Looking at the OL now, how worried are you about center?

I think he will be above average.

but I'm thinking if Halapio stays healthy that it should be fine

Look -- this O line, as it appears right now, is the best Oline we've fielded in quite some time

Halapaio had difficulty calling out simple stunts last year, which got us embarrassed against Dallas. If he hasn’t improved in that area, we will have problems with blocking assignments going forward.

I thought that Pulley came on strong in the latter parts of last season.

That we know. Halapio, we're told, was good for 6 quarters. They've made a choice for Halapio that I hope is a good one. I like almost all of what they've done with the rest of the team so I'm likely to give them the benefit of the doubt. He doesn't have to be great. Average will do.

The Rams released him and he hasn't signed with anyone.

I would feel much better with him on the roster.

Pulley or Sullivan? Which would you rather see wearing Big Blue?

This offensive line. I am not so worried about center. I think it will be a good battle between Halapio and pulley, with one of them as a back up. Having 2 guards in Hernandez and Zeitler only adds to it.

What a transformation this line has taken in 2 off seasons. It is so good to see the emphasis on building from the trences out

and God forbid we have an injury to a guard. Remmers is nothing special. A slight improvement over Wheeler. With no big play WR to worry about Saquon will face nine in the box on 1st and 2nd down. OL is better but still shaky.

In comment 14442943 gidiefor said:

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but I'm thinking if Halapio stays healthy that it should be fine Look -- this O line, as it appears right now, is the best Oline we've fielded in quite some time

The bar for that is pretty low though.

If our worst case scenario is the same level of play we got from C down the stretch last year (i.e. Pulley), I think we're Ok seeing as we should be better everywhere else. Pulley was below average, but at least he wasn't dreadful last year.

But I think we see the 2nd half Solder all year, improvement from Hernandez, Zeitler is a significant upgrade over Brown, and while he's not a star, Remmers is still a substantial upgrade over Wheeler. Better familiarity and communication between Solder/Hernandez should improve their play too, which is probably my biggest concern for the overall line. How long will it take the unit to get on the same page?

Let Halapio and Pulley battle it out....with solid guards on both sides.

If you are going to lose sleep...LBers, pass rush on defense and #1 WR

o-line in the league is complete with no holes. Almost every one of them has a weak link. I feel like Halapio is an average starter, sure we could do better, but between Hernandez and Zietler I feel pretty good about 4/5s of our O-line.

Remmers is the bigger question mark to me, but I think this is probably the best o-line we've had since 2010.

Prior to his Combine, he had torn his pec muscle (injury similar to Strahans). His best asset was his raw strength so both he and NFL teams were disappointed he couldn't lift. Prior to the draft, he got medical clearance to return to lifting. After just 2 weeks of practice he lifted for Patriots scouts. Lifted the bar 32 times. Incredible. And then Belichick drafted him in the 6th. You are talking about a player with incredible foundational strength that coaches have learned is a better Center than Guard. I think he is going to do very well

In comment 14442951 Giants38 said:

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Halapaio had difficulty calling out simple stunts last year, which got us embarrassed against Dallas. If he hasn’t improved in that area, we will have problems with blocking assignments going forward.

His 1st game at center and he was not good, true. There was a big improvement in his play the following week just before he got hurt.

Shurmur was a center at MSU. I think he would know good center play. He likes Halapio. With two good guards on either side, I think he will be helped and it will make it easier for im to play.

But always worried about depth.

know much more about ol than I do. Pulley's a decent backup.

It may be a position they want to upgrade next year, but for now it's not a liability and the depth is good.

Wasn't Shurmur a C at some point in his life?

I like the fact that Halapio weighs a reported 320 lbs.

Given his reported strength, there is little likelihood of him being pushed back into the pocket.

I hated when that happened repeatedly in the past decade or so

Having exhibited my interest in Halapio I must say I am rooting for UDFA O'Hagen to make a strong push for the backup C position

He is an alumnus of my alma mater and ex-wrestler like myself so he is my longshot bet to make the team

he is a good starter. He has something that we havent had at that position in a long time which is size.

"seeing it" will come with experience and Zeitler will be a big help.

I am actually more concerned with Solder. Because he did OK the last 6-8 games we have sort of forgotten how wretched he was in the first half of the season.

I wanted a center with a early round draft pick.

Weak centers cause sacks every bit as much as weak tackles do.

