Giants' Bobby Johnson wants his offensive linemen to 'have versatility'
Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson speaks before practice at the team's training facility in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 16. Credit: /Ed Murray
Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson has several tenets in which he believes.
One of them is this: “I ask all my guys to have versatility,” Johnson said. “You ask any of my guys, I told them in the room it adds value. If you are not (tackles) Andrew Thomas or Evan Neal, you better be able to play more than one spot. That’s just the nature of offensive line throughout the league. If you are not a clear cut, bona fide everyday starter, you have to have versatility because you’re going to need that as a group during the season.”
Johnson has 28 years of coaching experience, the last 13 in the NFL. He knows what he’s talking about.
And he knows to whom he is speaking.
None of the Giants interior linemen on the offensive line depth chart has solidified a starting spot. It does seem likely that rookie center John Michael Schmitz will do so. (He was drafted to be the starting center.) Against the Panthers on Friday night, Mark Glowinski started at right guard and Ben Bredeson started at left guard.
“There’s competition,” Johnson said. “With competition, it all depends on who capitalizes on the opportunity and who accepts the challenge and who comes out on top. I think all the guys that are involved in the competition are really rising to the challenge. They’re all putting their best foot forward. I haven’t seen anything that would lead me to believe that anybody’s falling too far behind, or anybody’s really blown away. I think it speaks to the guys’ character. "
They all accepted the challenge and they’re all coming out every day on the practice field and putting their best foot forward in the meeting rooms, they're handling themselves like pros.”
Blue notes
Tight end Tommy Sweeney was on a side field with teammates who were rehabilitating injuries when he had a medical event during practice. The Giants released a statement saying, “He is under the care of medical professionals in the Giants’ athletic training room. He is stable, alert and conversant.” Sweeney missed last week’s game and had not practiced this week … Defensive lineman Leonard Williams and wide receiver Sterling Shepard returned after they had veteran rest days. Shepard appeared to be particularly spry during practice. He and Saquon Barkley appeared to have busy days, both running with the first-team offense … Safety Jason Pinnock and wide receiver Cole Beasley also returned to practice but were limited. Beasley’s injury situation seems to have developed at an adverse time, given that NFL teams have to cut their rosters to 53 on Tuesday. Among players not practicing Wednesday were tight end Darren Waller, wide receiver Parris Campbell, offensive lineman Marcus McKethan, defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson and linebacker Darrian Beavers.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
