NY Giants don’t expect Marc Colombo firing to impact offensive line
Jason Garrett doesn’t expect NY Giants offensive line to skip a beat after Marc Colombo’s firing
NY Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett sidestepped questions about the firing of Marc Colombo, the team’s offensive line coach and a longtime Garrett lieutenant with the Dallas Cowboys, but doesn’t expect the change to make a significant impact.
“I think the growth and development of the offensive line over the course of the year has been significant. They’ve gotten better and better and better,” Garrett told reporters following Friday’s practice. “They’re young players and they’re growing in the offense. They’re growing just by playing at this level, individually and then playing together. They go about it the right way and they’re learning from their experiences. Anybody who’s watched us play has seen the progression with those guys upfront blocking much better in the running game, the protection has improved as the year has gone on, and we’ve played better as an offense as a result.”
The Giants’ offensive line had improved steadily over the past few weeks, leading up to Colombo’s firing in the aftermath of a fiery disagreement with head coach Joe Judge. Colombo was replaced by Dave DeGuglielmo, who will make his Giants debut Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Improved offensive line play has helped boost the play of quarterback Daniel Jones against the Washington Football Team and the Eagles leading up to last week’s bye.
Judge says he hopes to continue rotating at right guard, but continued consistent strong play will be critical for the offense to continue its upswing.
Garrett thinks that will happen.
“Dave (DeGuglielmo) has coached in this league for a long time,” Garrett said. “Ben Wilkerson has been around this league for a long time. Those guys are in good hands, and they hit the ground running this week. Excited about this opportunity against Cincinnati.”
4 bold predictions for Giants vs. Bengals. dark. Next
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.