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We have talked a ton about the potential configuration of the New York Giants offensive line since we received the news that starting left tackle Will Beatty -- the one sure thing on the line -- will miss two-thirds of the season or more after surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle.
Well, not to beat a dead horse or belabor a topic that is headed toward Scherff-levels when it comes to how often it is likely to be discussed, but Giants.com has offered us another way to look at the situation. Below is a chart from Giants.com showing starts made by position for the linemen on the roster.
| PLAYER | LT | LG | C | RG | RT | XOL | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Beatty | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 63 |
| John Jerry | 2 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 61 |
| Marshall Newhouse | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 36 |
| Justin Pugh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 30 |
| Geoff Schwartz | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 28 |
| Weston Richburg | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Dallas Reynolds | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Brandon Mosley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brett Jones* | 0 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
| Ereck Flowers** | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 29 |
| Bobby Hart** | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 37 |
* CFL starts
** Collegiate starts
You know what strikes me first when looking at this chart? In six professional season, covering a maximum of 96 regular-season games he could have played in, Geoff Schwartz has been active for only 63 of those and has STARTED only 28. That means he has started only 29.2 percent of games his teams have played since he entered the league in 2009. This is a player on a four-year, $16.8 million contract the Giants are absolutely counting on to be a full-time player for them in 2015.
A couple of other things are obvious when you look at Schwartz. His versatilty, with NFL starts in three spots, is one. The other is that 27 of his 28 starts have come on the right side -- including the two he made at right tackle a season ago. The chart tells us that John Jerry pretty much has to play right guard if he is in the lineup, and that it would make sense for Schwartz then to play right tackle. Which would move Justin Pugh to left guard, a scenario we discussed Thursday, or even left tackle if the Giants think he can play it competently at the NFL level. Pugh played collegiately on the left side so those fundamentals should still be familiar to him.
We also talked earlier today about the possibility of Marshall Newhouse being the left tackle, at least initially. Newhouse, signed as a swing tackle by the Giants, has far more experience on the left side than the right side. Thus, if the Giants need to use him left tackle appears to be his most comfortable spot.
What else do you take away from the chart, Giants fans?