THE THIN BLUE LINE
Offense starts to click, but O-line still showing weak spots
They did not actually need it, but they sort of needed it.
The Giants did not want to go through the entire preseason without their starting offense scoring a touchdown. Thanks to their best work of the summer, and perhaps sparked by a change on their offensive line, the Giants dominated when it counted in Saturday night’s 32-31 victory over the Jets at Met-Life Stadium and now can rest easier, knowing they have found their way into the end zone.
“That’s what we wanted to go, come out and move the ball, establish that run game first and then kind of open up some in the passing game,’’ receiver Sterling Shepard said. “Feel like it went pretty smooth. We got some little things to correct before going to Dallas, but all in all it looked like a pretty smooth night.
“We needed to get in the end zone, we hadn’t found the end zone in two weeks, which is not like this offense.’’
With their starters in the game, the Giants completely dominated, leading 29-3 at halftime, scoring two touchdowns on interception returns by Landon Collins and Donte Deayon. Defense is not a concern, though. Eli Manning, operating without receivers Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) and Brandon Marshall (shoulder) only put together one touchdown drive, but it was enough to bring a sense of relief to the entire operation.
On the way to finally showing a pulse with their starting offense, the Giants may be on their way to making a lineup change on their offensive line. John Jerry could be out at right guard. And Brett Jones could be in.
The first possession for the Giants was a promising series, with three first downs to move to the Jets’ 28yard line. Manning looked deep to Roger Lewis, but could not step into the throw, as Sheldon Richardson badly beat Jerry and put a hit on Manning. As a result, the pass was underthrown and intercepted by Juston Burris on the Jets’ 3-yard line.
“I’ve got to do a better job on that and feeling the pressure and not throw it right there and getting hit and the ball fluttering up,’’ Manning said.
The next time Manning took the field, he had a new right guard, as Jones was in and Jerry was out. Jones and head coach Ben McAdoo said this was a planned switch.
Jones played well, although he was beaten by Richardson for a quarterback pressure. Jones stayed in with the starters for the next series.
“Just from the flow of the game, we were definitely moving the ball and doing some positive things,’’ said Jones, a former Canadian Football League star. “It’s exciting. We’re on the right track now.’’
It was a busy night for Jones. When the starters came out, he stayed in and moved to center with the second-team offensive line in the second half.
In the second quarter, D.J. Fluker played at right guard with the starters.
One of the best signs for the Giants was the work up front on their first offensive touchdown of the summer. From the Jets’ 1-yard line, Orleans Darkwa got the ball and breezed into the end zone, untouched. It was the first touchdown for the Giants’ offense in 134:38 of the preseason — 22 seconds shy of five quarters.
“It’s not something that keeps me up at night, let’s say that,’’ Manning said of the dearth of touchdowns.