Backups on Giants' offensive line don't stand up to the pressure
Charles Brown #71 and Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants react after throwing an interception against the San Francisco 49ers in the third quarter at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 16, 2014 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Getty Images / Elsa
Tom Coughlin was asked how Charles Brown, the player who replaced Justin Pugh at right tackle in Sunday's loss to the 49ers, performed in his first game action of the season.
"Not very well," he said bluntly.
That may be an understatement. According to Pro Football Focus, the right side of the Giants' offensive line that was comprised of Brown at tackle and John Jerry at guard was responsible for 18 quarterback pressures. Eighteen! And that doesn't include the plays where they failed as run blockers -- like, say, the fourth-and-an-inch play -- or the screen pass that was blown up because Jerry was facing the wrong way and Rashad Jennings ran into him.
The biggest problem, though, was the inability to stop the 49ers' pass rushers who hammered Eli Manning on a regular basis and (according to Coughlin) led to at least a few of Manning's five interceptions.
"We had worked against it all week long, we talked about it, I think I shared it with you [the media] that they were a team that pressured about 25 percent of the time and the rest of the time they were very good at T-Es and E-Ts [twists with the tackle and end] and some three-ways as well," Coughlin said on Monday. "We didn't initially stop the first rusher in order that we could switch it off. We got too much penetration and too much penetration ends up with the guard stays on [the tackle] if it's a T-E and doesn't get a chance to come off on the end. That was an issue and it did happen a few times in the game."
Jerry and Brown hadn't worked together much, even back in training camp. But both are veterans who have been starters in the NFL and Coughlin said that communication was not the issue.
"It's recognizing it, shutting the first phase of it down so that you can get the parties on the same level and switch it off," he said.
If all goes according to plan, the Giants may not have to play their next game with either Jerry or Brown. Pugh expects to play Sunday against the Cowboys (Coughlin did not have a medical update on him) and the Giants added Geoff Schwartz to the active roster off injured reserve with a designation to return. Schwartz will likely replace Jerry at right guard, although Coughlin did not say what the immediate plan is for the veteran.
"I don't have any preference yet but to get him going," Coughlin said.
And, likely, get the other guys out of there.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
