 70 yards rushing per game.
Wilson had been ineffective before getting hurt and all this stemmed from the idiotic decision by Tom Coughlin to play Andre Brown in the final preseason game, as he broke his leg and will be out until at least Week 10 of the season. The Giants looked at a number of backs this week and decided that Hillis was the best option with the Minnesota Vikings coming for a visit for Monday night football.
The Giants like rookie Michael Cox, but since he is a first year player they did not want him to have all of the weight on his shoulders and the team also brought in rookie running back Jeremy Wright and signed him to the practice squad as a very backup option. The team won't have Browns back for weeks and Da'Rel Scott was let go yet again after dealing with a hamstring injury in the game against the Bears. Hillis comes in to the Giants after rushing for 587 yards in 2011 and now he will be possibly getting the bulk of the carries against the Vikings.