Eluemunor says that is a big reason the Giants have done well in pass protection
In revamping their offensive line during the offseason, the New York Giants chose the strategy of bringing in solid veterans. They added Jon Runyan Jr., Jermaine Eluemunor, Greg Van Roten and Aaron Stinnie while not drafting any offensive linemen.
Head coach Brian Daboll has said he believes that with a young team — the Giants have one of the youngest rosters in the league — a veteran offensive line is helpful.
Eluemunor, in his eighth season, had an interesting analogy for why experience helps as an NFL offensive lineman.
“I think that offensive line is one of those positions in the NFL where it’s like wine. It’s better over age instead of drinking the wine that’s just made, if you have one that’s aged a lot then that tends to taste better,” Eluemunor said. “That’s kind of like offensive line where being a young guy in the NFL on the offensive line is hard because the speed is different, the techniques are different and then also the defensive ends and the defensive tackles, they’re a lot faster than in college. They’re a lot more technical and they’re a lot smarter. That’s why you sometimes see the younger guys struggle a lot because they’re not used to what they’re going against. In the NFL.”
The Giants have protected quarterback Daniel Jones much better than a year ago, when they allowed a league-worst 85 sacks. Jones has been sacked just nine times through four games, a pace that would lead to 38 sacks on the season. Seventeen teams have seen their quarterbacks sacked 10 or more times.
“In the NFL, the older you are on the offensive line, like I said, it can be beneficial for you because you’re used to going against certain guys and you’re used to the speed of the game. Bullets flying all over the place, all the plays that you got to know, knowing what the defensive line is going to do in front of you, how their positioning is going to affect how you’re going to run the ball or throw the ball and little aspects like that. I think that the more you see certain defenses and certain players, the better it can be for you,” Eluemunor said. “So, that’s why it’s good for (John Michael) Schmitz (Jr.) because he’s around (Jon) Runyan (Jr.) and GVR (Greg Van Roten) and they’re really experienced. Then me and AT (Andrew Thomas) can just help him as well. But that’s why I feel like we’re having some success this year on the offensive line because we’ve all been around a lot of different offenses, and we’ve been in the league for a while now.”
Jones was skittish in the pocket a year ago in the games he played. Eluemunor said the linemen understand that Jones’ confidence in them will grow the more they keep him upright.
“Experience can play a key factor in that but, also, we just really care about keeping (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) upright. We know the cleaner we keep him, the more confident he’s going to be in the pocket and the more he’ll be able to do what we know he can do,” Eluemunor said. “He’ll be able to trust us more. We know that’s a big thing for him, creating that trust with him and giving him the time he needs.”
As well as they have done in pass protection, the Giants’ offensive line has had difficulty in run-blocked. By DVOA (Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average), the Giants are 31st in the league at -27.0%.
“When it comes to the run game, we just need to execute better and hone in on the little things and be better mentally,” Eluemunor said.
