Geoff Schwartz believes he'll fit right in on Giants' line
Kansas City Chiefs guard Geoff Schwartz block out Giants defensive tackle Shaun Rogers during the first half of a game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013. Credit: AP / Ed Zurga
One of the things that the Giants liked about Geoff Schwartz (and have become increasingly enamored of in all of their linemen) is his flexibility. Throughout his career Schwartz, who is 6-6 and 340 pounds, has played guard and tackle. But during the game he can play only one position at a time. So where will that be?
"I'm best at guard," Schwartz told Giants.com. "I've played right guard lots in my career and I know that [Chris] Snee is still here, so I will be starting at left guard. I just feel more comfortable there. But I've played tackle, I started 11 games at tackle and played lots of other games at tackle, so I can do a lot of it. It's just nice to be able to come into a place where they want you in a position and you can kind of go from there."
If the Giants are done re-building their offensive line, the projected starters would appear to be, from left to right, Will Beatty, Schwartz, newly acquired center J.D. Walton, Snee and Justin Pugh. There are some question marks there, particularly as it relates to Beatty and Snee coming off surgeries and Walton, who hasn't played in the NFL since 2012 because of an ankle injury.
However it works out, the Giants are going to have to go through some intense chemistry-building on the line. Schwartz is used to that, this being his third team in three years and fourth overall.
"I think part of the fun of coming into work every day is that kind of interaction between offensive linemen," said Schwartz, whose brother, Mitchell, started at tackle in every game the previous two seasons for the Cleveland Browns. "Wherever you go you want to have that bond and building that bond is through kind of joking and mocking, but also hard work and some of the other things that o-linemen are known for. I'm excited to meet everybody and kind of get going when April comes around.
"I think I do a good job of integrating well in the locker room," he added. "I do a good job of trying to learn the system. It's tough every year to do that. Now hopefully I've found a home and I'll be here for many years and kind of integrate into the system."
