blazintommyd · @blazintommyd
26th Feb 2015 from TwitLonger
The Offensive Line [#NYGiants]: I'm Bad At Poker
[The comment appearing below originally appeared on SB Nation and was then reposted in re Ali Marpet on SNY - viz., We don't need yet another Guard w/short arms built like a center http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/ali-marpet?id=2552332
The similar applies to http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/brandon-scherff?id=2552353]
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This is what I’d do, now:
(I) Get this guy as a Free Agent to play Right Tackle (he’s also excellent – in Power – playing Guard)
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/orlando-franklin?id=2495151
And this is what I’d do – SO FAR – in re The Draft
(II) The following are the only Draftees I’d consider for OT
(1st) T.J. Clemmings – http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/t.j.-clemmings?id=2552365
(2nd) Andrus Peat – http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/andrus-peat?id=2552455
(3rd) Ereck Flowers – http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/ereck-flowers?id=2552452
(III) In General – I’m not impressed with Justin Pugh, he’s a Guard and by no means a Tackle http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/justin-pugh?id=2540195. Will Beatty is ok, at Left Tackle, but he’s nothing special. He was supposed to be this run blocking wonder http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/william-beatty?id=71199. He isn’t.
Is that because he’s underutilized and only used for pass protection?
Pass protection is way easier to coach than run blocking especially if you have talent to work with; and the former is apparently the only thing Flaherty is good at. Now whether that’s because of the offensive game plan, which has been pass oriented and is the the head coach’s fault, etc has remained a complete mystery under Coughlin, who is, and has been, pass oriented eg, the Giants get running backs and then have no blocking schemes; but they have been consistently good at pass protection; so now Coughlin knows that he needs a Power running game in order to be a successful playoff team. So that’s where the emphasis ought to be.
Flaherty can coach up Clemmings for pass protection chores.
Otherwise, the Giants have Guards up the ass – i.e., they don’t need anymore great big guys with short arms or Left Tackles with broken legs
(A) The Question in regard to the Left Guard is how they are going to – work in tandem with – whoever is going to play Left Tackle; and how the Left Tackle works in conjunction with the End and/or a Full back or H Back.
Again this goes back to The Mystery in regard to the apparent lack of all of these factors in regard to blocking. For the most part, pass protection has been Will Beatty protecting Eli’s blind side with seldom if any help, which raises questions:
(1) Is there a problem with the Left Guard position commensurate with the Left Tackle? Is the Left Guard effective, pulling, for Power running? Personally, I don’t know if Pugh would be any better at Left Guard than he is at Right Tackle; but that position has been a sort of Question Mark, hasn’t it.
(2) Is there a weakness at center? As it stands, the center and two guards have done an effective job closing up the middle of the line – maintaining A Gap protection, which puts additional pressure on the Tackles – from the outside – Well Richberg is a center and now they acquired this Canadian guy and he most definitely looks like a center. In any case, if you have a strong center then the Left guard can more effectively work in tandem with the Left Tackle and vice versa, while the End(s) can back up this scheme, much the way LBs do, in conjunction with the Defensive line.
(3) So the Giants ought to devise some plan as to what they’re going to do with all of these guards. Clearly what they need are Tackles – that have played as tackles – that have good heighth, long arms, big hands and are good run blockers
NOTE: here’s another guy in Free Agency, big enough to play Tackle and he plays Left Guard http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/mike%20-iupati?id=497016
j/s
by blazintommyd on Feb 24, 2015 | 5:14 PM