Loading ...David Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O’Hara, Chris Snee and Kareem McKenzie have been together for a long time now, and have played extremely well together in the past, gelling as a unit. Despite this, offensive line struggled at times last season, and it really hurt the offensive production. The running game was shut down for numerous reasons, one of which was the offensive line’s inability to open holes for the running backs. Both offensive tackles struggled with speed rushers at times, and forced Eli Manning into some rushed throws which resulted in turnovers. The health of the offensive line could be blamed, as nearly member of the unit was injured at one point or another last season, but it is clear that the line needs to be much better next season if the offense is going to improve.
How does the offensive line improve? I believe it could happen if one rumored personnel move takes place. If the Giants start second year lineman William Beatty at left tackle and slide David Diehl to left guard. The rest of the line stays the same and Rich Seubert moves to a valuable reserve role on the bench.
There are many reasons why this move should happen:
William Beatty is more of a prototypical left tackle than David Diehl. The athletic, long armed Beatty is quick on his feet and was impressive when forced into action during 2009, his rookie campaign. The Giants drafted Beatty in the second round of the 2009 draft to be the left tackle of the future, and now that he has had a full season to develop and gain strength, it is time for him to show the organization what he can do as a starter.
David Diehl is more of a guard than a left tackle. The versatile Diehl has played all over the offensive line for the Giants and has succeeded wherever he played, starting 16 games as a rookie at right guard, 16 games at right tackle in 2004 and again at left guard during the 2005 season. Before the 2006 season, Diehl moved to left tackle and has been a stalwart there for the Giants ever since. An excellent run blocker and true mauler, Diehl has struggled at times with athletic speed rushers. A warrior and one of the toughest players in the NFL, he has told the media that he will not surrender the left tackle job without a fight, but I think he becomes a Pro Bowl caliber left guard if he is moved.
The rumored move also improves depth across the line. Rich Seubert instantly becomes the best sixth lineman in the league, and he can swing between guard and center, where he has been spotted practicing with the second unit. David Diehl can use his versatility in case an injury happens to either tackle, he can fill in and perform amicably, while Seubert can slide into the left guard spot.
I think that Beatty will succeed and become an excellent left tackle and Diehl will become a powerful left guard, and this move will benefit the Giants in both the running game and the passing game. We all know that the current Giants regime seem to consistently resist change and often stick with what has worked in the past, but they need to realize that they did not draft Beatty in the second round to watch him collect dust on the bench. If this move is made, I see it as a big step in the right direction for Big Blue’s offense in 2010.
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Reposted from the end of last thread:
norm says:
June 25, 2010 at 11:03 AM
One factor that’s often overlooked in the ongoing Jacobs/Bradshaw debate is their relative skills as pass blockers. In fact, I’m kinda surprised that I haven’t seen it addressed here.
Despite his flaws and declining skills as a runner, Brandon Jacobs is a devastating pass blocker. He’s probably better at picking up the blitz and laying out rushers than any running back in the game today. OTOH, this aspect of Bradshaw’s game leaves a whole lot to be desired. Although I forget which game it was last year, I do recall Eli directing some uncharacteristic on-field anger toward AB after he badly whiffed on a blitz pickup.
Don’t discount this factor when handicapping who the starting Giant RB will be in 2010. Remember we have a head coach who’s shown himself all too willing to sit the more physically talented player in favor of the guy who executes all of the “little things” and plays the game “the right way.” Moreover, if the Giants offensive focus continues to trend more to an aerial attack, Jacobs’ far superior pass blocking skills will undoubtedly win him more playing time.
And, finally, let me offer my own belated welcome to njm0m – the Jacqui Robinson of G101.
Sorry to start it off from last thread but,
Repost:
Jim, the best thing about sports, is that two people, looking at the exact same thing, rooting for the exact same thing, can come to such completely opposite conclusions!
I think your last sentence says it all.
Its just that your outlook looks eerily similar to last year, and the NFL just doesn’t normally shake out the same way season after season.
Cowboys-IMO overrated line, overrated defense (great d-line, but overrated cbs, saftiers, and lbs… thats 7 of the 11 that I would take any one of my giants 1 on 1 vs), overrated overrated overrated QB overrated.
Great point on the Skins great point, Dan snyder is the BP of the NFL! But the one thing that Shannahan did without Elway was produce O-lines and RBs… both of which the Skins just completely overhauled. They have two GREAT TEs and their WRs shouldn’t be asked to do too much. Can you name one WR not named Ed McCafery that Shannahan ever produced? I can however remember Shannon Sharpe getting Recept after recept…I made a point the other day, each day that Dan Snyder doesn’t make a decision, is one day the Skins are closer to being in contention.
The Eagles, well I think Kolb is a great addition to an Andy Reid run passing attack, and we will see what happens there, I like your outlook on them, I am just afraid they will be good too.
NO- again great point about their offense, it will have something to say about their season, I just think they got lucky with injuries last year on defense, and this year will be a rude awakening. And IDK about you, I don’t really trust the Colts HC but your 100% right, Payton out coached the S outta the Colts.
Your description of the North sounds spot on, and I can see any one of those teams, other than the lions, making some noise.
and the Giants, what do you think about the Giants?
GG
the G-Men have all the talent they need to be in the mix until the very end. Their weakness is, as it has been for 6 years, coaching. TC is a buffoon; Gilbride an arrogant ****.
Bad news: Chad Jones injured in car accident.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/06/25/giants-rookie-injured-in-car-crash/
No idea what sort of condition he’s in, but the car looks terrible. He’s lucky to be alive
How bad is he injured?!
Mark brunell is bankrupt?! How!
