Jermaine Elemunor wants his former head coach to take a look.
When the Giants play the Steelers in Week 8, El Emunor will talk to Bill Belichick, the longtime Patriots head coach who slammed Big Blue's offensive line on Monday's “Pat McAfee Show.” Challenge them to aim at the same unit.
Look for an even matchup between El Emnor and star edge rusher TJ Watt at right tackle.
Notice what Elemnor sees with the Giants' run and pass blocking. Despite what Sunday's disastrous loss to the Eagles showed and what the metrics say, the line was “pretty good.”
“Let's see what Bill says after that,” Elemnor said. When appearing on WFAN on tuesday.
After Sunday's game, Belichick's analysis consisted entirely of criticism.
Joshua Ezeudu, who started at left tackle in place of the injured Andrew Thomas, “shouldn't be playing left tackle.” 2022 first-round pick Evan Neal “will not play.”
Guards Greg Van Roten and Jon Runyan Jr., signed by the Giants in free agency, are “highly questionable.” Overall, he said, “It's a tough line,” referring to a player who allowed eight sacks against the Eagles, the third-most sacks in the NFL this season (22).
El Emnor respects the opinions and coaching history of guys like Belichick, but he doesn't care what they think.
“What Bill thinks is what Bill thinks,” Elemnor said Tuesday. “Everyone's free to have their own opinion. … I couldn't care less what a coach outside the building who doesn't coach now says. And that's against him. Not the offense. Obviously he's a legendary coach, but when we have one of the best coaches in the league, we don't have to care too much about what anyone outside the building says about our unit. there is no.”
There may have been times like that this year, but the Giants had allowed 14 sacks in their opening six games prior to the debacle against the Eagles, but that number has changed since Thomas underwent season-ending foot surgery last week. The outlook has changed dramatically.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Giants are tied with the Lions for 14th in pass blocking grade and have the third-worst run blocking grade through seven games.
They lost their franchise left tackle. They should have tried Ezeudu in that spot for the second year in a row, but it backfired by allowing two sacks in the first quarter and three pressures overall — although El Emnor also did so on Monday. Like head coach Brian Daboll, he didn't think there would be any third-round pressure. -The year lineman settled down after a tough start.
“For young players, it's like a trial by fire, going in there and getting burned to understand what you have to do and what you have to work on to get better. We often have to bear the burden,” Elemnor said.
But Daboll on Monday left the door open for change.
He didn't commit to starting Ezeudu at left tackle against the Steelers, but the Giants don't have many options other than bringing in another player — they announced Tuesday that the former first-round pick They don't have many options other than acquiring DJ Humphries — or replacing him with a player like El Emnor. line.
The 29-year-old El Emnor, who played under Belichick in 2019 and 2020 and “hated New England,” said last week that he prefers to be on the right side, and doubled down on that sentiment on Tuesday. .
It's difficult to even compare what the changes are from one side to the other, he added. That happened last year with the Raiders, with 779 of the snaps taken at right tackle and the other 125 at left tackle, but he explained that scenario is different than what he's currently going through. .
El Emnor even suggested that the Giants could leave him on the “island” and transfer additional help if needed. In El Emnor's eyes, that should reflect his level of comfort and belief in his ability to excel with the right tackle.
And this week, that means isolating the matchup with Watt. Watt is the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year and a runner-up that El Emnor has played against before.
If he does, and even if he doesn't, he hopes Belichick goes along.
“Last year I [moved to left tackle] Because I was in a certain situation and I was really trying to show people my worth,” Elemnor said. “And I feel like this year I’ve shown my worth with the right tackles and how good I can be there.”
