What to do, what to do, with Josh Ezeudu and this Offensive Line?

[Ed Vette]

The Giants started out with an Offensive Lineup of Thomas, Bredeson, JMS, Glowinski and Neal. After injuries to Thomas at LT and Bredeson at LG, Ezeudu stepped in against Arizona and faired pretty well for a player who had no Pre-Season or Training snaps at the position. After a disastrous showing at RG against Dallas, Glowinski came back and had a solid effort replacing Ben Bredeson at LG against the Cards. Marcus McKethan came in essentially a Rookie at RG and although struggling, showed some promise for future development. Meanwhile, Evan Neal continues to come up short of expectations at RT.

Against the Niners Thursday night, the lineup of Ezeudu, Lemieux, JMS, McKethan and Neal all played poorly. So what should Brian Daboll do during this mini Bye-Week in an attempt to solidify the Line for the rest of the season?

Do they give up on Neal at least for this season at RT and slide him over to RG? The issue with that is he is slow to get out of his stance and plays high which can result in a Defender getting under his pad level or just getting blown past on stunts in the A Gap. If they do move him would Ezeudu fair any better than him at RT? Has the second-year drafted Guard earned a shot at a starting role outside? At Guard, he's not demonstrated that he can hold up against the bigger men at this level inside and has had issues with the use of his hands. Is Tackle just the best natural position for Josh Ezeudu? 

After careful consideration, does Daboll stick with the original plan of Thomas, Bredeson, JMS, Glowinski and Neal, and chalk up a bad day for Glowinski against Dallas? Which is a leap of faith for Neal to eventually settle in and not disrupt the Line any further.

[JT39]

Cut them all other than Thomas?

Of course I'm kidding

Thomas-Glow-JMS-mckathean- Neal

If Bredeson is out

[MightyGiants]

On the outside looking in, it's very tough to say.   

I see three possible combinations

Thomas - Brederson - JMS - Ezeudu - Neal (most likely)

Thomas - Brederson - JMS - Neal - Ezudu

Thomas - Ezeudu - JMS -Brederson - Neal

[Ed Vette]

Cut them all other than Thomas?

Of course I'm kidding

Thomas-Glow-JMS-mckathean- Neal

If Bredeson is out

Assume Bredeson is in.

[Ed Vette]

On the outside looking in, it's very tough to say.   

I see three possible combinations

Thomas - Brederson - JMS - Ezeudu - Neal (most likely)

Thomas - Brederson - JMS - Neal - Ezudu

Thomas - Ezeudu - JMS -Brederson - Neal

Do you think Glowinski is out because Ezeudu is the better Guard, or because they are moving to the future as evidenced by the Lemieux appearance?

[MightyGiants]

Do you think Glowinski is out because Ezeudu is the better Guard, or because they are moving to the future as evidenced by the Lemieux appearance?

Again, outside looking in, but it appears the team is moving on from Glowinski.  Between getting benched for McKethen and Lemieux starting over him, Glowinski appears to be deep in the doghouse.

[GloryDays]

I think Daboll is as concerned about the line as we are, and I am sure they have thought of all kinds of possibilities and tried most of them in practice.

Neal to me seems to be too tall for guard and plays with high pad level. He lacks foot speed to mirror at OT but also lacks core strength needed to anchor against power rushers at Guard.

At some point they will have to accept this mistake, if he somehow does not turn it around fast. I hope Ezeudu can do a decent job on the right, next to his old team mate McKethen. If so this would be our best bet for this season:

Thomas, Bredesen, Schmitz, McKethen, Ezeudu

[Bigmoose]

Again, outside looking in, but it appears the team is moving on from Glowinski.  Between getting benched for McKethen and Lemieux starting over him, Glowinski appears to be deep in the doghouse.

Glowinski is not the future.  I like the playing of Lemieux because it was a chance to see whether he will be a player going forward.  Despite fan expectations, we are in the second year of the new regime and they are still evaluating certain players with this very young team. They need to see the longer picture even if it hurts in the short term. Playing Lemieux against a top defense provided key information about his status, and I have no problem with it.

[Rambo89]

Thomas's health is the most important thing right now.  Get that figured out first and take it from there.

I'm more concerned about the defense than I am the offense.

[Fast Eddie Felson]

I think Daboll is as concerned about the line as we are, and I am sure they have thought of all kinds of possibilities and tried most of them in practice.

Neal to me seems to be too tall for guard and plays with high pad level. He lacks foot speed to mirror at OT but also lacks core strength needed to anchor against power rushers at Guard.

At some point they will have to accept this mistake, if he somehow does not turn it around fast. I hope Ezeudu can do a decent job on the right, next to his old team mate McKethen. If so this would be our best bet for this season:

Thomas, Bredesen, Schmitz, McKethen, Ezeudu

Marcus McKethan is 6` 7" and 335 lbs. He`s taller than Neal.
After watching Marcus get blown back vs. SF 49ers, he wouldn`t be my first choice.

[nb587]

I'm glad some posters are not involved in the decision making process.  With the lack if  available options at this time, or at least affordable ones, the smart move would be to keep Neal starting at RT for this season as long as he'.  s healthy and shows the right effort.  If he's going to be moved inside, the earliest would be next year.  Lots of guys need time to develop.  When Thomas and Bredeson get back, the only question is who is the other OG and that depends on where Bredeson goes. 

They should pick the starting 5 snd hope for no injuries.  My other thought is something must be going on with Glowinski because while he's been bad, he's no worse than than Lemioux or McKethan and probably better.  They are playing to win now.

[Stringer Bell]

Glowinski is not the future.  I like the playing of Lemieux because it was a chance to see whether he will be a player going forward.  Despite fan expectations, we are in the second year of the new regime and they are still evaluating certain players with this very young team. They need to see the longer picture even if it hurts in the short term. Playing Lemieux against a top defense provided key information about his status, and I have no problem with it.

There has never been anything to like about playing Lemieux. He is not good and not NFL caliber. The sooner he's off the team, the better.

[Bigmoose]

There has never been anything to like about playing Lemieux. He is not good and not NFL caliber. The sooner he's off the team, the better.

Given that I will give the benefit of the doubt to our coaching staff, I think they saw enough to keep evaluating him, and that is why they started him in this game.  It is about the end game.