N.Y. Giants ~ Offensive Line Regaining Health (and Greatness).

NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS:
Offensive Line Has Big Blue Surging Forward With Power.

Shaun O'Hara, Rich Seubert, Kareem McKenzie, David Diehl and Chris Snee have been together a long time.  They have long been considered one of the best offensive lines in Football.  Prior to last year when their streak was snapped, they started 38 consecutive games together.

Last year injuries put that streak to rest and also took a heavy toll on the Giants' season.  This year has been no different.  Shaun O'Hara is still a question heading into Sunday's game with Minnesota due to a bum foot that won't let up.  David Diehl however should be back in action this week.  His practices went well and he seems like a go to return from a partially torn hamstring.

It's always been my contention the Giants will live and die with this Offensive Line.  Everything starts and ends with them.  Having said that, the Giants are not only very alive, this patched-up Offensive Line has been doing extremely well.

The whole left side of this line was decimated losing starters Diehl and O'Hara.  Then back-up Adam Koets was lost for the season after the Seattle game.  When it came time for his turn to step in, the unheralded signing of former Pro-Bowler Shawn Andrews in the off-season practically had everyone calling GM Jerry Reese brilliant over the acquisition right up until he went down with a back back of his own that is still barking at him.

If you're not willing to call Jerry Reese brilliant just yet, how about extremely damn good then?  I am an unabashed Reese cheerleader by the way.  But if you remember back to the Jim Fassell days and the first year Coughlin took over, we had a guy named Luke Pettigout on our Offensive Line who was a penalty waiting to happen.  Remember him and all the bad Football he engaged in?  Now remember how Jerry Reese in one of his very first moves as the new Giants GM told Pettigout in a stone-faced manner to Beat It!  That's the moment when this Offensive Line was finally free to become one of the most dominant units in the NFL.  It was all a matter of addition by subtraction.

Fast-forward to this season, and what you have is a GM who somehow supplied this team with more depth on the Line than we all realized.  Will Beatty, drafted by Reese and Kevin Boothe, imported from Oakland have stepped in and contributed mightily filling in for the Big Blue regulars.  No more proof of their effectiveness is needed than the holes they've created that Brandon Jacobs has run through these last two weeks and the fact Eli has stayed very well protected and clean.

Will Beatty was rolling right along Sunday then got caught in a series of bad holding penalties.  Give the kid credit and give Offensive Line Coach Pat Flaherty even more credit for on-the-spot, in-game corrections on his technique. 

Coach Pat Flaherty has been here for seven years now and is regarded as one of the best in the business just like the Giants Offensive Line is considered one of the best in the business.

The Boys who supply the Daylight held things together as the situation became more dire by the week it seemed, and did an outstanding Big Blue job.  Now that health is returning to fortify the Line, the Giants and their Big Blue fan base should move forward with an increasing confidence knowing Giants Football still means Running With Power.



Mike.BTB