Articles

The Giants Patience with Ereck Flowers is Wearing Thin

by Spiro Kasabian @nyspawtsguy_spi

The New York Giants 2015 1st round draft pick Ereck Flowers was supposed to shine this year.  He was finally going to have a crack at a spot he was positioned to succeed at. This was the year Flowers would be moved to Right Tackle.

And let’s be honest, Flowers is coming off yet another disappointing season (2017).  That is “three for three”.  By any professional sports standards, this is terrible.

The Giants have always treated Flowers with kid gloves.  Reese, McAdoo, and Mara never once through the kid under the bus to the media. They kept him at Left Tackle when he was clearly struggling, and never considered benching him or giving him any legit competition.  The Giants brass were clearly protecting Flowers’ fragile state of mind.

That was until Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur came to town.  Gettleman’s prize Free Agent signing this offseason was Left Tackle Nate Solder.  The very next call placed by Coach Shurmur was to the incumbent Flowers, informing him that he was no longer the team’s starting Left Tackle.  Followed by telling him he would compete at RT .  In typical Flowers fashion, he didn’t say much in response, but handled the news okay, per Shurmur.

This Monday, in what would have been his first OTA with the new coaching staff and Ereck Flowers was the only Giant to no-show.  Even the much-maligned Odell Beckham checked in and met with the new coaching staff.  Suffice to say, things are not off to a great start for Flowers and the new coaching staff.  Even though OTAs are not mandatory, Shurmur had expressed that he wanted everyone to be there.

Does Flowers have the mental toughness to make the switch?

This move to Right Tackle is not going to be an easy one for Flowers.

Offensive Line Coach Hal Hunter describing the transition from Left to Right “It would be like, I golf right-handed, if all of a sudden I have to golf left-handed, it’s going to be awhile.  He’s been playing left tackle for a long time.”  Hunter went on to say, “Good, solid left tackle, but the footwork is going to be different.  Everything is going to be just the opposite, and he’s a good enough athlete that he’s going to be able to adjust.”

Given that Ereck Flowers quit on his teammates last season, one would think that he would be chomping at the bit to get back into the Giants facility.  All players have been given a “clean slate” heading into 2018, per Dave Gettleman.  You see guys like Eli Apple coming in and making up with Landon Collins.  Carl Banks even tweeted about Apple’s new outlook,  “Seeing him today, everything about him was positive, his energy and body language was awesome.”  That seems like a guy that is ready to turn the page from last year and make good on his second chance.

The same can’t be said about Ereck Flowers.  It is up to Flowers to step up, or this could be the last year we see him in Blue.