By any stretch of the imagination, the New York Giants and Eli Manning did not have the season they envisioned in 2013 and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride thinks that the offensive line was a major issue and that could lead to the team signing a name in the offseason and some free agents on the o-line includes : Alex Mack, Eugene Monroe, Michael Oher, Richie Incognito and Matt Slauson.
The Giants ranked 28th in the league in total offense this season after being one of the best teams over the past couple years and the team ended up 19th in passing yards per game and 29th overall in rushing yards per game and outgoing coordinator Kevin Gilbride said the offensive line was partly to blame. According to ESPN.com, Gilbride said that at times it was impossible for Manning to "function" in the offense and while he did not give his QB a pass on his 27 interceptions (many that were his fault), he also added that Manning did not have the chance to play his game this season and he could not function the way he did in past years due to the line struggles.
The team used more short drops rather than what Manning likes in his deeper ones and that contributed, as did injuries to Chris Snee, David Diehl and David Baas and later Will Beatty and on top of that, the team was breaking in a rookie in Justin Pugh. Beatty struggled before breaking his leg and he is signed to an extension from the offseason and now the team is getting a new coordinator after a decade and with that could come some new blood on the offensive line.
Mack is one of the top centers in the league and with Baas dealing with injuries he could be a target and so could Monroe, who was traded to the Ravens form the Jaguars and he has played well this season and so did Slauson, who played in Chicago this season and was very solid. Incognito is not a real option, but who the heck knows, while Oher would be a great addition as well.
"[The offensive line] made it impossible for [Manning] to function. ... You give him help and he's proven he can win a championship," Gilbride told SiriusXM.
