New York Giants: Reshuffling The Offensive Line
Last week, the New York Giants reported that Will Beatty tore his pectoral muscle. Beatty has been the Giants’ longtime left tackle and a standout player for years. He will be out for about five or six months. The loss of Beatty leaves a huge hole on the Giants’ offensive line. Tom Coughlin and Ben McAdoo are going to have to come up with a reshuffled starting lineup going into the 2015 season.
Projected The Starting Offensive Line:
Left Tackle: Ereck Flowers
Left Guard: Weston Richburg
Center: Brett Jones
Right Guard: Geoff Schwartz
Right Tackle: Justin Pugh
Yes, this projected lineup is extremely bold. It’s a long shot that Brett Jones transitions fast enough to be the starting center for the Giants. However, now is the time for the Giants to be bold. By the way things look, every single one of the Giants backup lineman just can’t play the position well enough.
John Jerry was ranked as one of the NFL’s worst run blockers. Marshall Newhouse could step in and provide some viable competition, but he’s not starting material. Seventh round draft pick Bobby Hart is definitely not ready to be a starting caliber NFL lineman. He could take years to groom into a starting prospect.
Brett Jones was ranked one of the best players in the CFL. He won the CFL’s most outstanding offensive lineman and CFL’s most outstanding rookie awards. Everyone knows the CFL is on a whole different level than the NFL. I’m confident that he will make a huge impact in 2015. Hopefully he makes strides in training camp and will make a good adjustment to be an NFL starter.
If Jones claimed the starting center role, that means Weston Richburg would be open to play somewhere else on the line. The Giants love their offensive lineman to have versatility. Richburg has played left tackle before, so it makes sense that he should get a chance to play the position
Geoff Schwartz was signed by the Giants last offseason to play left guard, but he’s going to have to move over to right guard for now. An experienced veteran like him should have no problem making the switch. Justin Pugh will get his wish and remain the right tackle because he’s better off their based on the experience of the other players.
That leaves the rookie Ereck Flowers to come in and start at the left tackle position for the injured Beatty. This position is going to be an issue believe it or not, because Flowers may still be too raw to protect Eli Manning’s blind side. While this move is risky, it makes total sense. Flowers is a monster and will be very aggressive at left tackle. Basically, the move could end up being very smart or really dumb.