New York Giants: Ereck Flowers quietly becoming a reliable starter

Somewhat quietly and without recognition, New York Giants left tackle Ereck Flowers is becoming a bright spot in a lost and disastrous season.

It’s understandable fans of the New York Giants see little, if anything, positive about the current NFL season. After all, a Giants team that was supposed to be, at worst, good sits at 2-8 heading into a Thanksgiving night showdown with division rivals the Washington Redskins. Worse than the team’s shambolic record is the perception multiple members of the roster, particularly some on defense, quit during games ahead of Big Blue’s ugly victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium this past Sunday.

Left tackle Ereck Flowers has been an easy target for angry Giants fans looking for a scapegoat to blame for the team’s woes. The third-year pro has, for the overwhelming majority of his career, failed to meet expectations had for him before he was selected in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Flowers routinely neglected to protect quarterback Eli Manning throughout his first two seasons, and he was a liability in the rushing attack.

Because of New York’s record and the offense’s struggles to produce points, some, if not many, may not have noticed that Flowers was showing signs of improvement this past October. It was then, during the club’s first victory of the season, a win over the Denver Broncos, when Flowers handled his business when tasked with blocking star Von Miller, and those four quarters provided the slightest glimmer of hope the 23-year old may, slowly but surely, be finding his feet in the pros.

Fast-forward one month from that performance, and Flowers is, as astonishing as it may be for some to read and realize, worthy of being called a mainstay on the offensive line. Not only has Flowers proven himself a reliable option for a team infected by an injury plague since early August. Believe it or not, he’s played well:

Those who would discount that Flowers hasn’t surrendered a single sack in the team’s past eight games may point to the fact head coach Ben McAdoo and his staff has stressed the importance of getting rid of the football as quickly as possible to Manning. That’s fair, but remember McAdoo didn’t get to the Giants this past offseason. New York acquired his services in 2014, and he’s been working on this aspect of Manning’s game since.

Manning’s quick release likely has at least a little to do with worries about the left tackle position, but those who lashed out at Flowers when he was guilty of “Ole!” techniques should be fair and credit him for his improved skills. His footwork is better than it was in September. He appears to be growing in confidence with every start and each evaluation of game film. We may be a few contests away from being able to name him — gasp! — a competent NFL lineman!

Flowers’ development, assuming it continues beyond the holiday season, offers a reminder young linemen often struggle adapting to the pro game. Schemes and offenses are different from what the blockers experience in college. Many tackles and guards don’t play in pro-style offenses until they’re drafted. The learning curve is real, particularly for somebody who enters the league not long after they are legally able to purchase alcoholic beverages.

Just as those who crushed Flowers on social media and in columns need to acknowledge he’s no longer a sieve up front, fans ready to insert him into the left tackle position for the next decade should pump the brakes. Flowers isn’t yet the ideal player for the position, and it’s possible, maybe even likely, he’ll never get to such a level. Manning turns 37 years old in January, and he wasn’t the most fleet-footed quarterback during his athletic prime. He, Davis Webb or some young signal-caller not yet drafted by the Giants must be able to depend on the left tackle beyond a handful of solid starts.

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Flowers getting better does give general manager Jerry Reese, or whoever else will be leading the front office if ownership makes a change come January, options as it pertains to the line. The Giants may, fingers crossed, not need to select a left tackle in the first round of next year’s draft. Instead, the club could use a lesser-value pick on a lineman or look to free agency before shifting Flowers to the right side of the line, where he probably belonged from the first snap of his Giants tenure, ahead of next season.

Flowers may never become his generation’s Joe Thomas or an All-Pro, let alone a Hall of Fame candidate, but that he’s taken significant steps in the right direction shouldn’t be lost on even his harshest detractors. For now, the thought the Giants could retain Flowers past the 2018 season shows how far he’s come from the start of September.