For many years, the New York Giants’ offensive line has been a major area of concern. But with Andrew Thomas developing into one of the best left tackles in the league and the arrival of rookie John Michael Schmitz, the line should take significant strides this season.
Perhaps more than any other unit on a team, the offensive line has to be a cohesive group that’s on the same page. That might be why head coach Brian Daboll has been shuffling the interior offensive line this summer in order to find the best fit for his team.
He continued to shuffle the line at Tuesday’s practice. For the first team drills, the unit saw Joshua Ezeudu at left guard, Schmitz at center and Ben Bredeson at right guard. Matt Peart was at right tackle as starter Evan Neal is still in concussion protocol.
Then on the next session of team drills, there was a slight change with Mark Glowinski at right guard for Bredeson. Not having Bredeson in with the first-team offense was somewhat of a surprise considering he’s played both guard positions and center throughout training camp.
With just over three weeks until the regular-season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, it’s anybody’s guess regarding what the starting offensive line will look like. All we know for certain is that Thomas and Neal will be the bookends that protect Daniel Jones.
There’s a positive and a negative for rotating players in the starting lineup. We’ll take a look at each aspect.
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The positive: Injuries always happen
In the NFL, it’s not a question of if you’ll sustain an injury to the offensive line, it’s when it will happen. Whether it’s for a few plays, a couple of series or multiple games, injuries will cause you to make alterations to the men up front.
New York knows this all too. Thomas and Glowinski were the only starters who didn’t miss time due to an injury last season.
With players playing multiple positions during practice, it will have them and the team better prepared if they have to switch positions during the course of the game if someone goes down with an injury. Even Tyre Phillips, who is initially believed to be a backup swing tackle, has taken some reps with the first-team offense at left guard this summer.
One of the reasons the team was able to eke out victories in close games last season is because Daboll had his team prepared for any and all situations. From what we’ve seen this summer, the O-line will be prepared as well as any team to adapt when an injury occurs.
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The negative: Continuity could be impacted
While there is a positive in having multiple players line up at various positions across the line, it doesn’t enhance their ability to gel. As we mentioned, cohesiveness is vital especially when it comes to protecting the quarterback. One lapse in communication or assignment and your quarterback could be sacked or suffer an injury.
With just weeks away from the start of the season, ideally, you would want your starting offensive line etched in stone, especially when you’ll be facing one of the best defensive front sevens in the league. The Cowboys front seven is led by DeMarus Lawrence and two-time First-Team All-Pro Micah Parsons who some consider the best defensive player in the league.
Dallas will line up Parsons wherever they feel they can exploit a weakness, so it’s imperative everyone on the Giants line is on the same page and knows everyone’s assignments. In their two matchups last season, Dallas sacked Jones eight times and recorded 19 hits on him.
If the Giants are going to pull off the upset, the offensive line must be able to hold their own against the Cowboys front seven.
Sooner than later Daboll and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson will have to figure out the best offensive line combination to start the season.