Solve the center problem in next year’s draft by selecting Tyler Biadasz of Wisconsin. He is a bad man!!!!

Watch Wisconsin games next year. He is a pancake machine!!!

In comment 14442970 George from PA said:

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Let Halapio and Pulley battle it out....with solid guards on both sides. If you are going to lose sleep...LBers, pass rush on defense and #1 WR

Agree completely. Giants feel good or at least okay about Center. There is competition and options. Halapio has almost no experience. Pulley only has a couple of years in college and pros. On the job training. Brown and o’Hagen are a bit small but if you were okay with Jones, you should be content with these 4. Sullivan was good but past his prime. Giants don’t need another “year too late” player trying to hang on.

I think we're going to be just fine.

Not expecting that to change now. Pulley is complete garbage.

... O'Hagan, and I'm hoping he sticks. Pulley wasn't bad, haven't seen enough of Halapio but clearly the staff likes him. I expect with better play to the right of center it helps the position out substantially. We'll see.

1) Shurmur loved Pio
2) Dotino said Pulley added 20lbs of muscle
3) who ever loses will be a solid backup C/G

what concerns me more is still RT, if MR's back flares up

In comment 14443013 Greg from LI said:

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Not expecting that to change now. Pulley is complete garbage.

neither did O'Hara when he came...

Sullivan at some kind of vet minimum contract seems feasible.

And this also likely to be a huge upgrade over Pulley.

He brings veteran experience and leadership to the position.

Downside I guess is that he is a one-position player, center, that's it.

In general I'm all on board with what Gettleman is doing. But he is not immune from error. I don't like the inaction at the C position. "Stand pat" doesn't seem like the best strategy to me.

Halapio has "JAG" written all over him and he's coming off a broken leg. "Stand pat". I don't get it.

In comment 14443023 V.I.G. said:

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neither did O'Hara when he came...

O'Hara had 38 career starts before signing with the Giants. Halapio, going into the coming season, has....eight.

In comment 14443023 V.I.G. said:

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In comment 14443013 Greg from LI said: Quote: Not expecting that to change now. Pulley is complete garbage. neither did O'Hara when he came...

Actually O'Hara had a couple of really good seasons with Cleveland before he signed with the Giants. He was a good player for them.

The position can be upgrade, and I wouldn't have batted an eye if we took a center in the draft, but the talent level is at least average at this point.

There also wouldn't be a huge drop off in talent if Halapio went down, there is some depth.

In comment 14443036 Johnny5 said:

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In comment 14443023 V.I.G. said: Quote: In comment 14443013 Greg from LI said: Quote: Not expecting that to change now. Pulley is complete garbage. neither did O'Hara when he came... Actually O'Hara had a couple of really good seasons with Cleveland before he signed with the Giants. He was a good player for them.

O’Hara played mostly guard for the Browns. When his contract expired the Browns made no effort to re-sign him. He only signed a 3 year 8 million dollar deal with the Giants.

Halapio and Pulley have started games, the giants have seen something in them, and C seems to be a position where you can take even undersized players and get by. Brett Jones is 1 example but there have been others too.

Tackle is where we've been eaten alive ever since Beatty tore his pec in 2015. Newhouse, Flowers, Hart, Wheeler. Oy. Solder was an upgrade on those guys, especially over the 2nd half, need Remmers to be an upgrade as well. The over/under is probably more in line with Newhouse than we'd like to admit so we need to hope he exceeds expectations.

In comment 14442951 Giants38 said:

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Halapaio had difficulty calling out simple stunts last year, which got us embarrassed against Dallas. If he hasn’t improved in that area, we will have problems with blocking assignments going forward.

This was my biggest problem with Halapaio... he did not look comfortable making line calls. Pulley wasn't anything great but I felt the line got better because you had someone who knows how to make line calls in there and it helped settle things down.

I hope he spent his offseason rehabbing and learning the center position, which isn't easy.

I think Pio and Pulley is a good competition and it is good depth with whoever loses.

I worry more about an injury to one of the other 4.

In comment 14442974 YANKEE28 said:

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...You are talking about a player with incredible foundational strength that coaches have learned is a better Center than Guard. I think he is going to do very well

I'm as worried as this.

In comment 14442964 averagejoe said:

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and God forbid we have an injury to a guard. Remmers is nothing special. A slight improvement over Wheeler. With no big play WR to worry about Saquon will face nine in the box on 1st and 2nd down. OL is better but still shaky.

