New York Giants’ Offensive Line Needs To Improve in 2015
By John Tolis
Now that the New York Giants have some what solved their defensive issues by hiring Steve Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator, now it’s time to look at the offense. Obviously, the offensive questions don’t pertain to the wide receiving or quarterback positions, but the offensive line. Two years ago, the offensive line was atrocious and somewhat improved last year, but still, you absolutely need an offensive line to succeed. The Giants need to turn their attention to the o-line for several reasons.
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Everybody is aware the talents of sensational wide receiver Odell Beckham, but he won’t be able to showcase his talents in 2015 if the o-line is weak. Quarterback Eli Manning is a pocket passer, he simply needs to be protected to get the ball out quick to be effective.
That was the case two years ago, Manning’s protection was nowhere to be found so in turn, Manning suffered heavily. In the 2014 season, the running game endured a heavy loss even with Rashad Jennings in the back.
The Giants were ranked 23rd in rushing yards for one simple fact, the o-line was injured and shuffled around. Offensive tackles Geoff Schwartz, Adam Snyder and Troy Kropog were all placed on the injured reserve list for most of the first half of the season. Rookie Weston Richburg and sophomore Justin Pugh started off the first 10 games, but then were replaced by Schwartz and Snyder right in the middle of the season.
When you shuffle around your offensive line, you’re going to have problems–mainly on the ground. Jennings and Andre Williams averaged 3.6 rushing yards for the season while their opponents averaged 4.9 yards.
The positive thing about this Giants line is that it is versatile. When you have veterans like Schwartz and Snyder that are willing to play any position on the line, then that gives you a safety net. The main priority is keeping them stay healthy so the Giants won’t have the same problems like last year.
The Giants could help Jennings and Manning tremendously by improving their offensive line by signing more aggressive veterans or pursuing a young talent in the draft. It’s simple, the better offensive line you have, the more time your quarterback has to pass the ball and your running back can break through the holes.
Overall, there is a lot of work the Giants still have to do this off-season, but they can not forget about their offensive line because whether you like it or not–it’s the core of every team.