E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants" beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he was one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls up until last year. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

DON'T CRITICIZE JONES, GO AFTER THE O-LINE AND WAIT FOR IT TO JELL

By Dave Klein
While the season is only three weeks old, there is apparently no time like the present to start throwing hand grenades at Giants' quarterback Daniel Jones. So what else is new?

The Brigade of Lesser Sportswriters (BLS) has already jumped on Jones for the team's sorry 1-2 start and has proclaimed the monster contract he signed to be a team disaster engineered by general manager Joe Schoen.

Well, just a moment, fellas and girls. Those of you who do know something abut the game of football should have realized by now that the quarterback is virtually helpless if his offensive line isn't performing.

And this one certainly isn't.

The Giants have returned from a two-game, two-defeat road trip, and on Monday night they'll host the Seattle Seahawks. If things go as planned, the starting offensive line will be comprised of Andrew Thomas at left tackle, Ben Bredeson at left guard John Michael Schmitz at center, Marcus McKethan at right guard and Evan Neal at right tackle.

Got all that? Thomas missed last week's outing in San Francisco (hamstring), but he is expected to be ready for the Seahawks. Bredeson, as well, was out (concussion protocol) and he'll be back. Schmitz is a rookie, and it has been difficult for him not to have the chance to play with the same unit, but he carefully shrugs that off.

"You've got to be able to adjust," he said. "You never know what's going to happen. You've got to be ready to just go out there, whoever the five that are out there, and go and compete."

McKethan sat out all of last season, his rookie year, but has started the last couple of games because, well, there isn't anyone else. And Neal has been coming along in his second season, but he has had a long way to go - and he still does.

This doesn't take into consideration veteran Mark Glowinski, who seems to have been replaced by McKethan, as well as Joshua Ezeudu or Shane Lemieux, both of whom have played to varying degrees of excellence but who don't seem to be in the upper echelon of probable starters.

Head coach Brian Daboll (no, his job is not under fire, fellas) has had to deal with the lack of a credible offensive line since he arrived on the scene last year, but he is optimistic.

"I'll just say everybody has been rehabbing, they're getting better," he said yesterday. "I'll give you an update [tomorrow] but we're making progress with everybody who has been on that injury report or missed. We're making progress.

"That's why we move guys around a bunch during the preseason and training camp months, because you can," Daboll added, defending the team's rotation system. "If you're not in the starting five, you better have some position flexibility to play multiple spots, so certainly an important aspect for us.
"I'd say if those guys [Thomas and Bredeson] are back, it'll look like it looked when Ben and Andrew were … back playing. But again, we'll see where they're at. I don't want to decide right now. We'll see where we are tomorrow."
Oh, and a nugget to store away. Daboll feels strongly about Ezeudu, a rookie last year. "I think he can play four spots for us," Daboll said. "Both tackle spots and then he can also play guard. He's a four-position flex for us."

So the conclusion, apparently, is to feel for Jones, not criticize him. And if he plays poorly once the team gets a solid offensive line, then criticize him.

EXTRA POINTS - The visiting Seahawks are favored over the home-stadium Giants by 1½ points. … In their first three games, the Giants have missed 29 tackles, grouping them with the Chicago Bears and L.A. Rams at the bottom of the 32 teams.

davesklein@aol.com

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