Remmers is an average RT, while that is 'nothing special' in a vacuum, it's lightyears beyond wheeler who is terrible.

But I think we'll be better at C than we will at RT. I don't really see either position as gaping holes, just large question marks backed by quality depth. Hernandez is a guy that I'm not taking for granted either, there are plenty of examples of promising young rookies that do not progress or even regress. This line really needs him to step up and for Solder to continue his momentum from last season. That's probably a bigger key to success than what level of mediocre the bargain types are.

And I trust their eye for the trenches.

Albeit small sample size he was playing well before injury.

And as you put it Eric he'll be flanked by 2 pretty good OGs in Zietler and a 2nd year Hernandez.

This OL should not have any 'black holes' at any of the positions. It should be light years better than week 1 last year. Even Solder our big FA LT took awhile in the new blocking scheme , Hernandez still totally green, Omameh busted, Pio gets hurt, and Flowers never blossomed.

In comment 14443045 Jay on the Island said:

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In comment 14443036 Johnny5 said: Quote: In comment 14443023 V.I.G. said: Quote: In comment 14443013 Greg from LI said: Quote: Not expecting that to change now. Pulley is complete garbage. neither did O'Hara when he came... Actually O'Hara had a couple of really good seasons with Cleveland before he signed with the Giants. He was a good player for them. O’Hara played mostly guard for the Browns. When his contract expired the Browns made no effort to re-sign him. He only signed a 3 year 8 million dollar deal with the Giants.

That's true but I remember when we signed him he wanted to play his true position which is center. He started a LOT of games for the Browns and I remember specifically reading an article calling him out as one of the quietly successful players that helped Butch Davis to that 9-7 (2002 I think) season where it looked like between Couch and Holcomb they were on the upswing with good competition between QBs. I remember being stoked about signing him. You don't have to be an all pro to be a good solid player and a good solid signing.

Nothing has changed. We need a legit long term answer at OC. Nobody on the roster currently fits the bill.

This year's OL is going to be so much better than last year's that the difference borders on infinitely better, including at C. Can there be disappointments? Negative surprises? Sure. But at the moment it seems to me we all should be overjoyed and justifiably optimistic.

Did anyone ever see him play? Had anything been written about him with any kind of useful information? Talk about a forgotten player

The most memorable thing he's done is break his leg. He's been a journeyman his hold career with hardly any experience at center. I'm amazed at how many people downgrade the center's position on this board. You all realize he makes the line calls, don't you? I've seen nothing in his play (two games) which gives me confidence. Now maybe he'll rise to the occasion but what the hell do I know. So far he's accomplished zero. Oh, except he's big and strong. So there's that.

I was hoping against hope that they would draft a quality Center prospect, but resigned that they would not. And they did not.

As pointed out above, Halapio has shown pretty much nothing so far in his NFL career. Pulley is sub-standard but serviceable enough to get by with for a while if needed, and the other two guys are complete unknowns at this point. Maybe this is the year that one of them steps up, but that's really more wishful thinking than anything else.

C may be the most underrated position among the starting 22. You also don't need to invest a high draft pick to get a pretty good one, which is why I was disappointed we didn't invest one of our 12 picks on an upgrade.

that the staff seems to LOVE Halapio..yet he hasn't really done much here. I don't think "worried" is the word but I don't think someone with Pio's skills is the long term answer. Can he be adequate? Sure. But we need more than that.

Very surprised we did not draft a good prospect for the position.

But I would like halapio to win the job. He’s just a stout player. I like his size at the position. Pulley was very solid in his own right just imo more of a finesse blocker than a people mover. Can have trouble with the bigger tackles

one of the few who liked Pio last year. I thought he was pretty stout in the few quarters he played. He’s big, smart & physical.

Barkley ran surprisingly well right up the gut vs the Jags.

I think management has little concern that he can handle the physical responsibilities of the position. Can he handle the mental aspects of the position, which include the line calls?

Unfortunately, there is a League-wide history of extreme success, but also failure at this.

Is getting slept on. Not as a foundational piece or a guy with a longterm future with the team but as a serviceable player at the position next year. He's 26 just entering his prime and has a lot of starts NFL caliber play. Pio is the upside guy that management has faith in and Pulley establishes an acceptable short term floor if Pio flames out. I'm ok with that for 2019.

A little too much handwringing at C and not enough collectively as a unit IMO. RT is just as big a question and the "foundational" investments on the left side need to establish themselves as such.