Pat had a number of quotes from the interview:
@Patricia_Traina: Justin Pugh via Sirius XM, on losing Beatty: "It's tough when a guy goes down." Said Will's in high spirits.
@Patricia_Traina: Pugh: "I just know whoever goes out there is going to play physical football."
@Patricia_Traina: Pugh said Flowers is a "Great kid" who works hard and who is fitting in well.
@Patricia_Traina: Pugh on advice he gave to Flowers: "There's a lot of pressure. Go out there, play hard and be seen and not heard."
@Patricia_Traina: Pugh said the shadow of the 2007 Giants OL will linger until the current OL forms its own legacy.
@Patricia_Traina: Pugh also said he's open to playing where ever the coaches need him most.
@Patricia_Traina: Pugh said he loves this offense.
@Patricia_Traina: Pugh said he hasn't played guard since HS. He said he told the Giants he would play anywhere they needed him.
@Patricia_Traina: Pugh said there can't be egos when you've lost like they have otehrwise you'll be looking for jobs.
@SiriusXMNFL: .@JustinPugh on top pick @Eflow_74: he may already be the strongest guy on the team, seems like a great guy who's willing to work #Giants
@alexmarvez: Pugh says he hasn't played guard since high school but is more than willing to make that shift if @Giants ask @SiriusXMNFL
A week ago the thought was that he would be going inside to G, which he may have been willing to do but would certainly hurt his eventual FA value. Now? Giants thought he could play the LT position when he was drafted. Because of this injury he will get another chance to showcase his ability at one of the T positions, and a good argument could be made to put him at LT.
If they don't give him a shot at the job it will say a lot reading between the lines, about the difference in opinion on Pugh of the front office and the coaches. Look at the quotes from draft day.
Reese:
Ross:
Coughlin:
Notice a difference? Both Reese and Ross explicitly said they thought he could play left tackle. Coughlin was more conservative and actually says "we" think he can play right tackle. He never really clarifies that, leaving some uncertainty on whether there was consensus on Pugh @LT on draft day.
Compare those comments to the things said about Flowers on draft day this year.
Reese:
Ross: He played left tackle the last two years, so wherever the coaches want to play him and feel most comfortable right now, but I feel he can do either tackle spot.[/quote]
Coughlin:
IMO this will be his best chance to show that he can play the premier position on the OL. This happens next year and Flowers pretty much gets handed the job, but this year is Pugh's chance to win it, imo.
Given the disparity in pay between LT and RT (half the league pays 4.91% or more in salary cap dollars to LT vs. 2.17% for RT), the potential difference is >=$6MM guaranteed dollars for Pugh come his next contract, should he win the job and perform it at average or above levels even for a few months as a backup. All he really needs to do is put some tape down showing he's league average or better at LT for the first 8 games of the season to make that kind of money.
A lot at stake for Pugh if you think about it.
Im fearful of reshuffling line after Beatty return, moving Pugh inside and flipping Flowers over 2 the other side.
Build up some continuity
How do you know?
Richburg goes to his natural position, Schwartz & Pugh stay put. However it's unlikely they start a rookie at LT, and no one can be very confident that a competition among Jerry, Herman, Mosley, Hart and Jones will churn up a legitimate NFL starter. (Could happen, but I wouldn't bet on it.)
Simplest solution isn't necessarily best solution. That might be
Pugh - ??? - Richburg - Schwartz - Flowers
Flowers plays next to a veteran on the right side, Richburg goes to his natural position, Pugh at least is a veteran. The big question is: Who plays LG?
when WBeatty comes back
WB-Pugh_Richburg-Schwartz-Flowers
TBD- competition between Jones, Hart, Herman Jerry, Mosley, Bamiro, etc. etc.
I would bet on Jones winning it after watching the tape on him.
So why so many here are hot to move Pugh from RT (where he played the last 2 years) to LT, and flip Flowers from LT (where he has played the last 3 years) to RT, I just don't get why on earth you would have this plan a priori! Pugh with his trex arms and adequate but not more size...
1st thing you gotta try is plugging your new franchise OT into the vacated OLT slot...
"He [Flowers] may already be the strongest guy on the team." Pugh himself said that!.
1) Pugh's size and athleticism is better suited for the left side even if his length isn't ideal, whereas Flowers strength lends itself well to the right side with Schwartz to his left.
2) I'd rather have the veteran protecting Eli's blindside. Especially considering Flowers has much work to do on his technique.
Oh he could end up there if Flowers can't hack it as a rookie, but I doubt it's the first option.
1) Pugh's size and athleticism is better suited for the left side even if his length isn't ideal, whereas Flowers strength lends itself well to the right side with Schwartz to his left.
2) I'd rather have the veteran protecting Eli's blindside. Especially considering Flowers has much work to do on his technique.
Agree with Milton. Pugh was a good LT for Syracuse, I'd be comfortable with that move. To the people killing Pugh, the guy is a good player. He was injured last year and the overall OL was a disaster which compounded hi downturn. I'd be surprised if Flowers would be put there right away, since he needs work on his footwork, but I guess we have to hold our breath either way.
Quote:
why so many here are hot to move Pugh from RT (where he played the last 2 years) to LT, and flip Flowers from LT (where he has played the last 3 years) to RT, I just don't get why on earth you would have this plan a priori!
I can't speak for the others, but there are two reasons I prefer Pugh on the left and Flowers on the right...
1) Pugh's size and athleticism is better suited for the left side even if his length isn't ideal, whereas Flowers strength lends itself well to the right side with Schwartz to his left.
2) I'd rather have the veteran protecting Eli's blindside. Especially considering Flowers has much work to do on his technique.
Good points Milton.
It's tough to give help to both OTs at the same time. I'd rather a setup where the team has a lot of comfort with one of the tackles (i.e., Pugh on the right side), so that they can shift the help to the guy who might need it. Flowers R and Pugh L give you 2 guys playing out of position, and you have to choose which of them you want to help on any given play. I think that's a bigger risk than is putting the rookie up against the better of the opposing pass-rushers. Teams move their edge guys around so much nowadays that they'll target the weak point wherever they think it is.
I think that's the play if they really expect Beatty to be back and effective when he comes off PUP. You get 80% of the OL you were hoping for a week ago, and you give some extra help to the backup filling in at LT. Then, when Will is healthy, he checks in for Newhouse, and nobody else has to move. Lineups with Pugh or Flowers at LT probably have 2 or 3 positions shifting if/when Beatty returns.
We could just have a mirror of last season where the right tackle was mediocre and made a bad right guard look worse.
He'll be good enough at LT/RT but I'd much rather have seen Flowers at RT and Pugh inside to LG.
Of course, if Flowers is a year away or simply falls short at LT ...
Move Schwartz back to RG. Let Newhouse, Donnelly, and Bamiro battle it out for RT, and keep Jerry and Mosley (if he can climb back up after falling off a cliff) as your principal backups.
Move Schwartz back to RG. Let Newhouse, Donnelly, and Bamiro battle it out for RT, and keep Jerry and Mosley (if he can climb back up after falling off a cliff) as your principal backups.
It's not the worst idea I just can't see us getting adequate play at RT given those options. Maybe one of them will surprise us.
I think the more likely scenario is that Hart finds himself in a guard spot, Flowers goes right to LT and Pugh stays at RT. Richburg in the middle and Schwartz at the other OG spot.