Snee misses O-line pals O'Hara, Seubert
New York Giants offensive linemen Chris Snee, Rich Seubert, David Diehl and Will Beatty break huddle during NFL training camp. (Aug. 2, 2010) Credit: AP
Chris Snee's season is ending in the Super Bowl, but it began in a much sadder place.
He was at the Timex Performance Center the day after the lockout ended preparing to do what he always had done: work out with his teammates and friends. But then he got the news that they would not be joining him. Rich Seubert and Shaun O'Hara, two of the Giants' veteran linemen and a big part of the 2007 Super Bowl team, were being released. Both were coming off surgery and the team decided to go in a different direction.
"It was a tough day," Snee recalled. "It happened on the same day, all within one hour. We were in there, we were all going to work out together, and the next thing I knew, they were both gone. It was a tough day for me."
Those kinds of decisions usually come in the spring or early summer, and a team has time to absorb the news and regroup. This year, though, because of the lockout, the team was starting training camp in just a few days. There was no time to reflect.
"You just had to move on as quickly as possible because camp was a day or two days away," Snee said. "It took some time getting used to. Even now, they're missed . . . They're two good friends of mine, great teammates and great players."
The decision by the organization set forth a chain of events. For most of the season, the Giants struggled to find consistency and chemistry on the offensive line, two elements that Seubert and O'Hara provided throughout their careers. The Giants finished last in the NFL in rushing yardage and had only one offensive lineman (right tackle Kareem McKenzie) start every game at the same position the entire season.
Snee said he was heartbroken by the departure of his close friends, but he also knew that more responsibility would fall to him.
"Shortly after, I went up and I met with coach [Tom Coughlin] and I told him that I'm not a big rah-rah guy, but I'm here to fill that leadership void . . . ," Snee said. "He said, 'Good, because we're going to need you to do that.' The combination of [David] Diehl and Kareem and myself had to step in and try to fill those shoes."
Seubert and O'Hara may not have been here preparing for the big game, but they've been with the team in other ways this season. Seubert was an honorary captain when the Giants beat the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game and O'Hara has covered the playoffs as a TV analyst. But they also were a part of the inner workings of the offensive line.
"We'll make references to them . . . , especially when we're watching tape from last year," Snee said. "We talk to them every week. I talk to Rich and Shaun weekly. Shaun lives about 100 yards away from me."
Because they are so close, Snee said he knows that the two former Giants are rooting hard for the team. But he also knows that they're hurting.
"Right now, this is when they're really having a tough time," he said. "They're missing everything. Especially when they remember what this was like four years ago. But they're in full support of us. I've gotten many messages from them and they're behind us all the way."
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