Analyst Believes This Is Key to Fixing New York Giants’ Woes

If the New York Giants aspire to become a powerhouse football team like they were for most of the Tom Coughlin era, it’s important that they focus on one area in particular to make that happen: the trenches.

Such is the opinion of ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, who told Kevin Clark that the Giants’ shift away from building up the offensive and defensive lines has not helped the team break free from the doldrums since they last won a Super Bowl in 2011.

“At the end of the day, you have completely lost sight of organizationally who you’ve been,” Orlovsky said, acknowledging that the Giatns also need to find a franchise quarterback. 

“I remember watching the Giants as a kid. The name that constantly comes to mind is Rodney Hampton, and I remember their ability to run the football.  … the name that comes to mind is Brandon Jacobs for me–those guys and (defensive ends) Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora.

“So I just think that to fix the Giants, they have to rebuild their lines of scrimmage.”

Orlovsky is spot-on with his take. Under general manager Joe Schoen, the Giants have moved away from building from the inside out via the draft and have emphasized drafting skill position players, whose success often heavily depends on the guys in the trenches.

From an offensive line perspective, Schoen, who didn’t draft a single player from the trenches on either side of the ball this past draft, has selected four offensive linemen: center John Michael Schmitz (R2-23), tackles Evan Neal (R1-22) and Joshua Ezeudu (R3-22), and interior lineman Marcus McKethan (R5-22).

Of those four, Schmitz, who hasn’t quite blown anyone’s doors off, seems to be the most stable of the group in terms of having a starting job. McKethan is no longer with the team, and Ezuedu and Neal are trending in the wrong direction.

Defensively, it’s been worse. The Giants have drafted two down linemen: D.J. Davidson (R5-22) and Jordan Riley (R7-23). While Davidson got some starting snaps this year, Riley was a healthy scratch earlier in the year until injuries opened the way for him to contribute.

The Giants have, instead, tried going the veteran route to address both sides of their trenches, having signed Jon Runyan Jr, Jermaine Eluemunor, Greg Van Roten, Aaron Stinnie, and Austin Schlottman on the offensive side of the ball, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Armon Watts as veteran options on the defensive side.

The veteran route, however, has not always been fruitful. The Giants offensive line, which started in the middle of the pack for the first few weeks of the season until injuries started to rip the unit apart, is currently ranked 24th according to Pro Football Network.

The site also notes that the line’s pressure rate against the blitz is 26th (47.0%), and the pressure rate against four rushers or fewer ranks 29th (36.3%).  

During the 2004-2011 seasons, when one could say that the Giants last had solid trench warriors on either side of the ball, the Giants made five postseason appearances, winning two Super Bowls. They also finished first in the division in three of those seasons.

The Giants’ recent approach toward building the trenches has contributed partly to the team’s downfall and, Orlovsky believes, has caused the franchise to lose sight of its identity.  

“I think the Giants lost sight of what made them the Giants and what was their calling card when they actually were a good football team, and they would go on some of those runs was they could control football games on both sides of the ball,” he said. 

“Yes, you gotta get a quarterback, but you have to rebuild your line. I remember David Diehl and (Chris) Snee, and that’s when they were at their best. They don’t have those guys anymore. 

“So we could talk about all the pretty pieces, but the Giants organizationally should be a line of scrimmage organization, and they haven’t been.”