Brown boosts offensive line for second half of season
EAST RUTHERFORD >> When the Giants hired Dave Gettleman as their general manager last December, they had an executive committed to resolving the team’s long-standing offensive line problems.
“I believe in the ‘hog mollies,’” the former Panthers GM said at the time. “We’ve had some great groups here, had great groups everywhere I’ve been, and we’re going to get back to that. They do allow you to compete.”
But the hog molly movement has not gone according to plan.
Largely because of protection problems, the Giants (1-7) are averaging only 18.8 points per game and quarterback Eli Manning is on pace to be sacked a career-high 62 times.
New York hopes recently acquired offensive guard Jamon Brown will be ready to start next Monday night’s game at San Francisco. With Brown in the lineup, the Giants will deploy their fourth different starting offensive line this season and the 14th variation since the beginning of last year.
The Giants claimed Brown off waivers last Wednesday during their bye week — their latest effort to bolster the franchise’s ongoing weakness.
“He’s picked things up fairly quickly,” head coach Pat Shurmur said. “We’re going to try to get him in there as quickly as possible. This guy started the whole season, had a little incident where he’s no longer starting, and we were thrilled he was available. He’s a big man, he’s athletic, and he certainly looks the part in some of the reps I saw today. We’ll get him up to speed quickly.”
Brown, 25, started in 30 of 42 games he played for the Rams over the last four seasons.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Bears, Packers, Ravens and Titans also submitted a claim for Brown when Los Angeles waived him. The Giants had the highest waiver priority.
“I’m going to bring energy,” Brown said. “I think I’m a high-energy guy. I think I will be reliable, just because I’ve been doing it for a while. I’ve experienced my times of success. That’s pretty much it, and whatever coach needs is what I’m going to try to bring.”
What the Giants collectively need is stability. Because of various performances issues and injuries, the offensive line continues to resemble a revolving door. That has made building chemistry an exasperating and seemingly endless task.
Gettleman overhauled the position last offseason. He signed left tackle Nate Solder to a four-year, $62 million contract and right guard Patrick Omameh to a three-year, $15 million contract. He drafted left guard Will Hernandez in the second round.
Shurmur hired offensive line coach Hal Hunter, whose unit has fared no better than his 2016 Browns offensive line that allowed an NFL-high 66 sacks.
Hernandez has been the most promising addition. Despite technique and communication issues in pass protection, he has been a viable run blocker and currently grades as the ninthbest guard with at least 250 snaps on Pro Football Focus.
Omameh was benched in Week 7, and Solder has hardly lived up to his billing. The former Patriot was the league’s highestpaid offensive lineman at the time of his signing. In eight starts he has allowed 20 pressures, 13 hurries and six sacks, according to PFF.
The irony is that the Giants signed Solder to replace Ereck Flowers, who yielded six sacks all of last season. New York moved Flowers to right tackle, but that experiment returned poor results. The Giants benched the former firstround pick in Week 3 and subsequently released him.
At center, Jon Halapio suffered season-ending leg injuries in Week 2. Halapio beat out last year’s starter Brett Jones in a summer position battle, and the Giants hurt their depth by trading Jones to the Vikings.
The team’s contingency options are limited. The Giants turned to Chad Wheeler, an undrafted free agent last year, at right tackle. Veteran John Greco moved from center to his less natural spot at right guard when Omameh was benched so that Spencer Pulley could play center.
Presumably, Brown will take over at right guard as Greco slides back inside to center.
“It has its own nuances,” Brown said of the Giants’ offense. “I think every system is different in its own way. As far as being difficult for me to pick up, I don’t think it’ll be that. I think it’ll be just repping it, and getting into it, and being in it for a little while. I’ll pick it up as fast as I can.”
Brown started all 16 games for the high-octane Rams offense last season, but he lost his spot this year when he was suspended for the first two games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
At 6-foot-4, 340 pounds, Brown now has the chance to become a building block for the rebuilding Giants. The former third-round pick is in the final year of his rookie contract.
“At the end of the day, the dream lives on. I have another opportunity right here in New York, and I’m going to make the most of it,” Brown said. “I’m going to take it a day at a time. Control what I can control, which is being in the now. Making sure I’m learning, making sure I’m picking up on everything I can and learning the Giants way.”
But no matter how many wins the Giants muster in the second half of the season, it’s become clear that another winter must be spent trying to fix the same old problems.