If the Giants’ offensive line don’t come up with a cure to fix their problems, it won’t matter who Eli Manning throws the football to this season.
We were all reminded of this while watching Big Blue’s season-opening 19-3 road loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Manning was under pressure from the start and barely had time to adjust his helmet before having to run for his life.
The Giants were already without lead wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. because of an ankle injury. As I wrote prior to this game, sitting Beckham was the right call, make no mistake about it. But it wouldn’t have mattered if he was on the field for this one.
New York’s leading receiver was Roger Lewis, with four catches for 54 yards. Brandon Marshall, brought in to be a solid number two wide receiver, was held to one catch for 10 yards.
I’m pretty sure that’s not how Giants head coach Ben McAdoo drew up the game plan to go.
Giants’ Offensive Line Problems Impact More Than Just The Passing Game
But this problem doesn’t just impact the passing game, it is much more than that. The Giants inability to run the football the past couple of seasons can be largely attributed to the lack of lanes created for them to run through.
Paul Perkins and Orleans Darkwa are expected to carry the bulk of the running load for the Giants this season, they combined for 30 yards on 10 carries against Dallas.
When you have an offensive line that can’t pass protect or run block, you have a team setup for failure every week.
Beckham is one of the most exciting players in the league. Marshall, if used properly, can still be an impact player. Youngsters Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram have plenty of potential. But Manning needs time to get these players the football in order to do what they do.
The Giants, not surprisingly, lost the time of possession battle to Dallas. They only had the football for 25:46 to the Cowboys 34:14. What this means is the defense was on the field entirely too long.
This is a defense with the potential to be very good this season. But they will be gassed every week trying to pick up their offensive teammates.
The Giants will look to get on track in week 2 against the Detroit Lions. It’ll be the home opener and also a Monday night game.
If the Giants’ offensive line don’t figure out their problems quickly, it will be another lost season for the team.
