X

Have feedback / suggestions? Let us know!

NFL New York Giants

New York Giants’ O-Line Biggest Embarrassment In Football

By @Bigwoolf5

New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars

Tommy Gilligan-USA Today Sports

The New York Giants were coming off by far the roughest part of their schedule, and after losing six in a row they had what was supposed to be a get-right game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But on Sunday afternoon the Giants blew an early 21-0 lead and fell to the Jaguars 25-24 for their seventh straight loss.

Early on in the game things looked good for the Giants and their offense as they scored three consecutive touchdowns. But in the second half, the offense crumbled and was unable to get anything going mostly due to the depleted offensive line.

Once again, the Giants run game was not very good as they rushed 35 times for just 116 yards, which is just over three yards per carry. It didn’t help that Rashad Jennings left the game early with an ankle injury, but even he had trouble finding holes. Jennings had a handful of nice runs, but more often than not he had no holes to run through.

Before I bash the offensive line, I will say in their defense that injuries were a factor in this game. Justin Pugh was inactive and missed his second straight game. His replacement Geoff Schwartz was playing in only his second game of the year, but had to be carted off the field with an ankle injury. James Brewer came in to replace Schwartz, but he also got injured, so by the end of the game the Giants were on their fourth string right tackle.

Having said all of that, the other four offensive linemen are the same four that started the season and have played every game, and they did not get the job done on Sunday. The stats will show that Eli Manning was only sacked four times, but he was regularly pressured and didn’t have time in the second half to throw.

The turning point in the game came when Manning was sacked at the beginning of the third quarter and fumbled it into the end zone. Jennings had a chance to pick it up, but J.T. Thomas jumped on it for the touchdown to make the score 21-10 and completely shift momentum.

The Giants’ offensive line was atrocious in 2013 and they thought they had addressed it this year, but it may be just as bad if not worse. The offense this year is based on running the ball and short, quick throws, but they haven’t been able to run the ball all year, and Manning can’t get comfortable in the pocket.

The Giants have improved their skill position players with guys like Jennings and Odell Beckham Jr., but if they don’t improve the offensive line big time, none of that will matter.

Pugh is only in his second year and was a first-round pick, so he will stay around, as will Weston Richburg, the team’s second-round pick this year. Schwartz has not been healthy all year, but he has a big contract so he is likely going to be on the team also. At the very least, the Giants will likely need two new starters on the offensive line next year, the biggest of which is left tackle, where Will Beatty has struggled mightily this year.

The Giants do have some really solid players on the offensive unit, but the awful play of the offensive line has not let these guys play to their full potential. At this point, the offensive line is a big embarrassment, and the Giants would be lucky if Manning comes out of this season healthy.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on