Giants' line has been offensive

Halfway through the season, Eli Manning is on pace to throw for 4,754 yards, which would be the second-highest total of his career. Odell Beckham Jr. is on pace to make 122 catches for 1,570 yards, both of which would shatter his career highs. Saquon Barkley is seventh in the NFL in rushing (519 yards) and second in the league in yards from scrimmage (1,016).

So why is this Pro Bowl-level production resulting in a toilet bowl-worthy season? Why is success not translating from the stat sheet to the standings?

The answer almost undoubtedly points to the offensive line: The five horsemen of this apocalyptic Giants season.

Coach Pat Shurmur, who declared at the beginning of the season that the Giants would go only as far as the offensive line could take them, said he continues to stand behind that mantra that many coaches have used throughout the years.

“I have said that and I do believe that. I think it all starts up front,” he said this past week.

Whether or not there is an inverse property to the oft-cited theory, Shurmur would not say. But it’s clear that the going-nowhere Giants are victims of their inability to block, particularly in the red zone.

The most recent game, a loss to the Redskins last Sunday, illustrated that pretty clearly. The Giants rushed for 37 yards and averaged 2.6 yards an attempt. Manning was sacked seven times and the Redskins were credited with 10 quarterback hits.

As Shurmur and the coaching staff headed into the bye looking to evaluate the team’s strengths and weaknesses, he already had a strong inkling of what he would find up front.

“I think in order to do the things you want to do offensively, we have to block them well,” Shurmur said. “It’s important when you call runs they gain yards, and that’s the challenge. We’ve got to get more out of it, more out of the run game, and that will help [in] the red zone as well.”

The one unit that the Giants completely overhauled has been the most disappointing. They thought they were solidifying the line when they signed tackle Nate Solder and guard Patrick Omameh to big free-agent deals, but both have been flops. Omameh has been benched and Solder has struggled.

“I’m doing the best that I can,” Solder said to criticism of his play.

Second-round draft pick Will Hernandez at guard has looked like a rookie, and without strong veterans for him to lean on in games, he’s essentially trying to figure out the NFL on his own. The Giants added guard Jamon Brown off waivers from the Rams this past week, and he could wind up as a starter by the time the Giants play the 49ers on Nov. 12. They are down to their third-stringers starting at center (Spencer Pulley) and possibly right tackle (Brian Mihalik, if Chad Wheeler’s ankle prevents him from returning for the next game).

The names have changed from the previous few seasons. The problem has not. In fact, it’s gotten worse. General manager Dave Gettleman loves to talk about offensive linemen being hog mollies. This crew looks more like the slop in the pen.

They’ve even done what seemed impossible: pulled Barkley down with them. While the rookie running back’s overall numbers are impressive, it’s only because of his own sensational play. More than half of his rushing yards this season (266) have come on a total of seven carries. On the other 104 carries, he’s gained 253 yards.

“I think we’ve got to get the run game going,” Solder said. “There’s some other things we need to work at. If we could get that going, that would solve some other problems.”

The path to fixing the line might not be visible until this offseason. Until then, despite accumulating high yardage in the individual columns, the Giants might continue to struggle to find points and wins.

“We’ve got to keep working, we’ve got to get better, we’ve got to do the things that we haven’t done better and we’ve got to improve,” Solder said. “We’ve got to find a way to get it done.”

That, it seems, is a Giants mantra that has been around for a while as well. Probably too long.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

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.