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 five sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

By DAVE KLEIN
We have spent a lot of time and a multitude of words discussing the Eli Manning-Kurt Warner switch, but what seems to have been lost in the shuffle is the fact that the offensive line was the reason for the change at quarterback in the first place.

If Warner had the proper protection, this would not have happened; if head coach Tom Coughlin was infinitely secure in the quality of his offensive line during training camp and the exhibition game schedule, he might have taken the plunge and pulled the Manning trigger to open the season.

It is not a very good offensive line. It is not entirely to blame for the 39 sacks Warner has absorbed (most in the league), and 40 if you count the one time Manning got his bell rung by Eagles' linebacker Jeremiah Trotter in the opener, but it has had the lion's share of responsibility.

And it has failed.

Is it bad drafting? Is it bad judgment in terms of signing veteran free agents? Is it bad luck?

Yes, to all the above questions. But the problem is that when you have a bad offensive line it doesn't get fixed overnight, or in this case from season to season, and the people in charge of doing the fixing, if they are the ones who built it badly in the first place, will be powerless to do anything but repeat their errors.

It is a vicious cycle that needs to be aborted, and sometimes that means cleaning house. But when there are no "interesting" bodies lurking on the bench or on the practice squad, there is little to do but hope - - often foolishly -- that the guys who are there will suddenly get better.

The Giants were thrilled when they were able to salvage guard Jason Whittle, who used to be one of their own, from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He left after the 2002 season, meaning he missed the nightmare of '03, but when he got to Tampa Bay he became a reserve. So when the Giants inquired about his availability, they found out that he was, indeed, available.

For a lower draft pick, he became a Giant again, and with this team he's starting. He is playing at left guard because he is needed; his old position, right guard, is being handled by second round draft pick Chris Snee, who is the head coach's son-in- law, as you all know. Is Snee playing well? That is a relative term, but yes, he's playing well. He's probably playing better than Whittle, and that is one reason why the Buccaneers let him go so easily. Offensive linemen are usually hard to find; harder yet to pry loose.

The veteran left tackle, Luke Petitgout, the anchor of this line, is playing badly. No, that's not exactly right. Make it very badly. If the left tackle is lousy, it drags down the entire line. And right now, the six- year veteran, the Giants' first round pick in 1999 from Notre Dame, just isn't playing well. Somebody named Bertrand Berry from the Arizona Cardinals got four sacks last Sunday -- three happened when he beat Petitgout, the fourth was through the courtesy of tight end Jeremy Shockey.

David Diehl is playing right tackle because there simply was no one else, unless you consider Ian Allen someone else. Coughlin didn't. But Diehl, who played the full season at right guard as a rookie last year, has started to show that he is a far better guard than tackle.

Shaun O'Hara is one of the veteran free agents signed from Cleveland, and when he isn't hurt, he isn't bad. That is not to say he is good, either.

So it's Petitgout and Diehl at the tackles, Snee and Whittle at the guards and O'Hara at center. Nah, it's not working. It's time to change.

Keep Snee because he might get to be really good. Keep Diehl if you can put him back at guard (see if Snee can play left guard). Keep O'Hara because you don't have another center (reserve Wayne Lucier is more of a guard, but not a very good one). Petitgout? He may have to go, and the Giants will take a salary cap hit if they release him, but you cannot continue to put up with this kind of performance.

Here's a thought. Move Petitgout to right tackle, where he was so much better. So now we've got Diehl at right guard, Snee at left guard, O'Hara at center, Petitgout at right tackle and nobody -- make that NOBODY -- at left tackle.

And you were wondering how to draft next year? Of course, the Giants don't have a first round pick, but it is likely they can find a tackle in the second round and another tackle in the third round. Then they plead with the Denver Broncos to tell them how they can come up with a quality running back year after year after year in the fourth and/or fifth round.

You know, making the switch at quarterback never the question. Warner was hired to keep the seat warm for Manning, who was ranked by many the best pure quarterback to come out of the draft in the last five years. With all due respects to Ben Roethlisberger, had the Giants taken him he wouldn't have played yet, either; had the Steelers picked Manning, he would have been playing just as soon as that injury of convenience moved Tommy Maddox to the bench.

But having to switch quarterbacks after nine games should not have been necessary simply to try to find a way around a weak offensive line, which is where all offenses begin and end. Whoever built this line -- and there are several guilty parties starting with general manager Ernie Accorsi -- is to blame for most of the sacks.

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

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