Rookies Ereck Flowers and Landon Collins growing with the Giants

When Jerry Reese was asked last week to assess the play of Ereck Flowers and Landon Collins, the general manager gave a lukewarm response.

"They play like rookies," he said. "They have some good moments and some tough moments . . . But both of those guys, sometimes they look like rookies."

That's because they are rookies. And while they have been thrust into starting roles from the first game until last week -- the first tandem of first- and second-round draft choices to start for the Giants in a season opener since Ike Hilliard and Tiki Barber in 1997 -- they still are navigating their first NFL season with all of the waves and whirlpools that come along with it.

In some ways, the issues that created concern for the Giants at the start of the season with both of those players -- technique for Flowers at left tackle, communicating the defense at safety for Collins -- still are the main roadblocks in their development.

"[Flowers'] technique was something that we knew needed to get better," offensive line coach Pat Flaherty said. "I think you see flashes of his technique. As a coach, I don't see enough of it yet, but that's coaching more than playing, and he's got to learn to trust the NFL technique."

Flaherty said Flowers has mastered the techniques in practice and uses them in games. Sometimes.

"When you get into a game situation, a lot of times the young players revert back to what they've been doing," Flaherty said. "He's very technique-conscious in the beginning of the game and then something happens that gets him out of whack because he's playing against good players that have been playing a long time. Then I have to settle him and we talk on the sideline.

"Going into Game 11 [next Sunday against Washington], that's where we have to show more than flashes. We have to see the improvement."

Flaherty said he likes Flowers' attitude, both on and off the field. He told of having the rookie scowl at him when, after missing a game with an ankle injury, Flowers had to go through a series of drills in Buffalo in Week 4 to prove to the trainers that he was healthy enough to play. The Giants like that nastiness.

"I really like his attitude, his play strength," Flaherty said. "He wants to be a tackle in the NFL."

Collins also brings physical attributes to the Giants but still is not completely clicking in the role of calling the checks from the back of the defense.

"As a rookie, to go through the NFL as a starter, to see all of the concepts and the speed of the game, he's coming along very slowly right now," safeties coach David Merritt said. "The game is fast mentally for him still. Hopefully he can continue to progress and move toward the player that we all know that we have in him."

Merritt said he doesn't see Collins hitting that so-called "rookie wall" that first-year players often run into at this point in the season when they have played more football games in a row than at any point in their lives. That usually shows itself in physical issues. For Collins, the stumbling points seem to be in recognition and communication.

"There's cloudy or clear," Merritt said. "If it's cloudy at all in his mind, then he's going to move a little slower. But if it's clear, he's going to be able to go forth and go fast."

It's still a little overcast. Collins, who played nearly every defensive snap through the first two months of the season, saw a decrease in playing time last week against the Patriots. Veteran Craig Dahl took his place alongside Brandon Meriweather on the majority of plays, giving the Giants a much more experienced secondary. Going forward, it might stay that way.

Despite the coaching points that drip of pessimism, the Giants are optimistic about the two rookies. Especially when they no longer are rookies.

"I think that it's more of the getting-the-experience-in-the-NFL, learning-on-the-job type of thing," Flaherty said of Flowers. "He's going to get better."

And the growing pains Collins is going through now should help him later in his career, right?

"Oh, yeah, absolutely," Merritt said. "It will definitely pay off for him in the future. Hopefully, the future is a week from now."

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.