Oh no for the New York Giants’ O-line

By Pat Zazzarino | Aug 26, 2014

Eli Manning is a lot of things. Mobile is definitely not one of them.

Watching Eli attempt to scramble is hilarious in its own right. True, a lot of great quarterbacks don’t know how to scramble, like Peyton Manning, or some quarterbacks like to scramble a bit too much such as RGIII and Michael Vick. Typically however, quarterbacks should rarely scramble as long as the offensive line does its job right?

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And for an o-line to do its job, we have to have healthy players right?

One would think.

During this preseason many healthy Giants players have been falling like dominoes. Unfortunately, this latest injury could potentially ruin an already lackluster offense for the season.

Earlier today the New York Giants’ website released information that left guard Geoff Schwartz’s injury may be more serious that it seemed to be. He has a dislocated big toe, and will be fitted with a walking boot where rehabilitation will being in approximately 7-10 days.

“This is just a minor setback,” Schwartz said on the Giants’ website. “I plan on attacking the rehab program so I can get back on the field as soon as possible with my teammates and help us win games.”

A minor setback for Schwartz, but a big one for the Giants. As of now, the Giants’ offense is already sputtering and the last thing the Giants need is another injury, especially to a linemen who should be protecting a weaker Eli Manning.

The Giants’ o-line needs to come out in the first game proving that they can protect their quarterback. If not, all opposing defensive line coaches for the remainder of the season are going to be shouting the same strategy to their quarterback killers.

“Blitz baby blitz!”

Normally, this could be solved by strong receivers, and a quarterback who can be fairly mobile. As addressed earlier, Eli is not mobile. Also, the Giants don’t have an intimidating arsenal of receivers either. Yes, we still have Cruz, but we can expect him to be under double-coverage most of the game.

Reuben Randle has talent, but lacks experience. His height and big hands could allow him to be an easy target for Manning, but he isn’t as fast as you would like him to be. Odell Beckham is still dealing with his injury so I doubt that he will see any playing time for the first couple of games. Then there is Mario Manningham who has the potential to be a large threat, but is a little inconsistent.

Fortunately, Rashad Jennings looks great in the backfield. At 6-1 and 231 pounds he has the potential to do some blocking. His backups Peyton Hillis and Andre Williams are good as well.

The biggest problem with the offense is this; pressure from the many good defensive linemen that the Giants will face can put too much pressure on Eli, forcing him to either get sacked and risking another injury, or leading him to release the ball too soon and make a bad play.

It’s simple really. Fortunately the defense hasn’t suffered any more injuries. If the offense fails to put up points, it will fall on the defense to make bigger plays on a frequent basis.

Personally, I see this being a humbling year for the Giants. As much as I would love to see them march into the postseason, I simply don’t believe the Giants have all the tools this year. They have suffered too many injuries, Eli is coming off the worst season of his career, and we are just missing the powerhouses we relied on for years, such as Justin Tuck.

But hey, I could be dead wrong. Maybe the new guys will step up and we could have another Cinderella story season like we did in Super Bowl 42.

One can always hope.

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