The New York Giants appear to have found an offensive line that can perform well this season.
After a rough start in their opening loss to Minnesota—where Daniel Jones was sacked five times and the team didn’t score a touchdown—the line and the offense made significant improvements in the 21-18 loss to Washington last Sunday.
Jones threw two touchdown passes, the running game totaled 129 yards, and Devin Singletary got his first rushing touchdown with the Giants.
If kicker Graham Gano hadn’t been injured on the first kickoff, New York might be 1-1 and tied for first in the NFC East.
Instead, the winless Giants are heading to Cleveland for a game against the Browns (1-1). However, the offense and the line are performing better than last year, when New York allowed a franchise-record 85 sacks and finished with a 6-11 record.
The line was rebuilt during the offseason, bringing new hope. Carmen Bricillo took over as the line coach from Bobby Johnson and brought in some players from Las Vegas.
Tackle Jermaine Eluemunor was signed as a free agent, along with former Packers guard Jon Runyan Jr. Another free agent guard, Greg Van Roten, joined during training camp.
With returning players Andrew Thomas at left guard and John-Michael Schmitz at center, the line has worked well together despite some injuries during training camp.
“I feel good about the progress we’ve made in the first two games, but to be called a great offensive line or a good one, you need to do it consistently,” Thomas said Thursday. “We’re treating this week as another chance to improve, protect DJ, and create running lanes.”
The Giants struggled with this last season due to injuries and poor performance. Thomas got hurt in the first game against Dallas and was out for two months. Schmitz had a shoulder injury in October that caused him to miss some games.
Right tackle Evan Neal suffered two ankle injuries, the last one needing surgery, which kept him out of training camp for weeks, and he is now a backup. Guard Mark Glowinski had a tough time and was benched.
This group of experienced players has managed to stay healthy and perform well.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka mentioned that Bricillo and assistant coach James Ferentz have effectively kept the line working together.
“It’s been great to have the veteran guys in there that have played a lot of ball and played ball in this system before,” Kafka said. “So those guys have been really, really positive. And they’re all working together. You can see that on the practice field. You see it in the meeting rooms when they’re talking.”
Another area that hasn’t received much attention is the performance of tight ends Daniel Bellinger, Chris Manhertz, and rookie Theo Johnson.
The group has only been targeted five times by Jones in the first two games, but they have done a good job of chipping edge rushers, blocking during running plays, and providing extra protection so Jones isn’t getting sacked.
“The run game isn’t just the offensive line,” Runyan said. “It’s the tight ends, it’s the receivers, it’s the running backs being able to read and find the holes and put the foot in the ground and get vertical.
The tight ends have done a really good job, and they take that really serious.”
