The 2018 season really could not have started much worse for the New York Giants. The day after Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, the team got some bad news about their starting center.
Jon Halapio left the game against the Cowboys on Sunday with a lower right leg and right ankle injury. He had to be carted off the field. On Monday, it was reported that Halapio had a broken ankle and would need to undergo season-ending surgery.
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Halapio, 27, won the starting center job in training camp. Going into this season, he had only made six starts in his career. General manager Dave Gettleman was so confident in Halapio that he decided to trade backup center Brett Jones to the Minnesota Vikings for a seventh round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. In hindsight, that was probably not the best trade to make.
Giants head coach Pat Shurmur announced on Monday that veteran offensive lineman John Greco will be the team’s new starting center. Greco played for Shurmur when he was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and also when he was the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams.
The offensive line has been a disaster for the Giants so far. They allowed two sacks in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then gave up six sacks during Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys. Quarterback Eli Manning has taken a beating through the first two games of the season. He has not gotten enough time to throw the ball downfield, and has instead been forced to settle for check-down passes.
Things need to change quickly if the Giants are going to be serious contenders this year. They came into the season with such high expectations, but the optimism is quickly fading. The revamped offensive line has yet to show that they are an improvement from last year’s unit. It really doesn’t matter how many explosive weapons the Giants have on offense. The only way this team will succeed is if they are able to adequately protect Manning.
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