Giants Reshuffle Offensive Line; Geoff Schwartz Returns from IR
By Justin Groc
Heading into tonight’s primetime game against the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants have decided to shake up their starting offensive line. Right tackle Justin Pugh is sidelined due to a quad injury that he suffered last week against the San Francisco 49ers. Offseason acquisition Geoff Schwartz, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs, will get the nod at right tackle despite being signed to originally play guard. Schwartz has seen time previously at tackle before even signing with Big Blue as his return has seen offensive tackle Charles Brown get released due to Brown’s struggles in pass-protection.
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2014 second round draft pick Weston Richburg has been benched due to his struggles along the interior. Richburg was drafted to play center but the retirement of offensive guard Chris Snee and an injury to Schwartz forced the Giants to play Richburg at left guard.
Offensive guard John Jerry, who was signed from the Miami Dolphins, ended up playing right guard. Brandon Mosley, who has seen time at guard and tackle, hurt his back but was also outplayed by Richburg.
The Giants’ offensive line hampered the entire offense last week. Granted that the 49ers are in the upper echelon in regards to fielding a defensive unit – the Giants need to do a better job of protecting quarterback Eli Manning. Although some of Manning’s interceptions were just mind-boggling, he was under duress throughout the entire game.
The return of Schwartz is big because he was signed in the offseason to help rebuild a unit that previously was a strength in previous years. Age had finally caught up to the likes of Snee, David Diehl, Shaun O’Hara, Kareem McKenzie, and Rich Seubert. In 549 snaps last season, Schwartz was graded at +18.6 per Pro Football Focus. PFF had many more good things to say about him:
"You would be hard pressed to find a larger interior lineman than the 6-foot-6, 340-pound mountain that is Geoff Schwartz. You’d also be hard pressed to find a better bargain at the position last season.After filling in at left and right guard early in the season, Schwartz finally took over as the full time right guard in Week 11 at Denver. He never ended up giving the job back to teammate Jon Asamoah and Schwartz was predictably brilliant down the stretch. He started the last seven games of the season and compiled an overall grade of +14.4. While he had a superb year in pass protection with a pass blocking efficiency of 97.3 (ranked 11th), Schwartz’ calling card is his run blocking.(Michael Renner, Pro Football Focus)"
Veteran Adam Snyder will start at left guard in placed of Richburg. The offensive line should play better this week simply because they cannot play any worse than last week. The return of Schwartz is big because he is an all-around great offensive lineman. The Cowboys have only forced 16 sacks all season so the newly-meshed offensive line should have a good chance to gel tonight.