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Giants O-Line Reaching New Depths
McKenzie signing and return of Seubert make once struggling unit one of Big Blue's strengths.
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

June 30, 2005

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - - Soon after the Giants signed tackle Kareem McKenzie on March 4, Tom Coughlin sent word that he wanted to see David Diehl. They met not in the coach's office but in the team's weight room, where Coughlin was running on a treadmill. It was there that Coughlin informed Diehl that he would be moving from right tackle, where McKenzie would set up shop, to left guard.

The conversation was newsworthy for several reasons.

It demonstrated the Giants' vastly improved depth on the offensive line. McKenzie and Diehl will join Chris Snee, Shaun O'Hara and Luke Petitgout as the offensive line starters when training camp practices begin on July 30. Behind them are tackle Bob Whitfield - a former Pro Bowler - guards Rich Seubert and Jason Whittle and guard/center Wayne Lucier, who have all started in the NFL. That's nine linemen with experience in a position group that's been thin the last few seasons.

Finally, it set up a spirited competition between experienced players who each can make a legitimate claim to a starting job - and happen to be very close friends. Seubert was the starting left guard before suffering a severely fractured leg in 2003, an injury that sidelined him all of last season. Whittle, a one-time Giants right guard, was re-acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay and started all 16 games last year at left guard. Now Diehl, also a former right guard, is on the left side.

Whittle will apparently begin camp as Snee's backup on the right side, with Seubert playing behind Diehl. But everyone would like to start, and no one is conceding anything. But no matter how it all shakes out, the participants insist their friendship will not be compromised.

"All of us are good guys, we all get along well, we're friends and we spend a lot of time with each other," Diehl said. "When we're out on the field I'll be cheering them on just like I know they'll be cheering me on. We want to be the best we can be and we want to be a good team. All of the linemen are very unselfish. It's not about us. It's about the overall team. That's the way you have to go about it.

"They're going to compete, just like anybody would. That just makes me push myself harder to prove I'm the person at left guard. You can't take it personally. There are more important things than holding a grudge and turning a back on a friend. I want them to play the best they can play and I hope they feel the same way about me."

When the move was made, Diehl was considered a relatively secure frontrunner, in part because no one was certain if Seubert would return to the field or how well he would play if he did. But Seubert, who was probably the Giants' best lineman when he suffered his injury, has made a remarkable recovery from three fractures in his right leg. He performed so well since being cleared to return to the field, he was the first player Coughlin praised in the coach's review of the offseason program.

Seubert is confident he will pass his next big test, when he puts on his pads in Albany and tries to win back the job that was once his.

"I like competition," he said. "I came in here as a rookie and had to prove myself. I proved myself for two years and I got hurt. I'll prove myself again. It's the business. If you don't have competition, your team's not going to be good. This year we have some good competition on the offensive line. It will be interesting to see how it all boils down."

Seubert, who is always one of the earliest arrivals at the stadium, is constantly at the center of the linemen's locker room banter, needling O'Hara, badgering Petitgout or trying to get Whittle to join him at lunch. That will not change when the competition heats up.

"This is a business where you have to get yourself ready," Seubert said. "You just have to go. You can't worry about what's happening to everybody. Every year you get new friends and your friends are gone. It's a tough business. In a blink of an eye your career can be taken away and you might be packing your bags.

"It's a business. You have a respect for everybody. If you're not ready to go, you're not going to be around long. There is always somebody around trying to take your job, trying to be better than you."

Whittle was a lifesaver for the Giants last season, coming in and playing well when the team was short of quality linemen. A versatile player who can move to center and long snap, Whittle is now fighting for a job, well aware his playing time could be severely curtailed.

"I know that's definitely a possibility, but I don't worry about it," he said. "There's nothing I can do about it but go out and do my best. If they decide to go with one of those other guys, then that means they outperformed me. It's not because they liked them better or some political reason. It's because they're the better player and we'll all be fine for it."

Whittle was asked if it's strange competing against his closest friends for a job.

"You get used to it after a while," he said. "It's like that everywhere. Usually your closest friends are the guys in whatever position group you're in. Those are the guys you're typically competing with. These guys are professionals. They're hard workers and good guys. I never have hard feelings or feel threatened. I wish those guys the best of luck. I know they wish me the best of luck. We're all competing for the same job, and we're also competing to make this team better and to try to help us win.

"That's why you keep playing the game, for the thrill of competing. There's nothing better than going out on Sunday and competing."

No matter how it all shakes out, the Giants will be better off. In addition to having an outstanding starter, the line will have depth at the same skill level. That will force everyone to stay at the top of their game, and ensure that the Giants won't suffer a dropoff should someone suffer an injury.

"It will be huge for our football team from the standpoint of the strength of your team, your depth, these are all factors," Coughlin said. "The more quality football players that you have, the better your level of competition and the better your ability to withstand those little bumps in the road. The more people that can play and perform and go into the game and keep your team on track and give you a chance to win, the better off you are. We would like to see that area, in a very short amount of time, depending on how some people are able to come along, you would like to see that flipped into a plus. All of a sudden what two years ago, everyone was complaining about, you would like to think that maybe there is a chance that that could get turned into a real positive. Now we won't know any of this until we get the pads on - all of this other stuff is speculation."

Bur barring an injury epidemic, the competition among the job hopefuls will be at a high level and extremely close.

"I'm excited," Whittle said. "I think it's good. Anytime you have several good players competing for a job, I don't think anything can come out of it but good. I'm excited. Diehl's a good player, Richie's a good player and I'm looking forward to the competition. We're all close friends. I don't care as long as we're winning and as long as we're improving, it doesn't bother me. I'm excited about it."

"We all have playing experience," Seubert said. "We're all friends, so it's not going to get nasty. It's going to be good competition."