As the NFL season enters it’s final two weeks, a miserable Giants season that in a variety of ways seems like it never started, will finally come to an end.
General Manager Jerry Reese and personnel staff will have a large share of issues to sort through. Most of those issues coming on the offensive side of the ball. Entering the season, an offense littered with playmakers was expected to be the anchor of the team and present tough matchups for opposing defenses. One area that was severely overlooked and neglected was the offensive line. Starting the season, very quietly among a team of stars, the Giants lined up a veteran line aside from rookie Justin Pugh. Pugh would eventually start in place of the injured David Diehl.
The line consisted of Beatty (28 Years Old) , Kevin Boothe (30), David Baas (32), Chris Snee (31) and Diehl (33).
With the salary cap restricting what the team was able to do in the offseason, Reese was forced to fill in other holes on the team with one year contracts and middle tier players. As for the line, it is apparent now that Reese tried to roll the dice and try to squeeze out one more year out of this aging group—and it backfired.
Chris Snee was a shell of his Pro Bowl self forced to have hip surgery and most likely going to retire. David Baas has had his share of ailments and also ended up on IR. Although David Diehl has been steady as the right guard and a mentor to Pugh, his best years are long behind him.
Bad luck, inexperience and poor play has also plagued the Giants offensive line. Backing up Baas, Jim Cordle showed great effort in the starting role only to end up on IR with a torn patella tendon. Starting left tackle Will Beatty has been taken to task all season and his high contract is beginning to look like one that the Giants will regret. Former 4th round draft picks James Brewer and Brandon Mosley have provided little to nothing.
Among the many decisions that will be made this upcoming off-season, rebuilding the offensive line is most certainly at the top of the list.
Marco Imperati | Featured Columnist