BLUE TACKLE IN BLOOM
Flowers shows signs of growth ahead of crucial season
Ereck Flowers on Saturday uttered maybe the most significant words the Giants left tackle has spoken since the team drafted him ninth overall in 2015. Flowers, a soft-spoken, 6-foot6, 325-pound giant, is known to be sensitive to the harsh criticism he has received through two NFL seasons. But when Flowers was asked if he’d seen results from his diligent offseason work in training camp, he did something unexpected: Flowers criticized himself. “I see myself improving every day out here at camp,” Flowers said after his best practice of camp so far. “First I started off a little bit, and now I see me getting a lot better every day.” This is significant. Flowers’ self-awareness and ability to admit he was “off” could bode well for his ability to handle the mental adversity of this make-or-break season to keep his job protecting Eli Manning’s blind side. Now the Giants have to hope Flowers’ more mature outlook in camp translates to the games that count, because his performance is crucial not just for his own career but potentially for the Giants’ Super Bowl hopes.
See, it’s great that GM Jerry Reese signed 6-4 wideout Brandon Marshall and 6-5 tight end Rhett Ellison and drafted 6-3 tight end Evan Engram. Running back Shane Vereen, Manning’s second-leading receiver from 2015, says he’s healthy. And Paul Perkins and the offensive line are confident they can establish a consistent run game.
Still, Reese’s top need entering the offseason seemed to call for either replacing or providing stiff competition for Flowers, with the clock ticking on Manning, 36, to make a run at a third championship. And yet, Reese did not sign any veterans on an expensive offensive tackle market.
Reese spent the money instead on Jason Pierre-Paul’s contract extension, signed undrafted free agent Chad Wheeler out of USC as a backup left tackle, and reaffirmed his confidence in Flowers as the starter.
Reese’s primary rationale that Flowers, 23, is young and deserves time to develop is valid to a point. Still, it is an enormous gamble, a roll of the dice that could compromise everything else the Giants have done to win.
And there is a lot to be excited about, not just on the proud Big Blue defense but now with relation to Manning’s offense and all of the new toys at his disposal.
Coach Ben McAdoo is opening the playbook this season with a deeper crop of tight ends at his disposal, the fullback position re-introduced, and more size at receiver.
Manning even confirmed on Monday that the Giants have been installing more on offense early in camp.
“There definitely are some new things going in and juts different packages, whether you have the fullback in there and some more two-tight end stuff,” Manning said. “So I think we do have different personnel, different packages going in that will let us be a little bit more multiple on offense.”
Then there are plays like Manning’s connection with Marshall down the right sideline in Monday’s indoor practice that should have Giants fans frothing at the mouth. Marshall sped past corner Eli Apple in their one-on-one drill, threw his sprint into an extra gear, and stretched out
his right arm to tap the ball up in the air twice and corral it for the touchdown at full speed.
“It was impressive,” said Apple, who anticipated a shorter route. “I definitely saw it. I had the best seat in the house.”
Manning admitted that “every day there’s something new that comes up” as he works with both Marshall and Engram on “getting on the same page,” be it routes, concepts or timing. But he was encouraged that they’re “doing some good stuf,” learning from their practices and eager to take it into the games.
Still, hanging over all their potential is the question at left tackle.
So far, the good news is that McAdoo says Flowers is “getting better with his punch” in pass protection. The coach said third downs are “where he needs a lot of work in pass protection and one-on-one versus defensive ends” and added that Flowers “did a nice job” there in Saturday’s practice.
Wheeler, 23, meanwhile, has a history of rising from unknown to full-time starter. He was a three-star recruit going into Southern Cal and became an All-American. Giants linebacker Devon Kennard faced Wheeler for one year in practice while at Southern Cal and speaks highly of him.
“He was always so competitive, I always respected that,” Kennard said Monday. “I would try to wear him out as much as I could because he was a young guy when I was there, but he was very competitive all of the time and he ended up an All-American … He came a long way, and that’s a testament to his work ethic and how he handles himself.”
The Giants, of course, would prefer that Wheeler doesn’t see the field. That would mean Flowers has figured it out. Even if he doesn’t play much in Friday’s preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s time for him to start doing it under the bright lights.