New York Giants

Friday Morning Takeway: Giants O-Line Still Struggles

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The preseason ended for the New York Giants with a 17-9 victory over the New England Patriots. Big Blue posted a 2-2 mark for the summer, and now the heavy lifting begins. As with any training camp, there are multiple storylines, but which one takeaway will impact the real games?

Let’s take a look at the most important takeway:

Preseaon Takeaway: Offensive Line Struggles

When the Giants won their Super Bowl championships, the offensive line was rock solid. Older fans remember Benson, Ard, Oates, Godfrey and Karl Nelson. Recent teams saw the likes of MacKenzie, O’Hara, Snee and David Diehl.

Currently there is optimism regarding last year’s first-round pick Ereck Flowers. At this point, that’s all it is. Center Weston Richburg and guard Justin Pugh are givens, and possible Pro Bowl players. On the right side, tackle Marshall Newhouse and guard John Jerry have not been inspiring.

Bringing in Will Beatty may have been too little, too late for general manager Jerry Reese. In fact, I would argue that Geoff Schwartz might have made more sense. Bobby Hart was given an opportunity and did not grab it. The rest of the lot are journeymen from the USA and Canada.

Flowers was supposed take the next step, as a new offensive line coach and healed ankle would no longer hinder him.

“The real hope was that Flowers would show significant growth and become a reliable blindside protector for Manning after a rough rookie season. But nothing during training camp and the preseason suggests that happened,” Jordan Raanan of ESPN wrote in a post on Sept. 1, 2016.

The radio and television media who cover the games refrain from being critical. They ask questions but don’t answer them. Excuses are made, as if the viewer cannot see the on-field results.

One irrefutable fact is that the Giants have made the NFL playoffs just once in the last seven years. Given the fact that the one time they did resulted in a Super Bowl XLVI victory, has bought Jon Mara and Jerry Reese time. Maybe I’m wrong, but the more the coaching staff has been shuffled, the less accountable the players have become.

Predictably players the coaching staff have summarily dismissed the notion that offensive line play should be a cause for concern. “But until the Giants show improvement and produce results, there will be much concern about the state of their offensive line,” according to James Kratch of NJ Advance Media on Sept. 1, 2016.

One could make a legitimate argument that the players will have to be more accountable this season. Tom Coughlin is no longer around to provide a buffer, and Ben McAdoo will be cutting his teeth as a first-time head coach at any level.

Given the injury to Tony Romo, the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys became a must-win. Anything less will be to accept the same mediocrity that has plagued the previous three seasons. It’s high time for the offensive line to perform as Reese envisioned, against a foe ripe for a takedown.

With the possible exception of tight end, the remainder of the roster is populated with enough talent to get to the post season. Ironically, the blocking of the tight end group has been subpar in preseason. Whether the play of the offensive line creates an impediment to the NFL post season party remains a legitimate question.

A question that only those five players can answer on Sept. 11.