O-line shows little growth in preseason opener
EAST RUTHERFORD » If you showed up at MetLife Stadium for the Giants’ preseason opener looking for improvement from an offensive line that has much to prove this year, hopefully you covered your eyes.
The returning starting five of left tackle Ereck Flowers, left guard Justin Pugh, center Weston Richburg, right guard John Jerry and right tackle Bobby Hart played three drives together to start Friday night against the Steelers. Their small sample did not go particularly well, and the Giants eventually lost the exhibition, 20-12.
With backup Josh Johnson at quarterback, the Giants went three-and-out twice, yielded three sacks, and ran the ball for either zero or negative yards on three of six rushes.
Wide receivers Odell Beckham and Sterling Shepard didn’t play, and Johnson’s penchant for holding onto the ball too long did not help. The regular season doesn’t start for another four weeks, either, so fans don’t need to hit the panic button yet.
Still, Ben McAdoo talked Wednesday about the importance of coming out and setting a tone in the running game. That didn’t happen (six carries for eight yards in the first three drives), and the offensive line succumbed to interior pressure for a sack on the Giants’ first passing play on third down.
In the entire first half, the Giants accumulated 46 rushing yards on 13 attempts. The longest run was a 13-yard endaround play by wide receiver Travis Rudolph, who is on the bubble to make the 53-man roster. Orleans Darkwa — not starter Paul Perkins — gained the most traction among Giants running backs (three rushes for 18 yards).
And despite drawing the start, thus having the benefit of playing with the first-team offensive line, Johnson didn’t show a strong command of the offense in his bid to be the backup to Eli Manning. In four series, Johnson led one legitimate scoring drive (27yard Aldrick Rosas field goal after 30 yards on 12 plays) and completed 5-for-10 pass attempts for 31 yards.
New tight end Rhett Ellison hauled in three of those passes for 20 yards. Johnson twice fired an incompletion in the end zone to wide receiver Roger Lewis, who started opposite Brandon Marshall and, like Rudolph, is competing for a job within a deep receiver room. Lewis dropped one of them and was blanketed by Pittsburgh cornerback Ross Cockrell on the other.
Johnson’s fourth series began at the Steelers’ 17-yard line following an interception by defensive end Devin Taylor. Backup center Brett Jones fired an errantly low snap as the offense was out of sync again, settling for another field goal — this time a 30-yarder by Mike Nugent.
Former Jet Geno Smith, who is competing with Johnson to make the team, had a mixed-bag performance but showed more playmaking ability than Johnson overall.
In his first series late in the first half, Smith completed passes to wide receiver Darius Powe on a crossing route, tight end Evan Engram on a play-action rollout and running back Wayne Gallman on a halfback screen. Two of those went for first downs.
But Smith ended the half with an interception trying to squeeze a pass into a tight window down the middle to Lewis. A second interception in the second half was overturned.
In a larger body of work than Johnson, Smith completed 10-of16 pass attempts for 114 yards. His surgically right knee from ACL surgery last November showed no ill-effects, as Smith got right back up from a few hits in the pocket and flashed solid mobility throughout the night. His superior upside to Johnson was evident.