Can Ben Bredeson solve NY Giants’ Guard Woes? Ravens Expert Weighs in
Can the NY Giants’ newest offensive lineman solve the unit’s woes, especially after playing vital snaps against the Broncos in Week 1?
The NY Giants did not play nearly well enough to win or even have a close second-half game in Week 1.
New York was outcoached, outclassed, as the Giants were simply dominated by Denver most of Sunday’s 27-13 loss.
Heading into the contest, there were great concerns surrounding the NY Giants’ offensive line. The group has let the team down for the better part of a decade now.
The offensive line couldn’t provide much help in the run game on Sunday. They opened very few holes for Saquon and Devontae Booker to run through and it hurt their gameplan immensely.
However, the pass protection was actually pretty good. It was a surprisingly solid performance in pass sets as Daniel Jones consistently had time to throw. The issue was he was missing open guys downfield and the receivers didn’t do enough to consistently create separation.
Shane Lemieux was entrenched as the NY Giants’ starting left guard all offseason. In training camp, Lemieux got injured. He is dealing with a partially torn patellar tendon, a very serious injury for any player. Lemieux has gutted it through as a tough dude but he hasn’t been able to handle a full workload yet.
Ben Bredeson took Lemieux’s place for most of Week 1.
Bredeson took more snaps than Lemieux, with a 44 to 17 snap difference. The snap counts are very noticeable as Bredeson apparently took over as the starter at guard for 72% of the game. Bredeson was solid in his debut and will likely see his role increased as the season goes on. He came to the team last week via trade from the Ravens.
We reached out to Justin Fried from our friends at Ebony Bird. Justin gave some great insight on the Giants’ new guard.
Here’s a look at what Ben Bredeson has the chance to add to the NY Giants’ line:
GMEN HQ: Question #1: What are your overall thoughts on Ben Bredeson?
Ebony Bird:
Bredeson is a young player who couldn’t crack the Ravens’ starting unit as a rookie despite a slew of injuries along the offensive line. Hardly an ideal situation for a player who many viewed as a high-floor prospect coming out of high school.
It’s hard to identify where his struggles have come from given that he was barely allowed to see the field. On paper, Bredeson should have been an ideal fit for the Ravens’ power-run scheme. But the coaching staff never trusted him enough to put him on the field and he was on the roster bubble this summer.
There’s still plenty of time for him to turn things around, but a slow start to his career has caused concerns. After all, there’s a reason why he was traded away after just one season.