Why? He just isn't carrying the ball much, not getting the chance to swoosh past the line of scrimmage and into the secondary. Last season, as a rookie from Marshall University, he gained 189 yards rushing (much of that on an electrifying 88-yard touchdown burst late in the season against Buffalo). He returned 38 kickoffs for 921 yards. In four playoff games he added 48 carries for 208 yards and a touchdown.

At 5-9 and 198 pounds, Bradshaw is a "strong, small running back," according to the noted scout/radio personality Gil Brandt, and the Giants used him exactly that way to add a dimension of speed and energy to their backfield.

This season, however, he has carried the ball a total of 26 times for 147 yards and has caught three passes for 28 yards. He has scored once on the ground and once as a receiver. And he has handled almost all the kickoff returns, taking back 21 of the team's 24 for 465 of the team's 501 yards.

So now, as the 6-1 Giants prepare for an emotional as well as crucial home game against the Dallas Cowboys, the question continues to pop up: Why isn't Bradshaw, the classic change of pace, getting a few touches behind the workhorse backs, Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward?

"It's hard to find the time to get three backs into the game," Giants general manager Jerry Reese said. "It's a coach's decision. He'll get his chances. No, he isn't hurt. No, he isn't being punished for fumbles. And no, he isn't in the doghouse."

It might have been the right time to use Bradshaw last Sunday in Pittsburgh, when the Steelers produced a valiant goal-line stand. Jacobs was stopped twice, just shy of the end zone.

A simple play-action fake to Jacobs and handoff to Bradshaw might have produced an easy touchdown run.

"Coach's call," repeated Reese. "Ahmad will get his chances."

It is well to remember he was a late-season sensation in 2007, when defensive players are walking around on tired legs.

So maybe head coach Tom Coughlin and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride do have plans for Bradshaw. If they do, putting them into motion against the Cowboys in a game that might bury Dallas in the NFC East might be the place to start.

SERIES HISTORY: 92nd regular-season meeting. Cowboys lead series, 54-35-2. The Cowboys won both regular-season games in 2007 but lost to the Giants in Dallas, 21-17, in the post-season. The victory provided the Giants with the opportunity to play in the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay, and when they won that they were off to the Super Bowl. In all 92 meetings between the teams, that was the first and only playoff encounter.