Days after losing Nick Gates for the year, the Giants have received word one of their other starting interior O-linemen is done for 2021 as well. Shane Lemieux underwent knee surgery Wednesday, and the procedure is expected to knock him out for the season.
The Giants announced the second-year blocker had left patellar tendon surgery. Patellar tendon issues represent one of the toughest injury obstacles to overcome, so this puts a stop sign on Lemieux’s early ascent as a pro.
A fifth-round pick last year, Lemieux moved into the Giants’ starting lineup midway through his rookie season. While Pro Football Focus did not view his rookie-year work positively, Lemieux was ticketed to join Will Hernandez as a starting guard this year and did suit up for Big Blue’s Week 1 game. But the knee injury Lemieux suffered early in training camp did not allow him to finish the team’s opener. The Giants then placed Lemieux on IR last week.
With Lemieux and Gates out, the Giants used recent trade acquisitions Billy Price and Ben Bredeson alongside Hernandez on the interior. The unit delivered mixed results in a Week 2 loss in Washington. The Giants are now trying third-round pick Matt Peart, who lost this year’s right tackle competition to Nate Solder, at guard, Darryl Slater of NJ.com notes. Bredeson is still set to start at left guard Sunday, however.
Given New York’s years-long troubles on its front, even when it was at full strength, the Gates and Lemieux setbacks represent a crisis point for the franchise. The Giants are 0-2 for a fifth straight season, and multiple O-linemen who were elsewhere a month ago — Price in Cincinnati, Bredeson in Baltimore — will be given emergency responsibilities.
Let this be a sign that next offseason giants fix the oline once and for all. Outside of thomas we have 0 pieces on oline. Draft and free agency is tye only thing outside of DE
Is it just me or have the Giants had a poor offensive line for about 30 years now?
Only for about ten. Up until around 2011 or so, they had one of the best OL in football. After 2010, they lost Rich Seubert, after 2011, they lost Kareem MacKenzie, after 2012, they lost Chris Snee, and then they lost David Diehl after 2013. They never really replaced any of them. It’s been all downhill from there, despite spending some high picks on guys like Justin Pugh and Ereck Flowers and signing a few big names like Geoff Schwartz and Nate Solder.
Those were all sort of isolated moves. Between 2016-2019, they drafted two offensive lineman total: Will Hernandez in the second round of 2018 and some guy in the seventh round of 2019 that did not even make the team. Four years, two total OL drafted despite it being a glaring weakness of the team the whole time.
Time for Getty to go. Hasn’t built an o line, qb is suspect, star running back looks like Ron Dayne, zero pass rush.. worst move trading 3rd rounder to jets for Harrison is his best move.
The last time the O-line was above average was 2011, and with basically no pass rush, what looks like an above average secondary can’t be asked to cover for 12 seconds every play. Why they did not go O-line in the 1st round and get the already complaining Toney instead is just one reason Gettleman needs to go. I foresee 3-13 and a clean sweep of GM and coach in January.
They are wasting Barkley who could rush for 1500 yards if he could stay healthy for a full year on a decent team.
For most of the Tiki era, they had a very good line. Kerry Collins had time to go deep a lot. The last 5 or so years of Eli’s career he had to run for his life….the last season Eli had a good line he almost passed for 5000 yards despite the league’s worst rushing attack.
The Giants need a serious upheaval in their scouting room as many of their choices in early draft rounds have been busts…someone on top needs to be held accountable also and that would be Gettleman….the Giants need a change and cleaning out Gettleman and the scouting department who have been so wrong about so many, finally need to pay the price.
Yes. The situation now reminds me of the “wilderness years” of the mid-to-late 1970’s. Giants always seemed to come up short in the drafts from those years despite having high picks (when they didn’t foolishly trade them away). Bad drafts cripple a franchise for years. Things turned around only when the late great George Young came aboard and fixed the scouting department with some actual proven talent evaluators.