Hal Hunter understands it may take time for Ereck Flowers to adjust
Giants offensive tackle Ereck Flowers stops Browns defensive end Myles Garrett during a preseason game on Aug. 21, 2017. Credit: AP / David Richard
The coach who will be guiding Ereck Flowers’ transition from left tackle to right tackle believes that the former first-round pick has the athleticism to make the switch. It just may take some time.
“I golf righthanded,” offensive line coach Hal Hunter said on Wednesday. “If all of a sudden I had to golf lefthanded, it’s going to be a while . . . You can do it, but it takes some time to adjust. There has to be patience on the learning curve.”
Flowers spent the past three seasons as the Giants’ starting left tackle, a position he was thrust into as a rookie because of injuries at the position. When he was drafted, most people (including the Giants) projected him to begin his career at right tackle. Now, heading into his fourth season, he’ll finally go there. When the Giants signed veteran Nate Solder as a free agent last month they told Flowers that he would compete at right tackle.
Hunter said he has had several conversations with Flowers this offseason but declined to go into detail about those talks or what he’s seen from watching Flowers on film.
“What I’ve seen him do in the past I discuss with the head coach and the personnel people, but I’d like to keep that just between them and us,” he said. After OTAs and once training camp starts, he added, “I’ll have a better understanding and be able to say: ‘This is what I see now working with him.’ ”
Until then, Hunter said he is looking forward to working with Flowers as his third position coach in four seasons.
“Nobody is really a blank tape,” Hunter said. “He’s had high school coaches, college coaches, two coaches here since he’s been here. Everybody has a different way and sometimes you have to erase the tape, you can’t just record over the top of it. It’ll take some time to get him doing some things the way we want them to be done.”
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.
