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New York Giants: 5 Things That Would Keep Them From The Playoffs

By Kenneth Teape

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Offensive Line Struggles

Jun 16, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants tackle Ereck Flowers (76) takes part in practice during minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Ryan-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into the offseason, the Giants knew that they needed to upgrade their offensive line. While the offense picked things up as the season wore on and they became accustomed to Ben McAdoo’s new offense, the line was still a trainwreck at times. They signed Geoff Schwartz to start at guard, but he missed all but two games. That pushed players into bigger roles the Giants were not planning for.

Underachievers and street free agents were starting games as they were unable to get a core group of guys to play together for an extended period of time. The offensive line is arguably the most important unit in terms of chemistry and cohesion, and the Giants lacked it last season.

They didn’t want that to happen again in 2015, so they continued to bolster the unit. They used their first round pick on Ereck Flowers, and planned to move Justin Pugh to guard to upgrade two spots. But, those plans got thrown off track when Right Tackle Will Beatty tore his pectoral working out and will miss 5-6 months.

That injury alone could torpedo the Giants season. With that timetable, Beatty could miss the first half of the season, leaving the Giants in a tough predicament. Protecting Manning’s blindside is imperative to the offense producing, and without Beatty, who had started over 40 consecutive games and not missed one since 2011, that becomes a huge question mark.

If the Giants are unable to find a suitable replacement, either Flowers, Pugh or a free agent such as Jake Long, it will be tough sledding for the offense. Beatty was the only player whose spot along the line was locked in, and now without him, things could be in shambles again. If he is unable to return health at any point the Giants will sorely miss him.

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