We've all heard it by now: the Giants' offense was "broken" in 2013.
|
- 2014 Preseason schedule
The Giants have announced their preseason schedule...
- Ankle procedure for Eli
QB Manning underwent an arthroscopic procedure... It's become a buzzword surrounding the team this offseason, and rightfully so to an extent. The Giants finished 28th in total yards and scoring, setting off John Mara to use the term.
In the same breath on the day after the Giants' 2013 season ended, the team president and chief executive officer said his biggest concern was if the offensive line could stay healthy because he saw potential problems in its depth.
Unfortunately for the Giants, those issues surfaced. Now the front office, coaches, and players are trying to fix them.
And they're doing so piece by piece.
Giants.com takes a look at the offensive line depth on the current roster.
OT Will Beatty
G Geoff Schwartz
C J.D. Walton
G Chris Snee
OT Justin Pugh
OT Brandon Mosley
OT James Brewer
G Eric Herman
OL John Jerry
OT Charles Brown
G Stephen Goodin
OT Steven Baker
OT Troy Kropog
C Dallas Reynolds (exclusive rights free agent)
Starting with the hiring of new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and the restructuring of the offensive staff, the Giants have been one of the most active teams in free agency. Their first signings included two new offensive linemen, Geoff Schwartz and J.D. Walton, before adding John Jerry and Charles Brown to bolster the group.
The question now becomes how the unit will be pieced together.
We know Schwartz is eying left guard based on his initial comments when he signed with the team, and Walton is the only center currently signed for 2014 (Dallas Reynolds is an exclusive rights free agent). Meanwhile, Justin Pugh started all 16 games at right tackle as a rookie last year. But nothing is set in stone in the NFL, especially not on a team that stresses versatility on the line as much as the Giants do.
As far as left tackle and right guard, the incumbents, Will Beatty and Chris Snee, also have question marks. Beatty is coming off a fractured leg, and Snee, a cornerstone at guard for the last decade, is trying to return for an 11th season after hip and elbow surgeries.
So no one really knows how this will pan out and probably won't until the end of training camp.
But, with an assist from Giants.com senior writer/editor Michael Eisen, we broke down the linemen's career starts by position in the regular season to gauge potential roles in the upcoming season:
