According to head coach Joe Judge, the New York Giants revamped offensive line featuring center Billy Price at center and Nick Gates and then Ben Bredeson (taking over for Gates after he suffered a season-ending broken leg) at left guard held up well.
"I was actually really pleased with the way they came through the other night,” Judge said Monday before the team took to the practice field.
“There are some things we have to clean up and keep building forward at all positions – the offensive line is no exception. However, I’d say the way Billy and Ben have jumped in here in a short period of time and really made a lot of gains for us, jumping in and learning the vocabulary with one week of practice and then you have another week of a couple walk-throughs going in there.”
According to Pro Football Focus, the Giants' offensive line allowed 16 pressures and finished with a 76.9 pass-blocking efficiency rating, which put them 29th in the league.
Price, according to the popular analytics site, was the lowest graded blocker on the offense. However, it's unclear if the grades reflect some of the miscommunication that seemed to pop up between Price and the guards, such as this play with right guard Will Hernandez in which it looked as though Price was expecting to have help on the block only to not get it, the result of the play being a pressure.
With Gates done for the year after suffering a broken leg in the game, the job is Price’s to lose. Price is still learning the Giants protection calls and is building a rapport with quarterback Daniel Jones with whom he had one botched center-quarterback exchange.
Judge said he expects that Price and quarterback Daniel Jones will get things ironed out.
"Practice--that’s what it’s for," Judge said. "Coming out every day, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to build is chemistry in practice and the experience of being on the field together and getting together as far as all the little nuances that happen.
“Billy is a vet, a guy that puts the work in. Daniel is a guy that stays here and makes sure that he gets with every receiver, center, whoever it may be that he has to have a relationship with, so I have faith those guys will continue improving.”
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