Brett Jones is battling for starting center: Photo by Al Thompson

Any preview about the 2018 edition of the New York Football Giants will likely start off talking about Big Blue’s revamped offensive line. This preview is doing just that.

The Giants defense has a long list of standout players who have been on board for a few years including a defensive line that boasts talent like Damon Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson.

The linebacker corps includes Olivier Vernon, Kareem Martin, Alec Ogletree and BJ Goodson. The secondary is outstanding with starting corners Eli Apple and Janoris Jenkins, plus safeties Landon Collins and Curtis Riley.

Defense is not a big question mark. The Giants offense is, in particular, the offensive line which is seeing as complete an overhaul as you will ever witness at the NFL level.

Eli Manning was solid last year, despite the 13-loss season, and had to suffer further indignity when he was pulled as the starter by then head coach Ben McAdoo after Big Blue’s loss on November 23 to the Washington Redskins.

Manning had a streak of 210 consecutive starts end the following Sunday when the Giants lost 24-17 in Oakland. Geno Smith, of all people, started in his place.

McAdoo was fired after the Raiders game and Manning finished the season. The ;locker room was a mess.

It was time for changes.

New head coach Pat Shurmur has promised a clean slate for every player brought back.

Manning seems rejuvenated and has all the weapons a quarterback could ask for including rookie running back Saquon Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft. Plus wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Odell Beckham Jr. Also returning is second year tight end Evan Engram, who was one of the few bright spots on last year’s 3-13 team.

The offensive line will completely different and that is a good thing.

The center position will have a new starter. Gone is Weston Richburg, who left after four seasons to play in San Francisco. Jon Halapio, who spent the first three NFL seasons as a guard, has taken over the lead to be the starting center over Brett Jones who took over the starting job last season when Richburg suffered a concussion after game four and did not return. Halapio is big (6-foot-3, 323 pounds) and is having a good camp.

But he has been the definition of a journeyman since being signed by the New England Patriots in May 2014. Halapio was waived before the 2014 season and has made stops in Denver, Arizona, New England again in 2016 and the Giants who had him on their practice squad in 2016, then signed and waived him again in 2017 and now in 2018 is getting a legitimate shot at starting.

Jones (6-2, 313), who was signed as a free agent out of the Canadian Football League in 2015 but spent that season on IR with a leg injury, looked like he had the inside track to the starting spot, having played well in 2017 but is getting most of his reps in training camp with the second and third units.
Head coach Pat Shurmur said the preseason games will give him a better idea who will be his starting center on September 9.

“We have Brett Jones and Pio (Jon Halapio) and we have some other guys in there working as well,” Shurmur after a training camp practice. “They are doing a good job. We talked a lot yesterday about how it’s important for the center to communicate and communicate well, block their guy and certainly work in conjunction with the guards. I think those guys are doing that.

Rookie guard Will Hernandez believes the offensive line will be ready by opening day. Photo by Al Thompson

They are going through the first phase of padded practices, which are important. We’ll get through the second phase after the day off tomorrow and certainly the preseason games will be the final piece of that evaluation.”

At left tackle will be former New England Patriots standout Nate Solder. The 6-8, 320 pounder blocked for Tom Brady from 2011-2017 and helped the Patriots win two Super Bowls.
He now faces the challenge of a new team and all new line mates. The 30-year old recently talked about starting out new.

“Every year is a new year,” Solder said. “Every year that I have played, there has been different personnel on the line with us. That’s really just part of the game, part of the business. That’s not different than any other year.”

On his right, at left guard, will be rookie Will Hernandez who was taken in the second round of this year’s draft out of UTEP.

Hernandez and Barkley represent the now and the future for the Giants. The 6-3, 327 pounder recently talked about his new team and its prized running back.

The 22-year-old first talked about his introduction to the NFL.

“It was a big change coming from college to the NFL,” said Hernandez in a one-on-one interview with Footballstories. “But one thing I can tell you is these vets have made it a lot easier on me. As soon as I came in here, they started helping me out, took me under their wing, started helping me out like one of their own as they were also learning. That just speaks of their character. They have to worry about themselves but they’re still here trying to help me out also. We feel very comfortable with each other…all five guys on that line. We want to win and have the desire to carry this team on our back and take us as far as we go. The chemistry is there. We are well ahead of where we should be at this point.”

Hernandez knows Barkley is the meal ticket. He said he was impressed the way the rookie running back has already become a team leader.

“That’s a great quality of Sequon…he has found a way to relate to every single one of these guys on the offensive line,” Hernandez said. “He has some sort of connection with each one of us, individually.

That just makes this whole thing click a lot more. That’s just Sequon’s personality. He takes that on to the playbook and does the same thing. He finds ways to understand what we’re doing to tie in with what he’s doing and tie it all together.”

Barkley seemed pleasantly surprised to hear the comments by his fellow rookie.

“Definitely, (I’ve) been going out of my way to develop friendships and relationships with each and every guy on the team,” Barkley said before a recent training camp practice. “Obviously, there’s so many right now – especially with the offensive line. The offensive line are the guys who pave the way for you. Definitely getting a relationship with them, and when the season starts, I’ve been talking to Nate (Solder) about doing dinners with them. Just getting everyone in the room and talking, going out with each other. That’s something that I have been doing, and I’m glad that they’ve noticed it.”

Second year tight end Evan Engram is looking for a break out season. Photo by Al Thompson

Right guard will be either Patrick Omameh or veteran John Jerry

Right tackle is Ereck Flowers, the Giants first round pick in 2015. The 6-6. 329 pounder has struggled at left tackle since day one and is looking to start a new resume at right tackle.

Flowers was recently asked how it feels being on the right side.

“I think it’s going well,” he said. “I’m getting better at it every day. (I’m) just trying to get comfortable.”

Flowers was asked what has been the toughest adjustment moving over to the right.

“When you move over you kind of have to switch everything, your muscle memory, a lot of different things,” he said. “It’s going pretty well though, I have gotten a lot better at it since I first started.”

Flowers said he has received a lot of help. “The whole line have been very supportive.”

Flowers was asked what was the biggest thing needed to help with the chemistry every offensive line needs to be successful.

“Time and reps,” he said.

The Giants don’t have very much time before their season opener against Jacksonville on September 9.

Big Blue has one of the toughest first-half schedules in the NFL.

Success starts up front and for the Giants O-line needs to get ready now. *

Follow Al Thompson on Twitter @thompsoniii