Giant goals
Big Blue embracing Super expectations
There is always uncertainty and for the Giants, the start of training camp this year is not about how bad they might be. The buzz centers on how good they are, and how good they might become.
“When a new season starts you never know what you’re going to get,’’ general manager Jerry Reese said Thursday. “There’s been seasons when everybody is like ‘ Wow, the Giants, they really don’t have that much’ and we played pretty well. Then there’s been seasons when people say, ‘Giants, they look pretty good’ and we don’t play as well.’’
The Giants reported to camp, and the man who put it all together likes what he has assembled.
“I like this squad, I’m excited about this squad,’’ Reese said.
The Giants are not hiding from the heightened expectations.
“I see no reason for us not to be a good team,’’ secondyear receiver Sterling Shepard said.
“There’s a lot of optimism … there’s a lot of excitement,’’ guard Justin Pugh said. “I remember driving over here this morning just like a kid on Christmas. I mean, we got a lot of things to look forward to this year.’’
The Giants will not be able to cash in on all this enthusiasm if their Achilles’ heel — the offensive line — remains a weakness. Their line was substandard in 2016, especially the work of their tackles, Ereck Flowers on the left side and Bobby Hart on the right side. The run blocking was shoddy and the pass protection was suspect. Never mind the fact Eli Manning was sacked only 21 times — that was more about Manning’s ability to get rid of the ball than the dependability of his linemen to keep him out of harm’s way.
Undaunted, Reese brought back the entire starting five to try again in 2017. He called the players on the line “galvanized’’ to prove wrong the legion of doubters.
“Everybody keeps saying that’s the weak link to the football team, they hear that, so you guys keep talking about it, keep motivating ’em, I’m sure you will,’’ Reese said. “I expect big things from ’em. I expect those guys to play well, they have a lot of snaps.’’
That is what Reese and coach Ben McAdoo are banking on: the experience of the group in general and the young tackles in particular. Pugh has 54 NFL starts. Center Weston Richburg has 46 and right guard John Jerry has 85. Flowers has 31 starts in two years. Hart started 12 games last season.
“The five guys who started last year, they’ve got a lot of snaps under their belt right now,’’ Reese said. “The two young kids, they’re still very young, but it’s time for them to step up to the plate and be good players. And I believe they will.’’
The lone veteran addition to the offensive line is D.J. Fluker, who had 59 starts in four years with the Chargers. He will compete for playing time at right guard and tackle.
Mostly, though, this is the same line, a year older.
“I think it shows that they have confidence in our ability to get better,’’ Pugh said.
“I think we can take it as a vote of confidence,’’ Richburg said. “That says to us that [the organization] believes in us and we can be the unit that takes this team where we want to go. So, we’ve got to put in the work to make sure that happens.’’
The stand-pat approach was not predetermined.
“We went out, we did our homework on the draft class and on the free-agent class,’’ McAdoo said. Clearly, the Giants saw the free-agency route as too pricey for marginal talent and the draft class as lacking in top-tier offensive linemen.
“We felt if we make the improvements we need to make in-house that we’re confident in these guys and we trust they’re going to do everything they need to do to get better,’’ McAdoo said.
If the plan works and the offensive line shows vast improvement, the Giants should enjoy an offensive revitalization, given the weaponry at Manning’s disposal with Odell Beckham Jr., Shepard and newcomers Brandon Marshall and rookie tight end Evan Engram.
“Going into my fifth camp, I think this is the best team we’ve had on paper,’’ Pugh said.