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Special Report

Sent: 05-25-16

E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

UNHERALDED BOBBY HART
IMPRESSING AS RIGHT TACKLE --
COULD HE BE THE ANSWER?

By Dave Klein
Hate to keep harping on the Giants' offensive line, but it is critical to the health and well-being of both quarterback Eli Manning and whichever running back offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan chooses to put on the field in what seems to be a merry-go-round program for 2016.

The problem is this: The left side of the line appears to be solid, with tackle Erick Flowers, guard Justin Pugh and center Weston Richburg. But that leaves two more hopeful starters, as right guard and right tackle, and for the moment the names are John Jerry and Marshall Newhouse.

Stop that! There's no crying in pro football!

But now, due to the on-going OTA sessions, a new and, yes, hopeful name has been added, that of last year's rookie reserve, Bobby Hart. He is 6-5 and 335 and even now he is just 25 years old.

Hart was the Giants' seventh-round draft pick in 2015, a reclamation project if ever there was one, having played at Florida State, starting 37 games and yet virtually ignored by the NFL scouts.

So general manager Jerry Reese did what he always does - he found a kid with talent, however undeveloped, and since the 226th pick in that draft didn't seem to produce any forgotten All-America players, he pulled the trigger.

Hart languished last season, appearing in nine games, starting just one. But he was a guard, you see, and all of a sudden, under new head coach Ben McAdoo and Sullivan, last year's quarterbacks coach, he is prancing around the field (well, prancing is a tough word for a 335-pounder) as the right tackle.

And he's doing well.

Hart is a great run-blocker, the kind coaches call "a road grader," but he had trouble learning the pass-blocking techniques. And, of course, run-blocking in the NFL is somewhat more difficult than in college, even if his college was the NFL-like Florida State.

But he did his studying and his practicing and now, as if by magic, he is being seriously considered as the right tackle. This will all come apart, of course, if Reese finds a veteran free agent such as Anthony Davis or even his own (currently retired) Will Beatty, but since those possibilities don't seem likely, it might just be Hart's turn.

There was no offensive lineman drafted last month, nary a single one. Reese said some nice things about Jerry and Newhouse, but you don't want to bet that his fingers weren't crossed when he did that.

There is a handful of offensive line hopefuls currently on the roster, but they are what some coaches used to refer to as "camp fodder," to be used and to help get the team ready for when things start to count. Hart might not be fodder. He might be the starting right tackle instead.

EXTRA POINTS - Fourth round draft pick B.J. Goodman, the linebacker from Clemson, insists he can play inside or outside and there is some basis for that claim, since the 6-1, 240-pounder did in in college. ... Scouts say he has exceptional speed for a man his size, so it could be that he will be used as an occasional "all out" pass-rusher by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

NOW - Send a request to davesklein@aol.com for a free week's worth of news!

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Jerry Reese - Draft

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