The Giants spent a lot of time working on their offense this offseason, including the addition of several offensive linemen.
Only one of those additions has experience as a starting left tackle, though, and Charles Brown was last seen getting benched in New Orleans in favor of a rookie. That makes a healthy return for Will Beatty important for the team’s designs on providing better protection for Eli Manning this time around. Beatty expects to be recovered from his broken leg in time for the start of training camp and offensive line coach Pat Flaherty wants that time to work on the technique issues that contributed to Beatty’s rough 2013 campaign.
“There was a combination of things. It probably started with him being in training camp and not being able to execute the drills on a daily basis. He wasn’t able to because he was nicked up here or there and it just snowballs,” Flaherty said, via the Newark Star-Ledger. “You know. As an offensive lineman it will be glaring more so than a defensive lineman. Your technique and fundamentals. To improve at football you need to work at football. And the only way to work an offensive line is to put pads on and go block. If you don’t do that, your skills aren’t going to be sharp and that is what happens on game day. I expect him to be a better player this year.”
While Beatty is expected to be ready for the start of camp, that doesn’t mean he won’t be limited in the early days as a result of last year’s injury. Any limitations could then force Beatty to miss some of those drills that Flaherty is talking about and then leave the Giants with a tougher decision to make about who to play at left tackle if Beatty hasn’t shown the improvements the Giants want to see in his game.
If they make the wrong one, the offense may not wind up looking as different as hoped and, based on last season, that would be a bad development for the Giants.