Giants Offensive Line Is The Crux Of The Problem
By Joe Freer
Coming into the 2016 season, fans and experts widely assumed that the New York Giants’ offense would carry the team into a potential playoff berth. With four games to go and an uneasy 8-4 record, the offense has become the focus for the wrong reasons. Eli Manning, a $20+ million quarterback, has failed to amass two hundred yards in consecutive games. The pass game is accompanied with the league’s 31st ranked rushing attack that accumulated 56 yards last week. Is the offensive line to blame?
The offense as a whole has produced a total of just 530 yards in the past two weeks. The Giants’ six-game winning streak masked a plethora of flaws against inferior opponents. A playoff caliber team like the Pittsburgh Steelers exposed them. Still, three-quarters of the way into the season, defenses sit back in a two-safety look to prevent big plays and can be unafraid of the running game.
Why are teams so confident the Giants running attack wont hurt their defenses? The answer is quite simple: teams can win the line of scrimmage without sending extra defenders. Defensive coordinators can rely on their front four to control the point of attack and send extra help in the secondary to limit the three headed- receiver core that has steadily dimmed throughout the season. Without any sign of a running game, the once promising passing attack will continue to fade. The left guard position has been uninspiring lately as well, but the potential return of Justin Pugh this week fans should expect a boost in the interior line.
Without any sign of a running game, the once promising passing attack will continue to fade
Offensive Line Problems
After the Steelers game, second-year left tackle Ereck Flowers has been receiving increased scrutiny again. Last season, there were questions about his technique coming out of college. Some pro scouts were skeptical if he could handle the speed of an NFL outside rusher.
At this point in Flower’s career, he has been manhandled by most rushers he’s faced. He possesses the raw nastiness coaches like to see in their left tackle. At 6’6″, 315 pounds; he has the physical potential to be a long-term solution for the Giants’ offensive line. However, with the Giants in a win-now phase, potential is no longer satisfactory. It is no longer acceptable for fans to be understanding of the fact that Flowers was meant to be a development and start at right tackle but was forced into left tackle due to Will Beatty’s pectoral injury last off season. With a playoff push on the horizon, Flowers needs to mature quickly if this offense wants to find its identity.
Offensive Line Moving Forward
Head coach Ben McAdoo can no longer tolerate the weekly holding penalties that has held this offense back. The former ninth overall pick has committed 12 penalties in the same amount of games including eight holding penalties; both are the most in the NFL for offensive linemen. Most of these fouls seem to come at the most crucial moments for the Giants. The most recent of these was last week against in the first quarter against the Steelers. Flowers was called for a holding penalty on James Harrison in the end zone, negating a 15-yard Beckham first down and resulted in a safety. In that one play, James Harrison exposed Flowers’ weaknesses: he knocked him off balance forcing Flowers to hook Harrison’s helmet to protect Eli Manning. Though the play only made the score 2-0, it set the tone for the Giants’ offense for the entire night.
With no visible fix on the roster (maybe fans are calling for Will Beatty to come in but if he was ready to contribute McAdoo would have put him in by now) all Giants fans can do is hope Flowers becomes stable enough to protect an aging franchise quarterback and can limit his penalties. Flowers isn’t done yet, but he has a ways to go before he proves he can be a franchise left tackle.
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