stamfordadvocate.com/ Inexperienced O-line makes glaring errors as Giants lose again

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Offense Is Way Off Line

Inexperienced O-line makes glaring errors as Giants lose again

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/sports/football/giants/ny-gside013565977dec01,0,6844569.story?coll=ny-giants-print Top Stories

By Mark La Monica

STAFF WRITER

December 1, 2003

Everyone knew this might happen. But the result was worse than anyone probably feared.

Three rookies started on the Giants' offensive line yesterday. One of them injured his knee and was replaced by a player who hadn't played on the offensive line since he was drafted by Philadelphia in 2002.

"It's only natural for the clock to go off a bit quicker back there," quarterback Kerry Collins said after he was sacked six times in the Giants' 24-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The five guys up front didn't get the job done. Collins barely had time to hand off the ball, much less throw it downfield. Twice Collins and center Chris Bober got their feet tangled. The second caused a fumble that led to Buffalo's second touchdown and a 17-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

Collins did his best to remain upbeat afterward, using positive language - such as "it's certainly been easier" rather than "it's hard" - to describe how difficult it was to run the offense.

Bober said what Collins couldn't: "How'd you like to be out there with a bunch of rookies up front?"

No team since the 1981 Washington Redskins had started three rookies on the offensive line. The Giants have done it twice this season, the first coming in Week 2 against Dallas. Rookie Jeff Roehl made his second start of the season at left tackle in place of five-year veteran Luke Petitgout (back). Rookie David Diehl played right guard and rookie Wayne Lucier started at left guard before injuring his knee in the second quarter. Scott Peters, who was signed to the practice squad Oct. 17 and to the 53-man roster Nov. 15, replaced Lucier. Peters' only previous NFL experience came on a few special-teams plays earlier this season.

"I wish I had more experience so I wouldn't have made the mistakes I made," Peters said. "If I could take back two plays ... "

It wouldn't have made a difference.

These problems are nothing new for the Giants (4-8), losers of four straight. The offensive line was a major concern in the offseason, the preseason and the regular season. It won't be a predicament in the postseason, though. The Giants will watch that on television, partly because of the line.

"We can't block people," Giants coach Jim Fassel said. "We talked about plays, but we never have a chance to get it off so we don't call it."

Teams understand the Giants' deficiencies. And the Giants know what that means: Defensive tendencies change when the Giants are on the schedule.

"When we go into our game plan, they don't really do a lot of these pressures," Bober said. "Then, against us, all of a sudden they start doing stunts and blitzes. They're trying to get to us up front."

It's working.

The Giants ran 54 plays and 32 of them gained 3 or fewer yards, including 10 such plays in the first quarter. Eight plays overall went for negative yardage. Tiki Barber gained 20 yards on 12 carries. Of the 222 yards of total offense, 77 came on one play. Not all of that has to do with the Bills being the third-ranked defense in the NFL.

On one possession in the third quarter, Roehl was beaten by Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel for the second of his three sacks. Roehl appeared to hold Schobel on the play, but it wasn't called. Roehl was called for holding on the next play. Collins rolled out to his right on the next series and still was pressured by Schobel.

"One of the worst days of my life," the 6-4, 300-pound Roehl said. "It's really disappointing because I thought I had gotten a lot better. And today's performance obviously indicated otherwise."

No Holiday Rush

The Giants' 24 rushing yards were their fewest since they ran for 24 against the Titans on Oct. 1, 2000. The Giants' lowest rushing totals the past three seasons:

Date Opponent Total

Nov. 30, 2003 Bills 24

Oct. 28, 2001 Redskins 42

Sept. 5, 2002 49ers 43

Sept. 15, 2003 Cowboys 53

Oct. 19, 2001 Vikings 61

Dec. 1, 2002 Titans 62

Sept. 10, 2001 Broncos 63

Sept. 29, 2002 Cardinals 67

Line 'em Up

Giants starters in the offensive line this season:

Position Starter (Games)

Left Tackle Luke Petitgout (10), R-Jeff Roehl (2) Left Guard Rich Seubert (6), R-Wayne Lucier (6)

Center Chris Bober (7), Lucier (5)

Right Guard R-David Diehl (12)

Right Tackle Ian Allen (7), Bober (5)

R-rookie