Though few do, Giants believe in unproven center
HE IS ONE of those players the Giants are counting on to do so much, even though he thus far has done so little in the NFL to justify the assignment.
In some ways, Jon Halapio is what the Giants are all about heading into 2019. The résumé does not correlate to the s tart i ng rol e he holds. He is viewed inside the building as a high-quality player, a positive force. He is viewed in NFL circles, as just another guy and a reason to think the Giants are not very good.
“We don’t feel anything,’’ Halapio told The Post. “Everything that’s said outside this building, it doesn’t get into our heads, it doesn’t get into our locker room, it doesn’t get into this building. What matters is what we say between each other. That’s all that matters.’’
What is said inside the room about Halapio is this: He is the center capable of directing an again-revamped and supposedly improved offensive line. He is lining up as the No. 1 center, fending off a challenge from Spencer Pulley, who started the final nine games last season after Halapio went down in Week 2 with a serious injury, a fractured right ankle and lower leg in a loss to the Cowboys.
Pulley can play in the league and provides the Giants with uncommon depth. Halapio and Pulley get along splendidly, yet this is business.
“It’s my job to lose, for sure,’’
Halapio said. “I’m out there to improve my craft, first and foremost, and try to get all five of us on the right page.’’
Pulley, 26, is younger and the Giants have more invested in him, giving Pulley a three-year deal worth $8 million (with $2.3 million in g uaranteed money). Halapio, 28, admitted despite positive feedback from his coaches and general manager Dave Gettleman, he was not sure what would happen before receiving a one-year contract worth $645,000.
Pulley also started all 16 games in 2017 for the Chargers. Halapio, a 2014 sixth-round pick of the Patriots, bounced from the Pats to the Broncos to the Cardinals, back to the Patriots and finally to the Giants’ practice squad in 2016. He has eight NFL starts — six at right guard in 2017 and two last season at center.
“He signed after me; I didn’t for sure know where I stood,’’ Halapio said. “You just look at the numbers. He’s getting paid more and I’m not. He’s younger and I’m older. He’s made starts and I don’t have that many. For sure, those things started to play in my head, but I just kept my head down and kept working.’’
There is no room for Halapio to slip, as there is a player waiting right behind him ready to move on in.
“I think competition brings the best out of me and him and everybody else in the room, and he’s a helluva player,’’ Halapio said.
“I think he’s done a good job to get maybe the first look, but I feel just as comfortable playing Spencer as I do ’Pio,’’ coach Pat Shurmur said.
Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, who goes against Halapio in training camp when the starters line up against the starters, said, “I feel like he got a little bit better from last year and I don’t feel like the injury from last year affected him at all.’’
Twice in camp, he got his right ankle rolled over and was able to shake it off and continue. He no longer wears tape on the surgically repaired ankle and only thinks of the injury, he says, when he is asked about it.
Next up: A real game. Or, as close to a real game as he can get in early August. The Giants and Jets open up their preseason schedules Thursday night, yet another hurdle for Halapio to vault.
“This is gonna be the real test,’’ he said. “I’m looking forward to it, not only for me but for the group.’’
Former Pro Bowl center, LeCharles Bentley, currently a trainer of offensive linemen, told The Post he believes Halapio can be a top-five center in the league. Still, the Giants are higher on Halapio than most anyone else. This is indicative of what the outside world thinks about the Giants.
“People are just expecting results,’’ Halapio said. “You can either do the job or you can’t. That’s where I’m at right now.’’
That’s where the entire team is right now.