Brandon Jacobs Unhappy on the Sidelines

If there's one universal truth about football coaches, it is that they would throw their own grandmothers into the path of an onrushing defensive end if they thought it would buy the quarterback a half-second to complete a throw down the field. Anything and everything that can help the team win a game is more than fair game, it's essential. That may mean putting a player's health at risk by leaving him in or rushing him back, but that's just the kind of guys they are.

That's why something Brandon Jacobs said while speaking with reporters on Tuesday night stood out as odd. Jacobs said that his sore knee was healthy enough to play on Sunday in Dallas, but that the coaching staff held him out of the game.

"I feel good," he said. "I've been feeling like this since Week 3. I've performed at a very high level since Week 3. Now, why sit down? I don't know. People have their own reasons."

It's that last line that doesn't make much sense. If Tom Coughlin, based on what information he had from the medical staff, thought Jacobs would have helped the Giants win, it's impossible to imagine that he would have kept him on the sidelines. His job may be more secure than many, but it didn't get that way by passing up chances to win games.

Jacobs has been around long enough to know that, so why would he question the motives? Perhaps because he's got his own motives. Jacobs' impending free agency has to be on his mind, and he has to know that games played and total yards will impact how much money he ends up making on the back end. Cynical? Perhaps, but with a lot of football left to play this season you'd wonder why Jacobs is holding onto bad feelings about the past.

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