Rob Sale, Jason Garrett Reaffirm Optimism in Giants O-Line’s Progress

Here's a look at why the Giants coaches remain encouraged by what the offensive line has shown so far.

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com

The New York Giants have only had two padded practices, the first of which famously cut short by a team skirmish.

Yet nothing shown in those two padded practices—practices conducted without projected starting left guard Shane Lemieux by the way—has dampened the optimism the Giants organization continues to have for the offensive line’s outlook.

“Yeah, I think we made progress over the course of last year. We had a lot of young guys playing for us who just simply were inexperienced, and I think over the course of the year you saw them grow and develop,” said offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

The line’s development has been entrusted to Rob Sale, a first-time NFL position coach assisted by former NFL offensive lineman turned coach Ben Wilkerson, senior offensive assistant, Freddie Kitchens, and long-time offensive line coach Pat Flaherty hired as a consultant in the off-season.

Between the four of them—and Joe Judge sometimes joins them—they watch every move by the offensive linemen in drills, proactively seeking to smooth out wrinkles while addressing any new challenges that might pop up.

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“I've been telling those guys, one rep at a time, one play at a time, one period at a time, you will keep getting better every single day,” Sale said. “If there's a mistake, we'll correct it in practice, but don't make the same mistake the next day.”

Sale is the first to admit that working with the offensive line is a work in progress that can have no end date in sight, but added, “You try to take to close the gap, and we are closing the gap.

“We are getting better every single day. We got one good one (Thursday)—more of a walkthrough type practice to get the mental reps in while still creating the good habits like the bend in the knees and getting our hands inside. It’s building that muscle memory doing it over and over.”

That commitment to the process of constant drilling has the coaching staff optimistic that an offensive line that last year allowed 195 total pressures would be more cohesive in executing its assignments.

“If you approach it the right way, you get your mind right and your spirit right to come out and practice and get better every day, you’re going to improve,” Garrett said of the offensive line.

“So, we try to put those guys in those situations and they’re responding well. We have a long way to go, every guy individually and certainly as a unit, but they’re going about it the right way.”

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