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Retired New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning knows a thing or two about playing behind a struggling offensive line. He also knows a few things about playing behind a quality offensive line.
In order to go from bad to good, there must be some level of patience. And that’s exactly what Manning is preaching as it relates to the Giants’ current O-line.
“I think there are stages to that,” Manning told Forbes. “When I first go to the Giants…it took a little time for all of them to kind of mold into that strong unit, which they became a couple years later.”
Manning said that a part of the offensive line’s growth falls on the shoulders of the quarterback. In this instance, that means Daniel Jones, who will be entering his third professional season in 2021.
Both Eli and his father, Archie, believe that it’s imperative for the quarterback to coach them up, hype them up and keep them focused as opposed to chastising them and offering critical takes of their mistakes.
“You should do everything you can to make sure these young offensive linemen have confidence — or maybe I put it in another way where they don’t lose confidence,” Archie said. “The main thing is to, is to keep getting better — pump those guys up. I’ve never thought it was a good idea to really chastise a young lineman. You encourage them. They usually they know when they’ve messed up so you say, ‘You know, we’re going to correct that and get the better.'”
The good news for the Giants is that both Eli and Archie believe the team has quality talent capable of making the leap. Now it’s about finding patience and allowing things to gel.
“I think there are some young offensive lineman on the Giants — Nick Gates at center, Will Hernandez [at guard] and draft picks [tackle Andrew Thomas, guard Shane Lemieux and tackle Matt Peart]. I think as they get more comfortable and more experienced and, get to stay, hopefully in that same system for a number of years, they’ll continue to grow and be a really strong unit,” Eli said.
Giants fans have run out of patience, but head coach Joe Judge seems to have plenty. That’s good news for the offensive line and the organization as a whole.
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