N.Y. Giants: What The Fluker Was That?

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

SUNDAY

Seattle Seahawks

vs.

New York Giants

FROM

Jimmy Hoffa Grounds

New York Giants: Was Last Sunday Just a Fluker?

Seattle will be ready.  The Giants won't be able to pull a fast one over the Seahawks like they did against the Broncos in Denver.

It was painfully evident last week, offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan was not going to put Eli Manning in harms way.  Yes, the offensive line allowed another three sacks, but that's routine stuff at this point.  Instead, Coach Sullivan limited Eli to 19 passes, who completed 11 of them.  Only five receptions were made by four different fill-in receivers.  Rookie tight end Evan Engram accounted for another five receptions, and one toss went to Orleans Darkwa out of the backfield.

Denver is a good team with a top tier defense.  Yet, the Giants rushed 31 times for 148 yards; an average of 4.6 yards per carry.

Were the Broncos simply caught off guard?  Did they simply have a bad day at the office?

One now has to wonder about the impact D.J. Fluker played in Sunday's game.  He single-handed opened up swaths of daylight for Orleans Darkwa starting at center in place of Weston Richburg (concussion protocol).

Bart Oates was the Giants starting center from 1985 through 1993, during which time he appeared in three Pro Bowls.  He was their center in 1986, and went to the Pro Bowl during the Giants 1990 Super Bowl season.  He played out his final two season with San Francisco, making the Pro Bowl each time.

Shaun O'Hara was brought over from Cleveland in 2004, and became the Giants starting center for the next seven seasons.  He started for the 2007 Super Bowl champions, and appeared in three straight Pro Bowls between 2008 - 2010.

David Baas was signed as a free agent to replace O'Hara the following season.  Despite winning a Super Bowl in 2011 with Baas at center, he went on to become an expensive bust.  But then again, the 2011 season was the last bit of goodness Jerry Reese was able to squeeze out of that offensive line.

Since then, it's been all downhill.

Now in his fourth season, Weston Richburg, 25, was selected by the Giants in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2014 draft.  He has missed the last two games, placed in concussion protocol, which brings us to D.J. Fluker.

Now 29-years old, D.J. was selected in the first round (11th overall) of the 2013 draft by the Chargers.  Only problem is, he is used to playing right guard.

So what do we make of last Sunday?

The man is 6'5", and weighs 339 pounds.  Weston Richburg is 6'3", 298lbs.

Hmm.

Seattle will be expecting the Giants to run ... again.  I'm sure of it.

So, I'm going to reserve judgement until after Sunday's game against the Seahawks.

I have a saying: Once is an event; twice is a coincidence; and three times is a trend.

Nuff ced.