UPDATE ON CHAD JONES UP TOP
That is one ugly crash. I’m starting to get this awful feeling that this team is jinxed. First it was Kiwi and the motorcylce, then Hixon and the Turf and now Chad Jones and a car accident. I hope he and everyone involved is ok and hope this is just a terrible accident and nothing more was involved.
Oh man, that car looks pretty bad. Let’s just hope the kid is okay. If he didn’t get seriously hurt it’s a miracle.
ROC, great piece. I really want Beatty to win that spot, but it will come down to whether he can prove he can handle it in preseason. I think it’s safe to say that the Giants WANT him to take the position. He wasn’t just a second-round pick, he was a second-round pick who was rated a first-rounder by most teams around the league. But he has to play better than Seubert in preseason and at least as well as Diehl. Will he do so? No one knows yet. Let’s hope so, because I think we all agree that once he wins that job (and I’m certain he will by next season…the only question is whether it will be sooner) the O-line gets better with Diehl at LG and a true LT playing out wide and using his superior athleticism.
Now, running backs. First, let me say I made a “mental error” (undoubtably the result of those infirmities that KD referenced when he suggested an emergency indicator in meat-lockers for dudes such as I…I like the idea, and am going to suggest to my wife that we get those installed all over our house and apartment because I’d rather not just wait on the floor for rescue when I inevitably fall down from exhaustion brought on by having to continue moving after sixty years of existence) when I said Brown was from Connecticut. As I was writing that I, of course, confused my Browns. “Our” Brown is from NC State and it was those games in which I saw him play. We senior citizens are prone to such cognitive errors. You will have to forgive us.
Second, while I DO think Bradshaw is our best all-around running back, I have actually never advocated that he get the majority of touches. I generally like the idea of Jacobs roughing up the defense and making Bradshaw’s explosiveness even more valuable when he is a “change-up” from what the defense has been seeing and after they have been softened up a bit. As long as Jacobs can get back to his roughly 5 YPC average that he maintained until last season, I like him as the guy who gets about 50-60% of the touches, with Bradshaw at 30-40% and the #3 back getting the leftovers. If Jacobs cannot get back to that level then it’s time for a changing of the guard, but I’d like to see Bradshaw have a few more years of refining his craft before he becomes the primary back for this team. First, that extends his career. Second, it makes his next contract less costly. Third, he needs to see more in order to follow the Tiki Barber model of figuring out how to be a somewhat undersized back who can carry a heavy load but still endure the punishment and come back the next season just as good. I hate to make it sound like I think these guys are just “meat”, but I’d like to extract the 2-3 years that Jacobs has left in him before he completely breaks down from the battering. As long as he can get the job done he both does the job and protects Bradshaw from a lot of the punishment.
As to the #3 back, I really think the Giants have three excellent candidates. I think if he is in reality the beneficiary of a medical miracle then Andre Brown is the guy. He could become a top back in the NFL with a few more years of experience. He’s a better version of Derrick Ward coming out of college. Strong runner, great hands, good feel for pass patterns. Potentially a star.
But I think everyone is forgetting that Ware has plenty of ability. Just because a guy gets hurt doesn’t mean we should write him off. And Johnson is what he is: a little limited in regard to breakaway speed but very much in the mold of Marion Barber, a tough back who gets tough yards and is hard to take down on initial contact, good speed to the hole, and explosion through the gaps. He also isn’t too bad coming out of the backfield.
I wouldn’t be unhappy with any of these three as the #3 back. I really like what we have among our backs if they can stay reasonably healthy.
And lastly, I don’t want to get into a debate about this, but for the years that Tiki Barber was at his best (in other words, when they gave him a chance to be a featured back rather than a third-down specialist) he was far-and-away the best running back who ever wore Blue. Rodney Hampton was a wonderful player. Tiki was just better. If Tiki stayed for just a few more years and played at that level he’d be Canton-bound. I may not respect the man, but he was a great player. By the way, I’d argue that Frank Gifford is the second-best back we’ve had, with Hampton #3 and Joe Morris and Alex Webster nipping at his heels.
Repost from last thread:
I appreciate the input and concern about this stuff today. It’s a difficult decision, for sure. In the fall, when I start grad school, I only need 25-30 hrs of work thanks to some grants and fellowships I qualified for which will, alongside a student loan, pay my tuition, my rent and some books/labs costs. Basically, I wanna work to pay my utilities. Target has been good to me (sorta) but it’s beginning to wear on me. Withholding my raise, preventing me from advancing and a whole host of other issues have created an increasingly intolerable work place. Add on the fact that we won’t be doing any meat cutting in-house anymore, and I just don’t want to be involved anymore. It’s a risk, and I wish I had a better option that this pizza place, but it pays more, is incredibly convenient and is one of the more financially prosperous ones in the company. Hopefully Target improves itself. But if it doesn’t there’s always this–the cooler at Red Brick is like 1/8th the size of the one I got stuck in at Target. Real easy exit access and no obstructions on the floor. It’s pretty much a dream come true for a moron like me!
Looks like the surgery for Chad was a success, he’ll keep his leg, and we’ll be talking about the possibilities for him next offseason
I hate saying it… but those possibilities are virtually zero.
I seem to remember Rich Seubert having a horrific leg injury. Wiki doesn’t say whether it threatened to be amputated, but it did require 5 surgeries to repair his fibula, tiblua and ankle. And if you’ve ever seen him in person, dude’s leg has the most ridiculous scars I’ve ever seen on one limb.
Where I’m going is, as is often the case in the Twitter world, we should all withhold prognosis. And, I suppose if you believe that your chosen religious figure can help heal these wounds, perhaps call on him or her to help as well.