New York Giants: Is Ereck Flowers a lost cause?
By Zac Wassink
New York Giants left tackle Ereck Flowers may no longer be worth the trouble now that the franchise has hit the figurative reset button.
For a brief period of time this past fall, it seemed New York Giants left tackle Ereck Flowers was figuring life in the NFL out. The 23-year old taken in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft failed to live up to expectations throughout his first two seasons and the first month of the 2017 campaign, but he took multiple steps in the right direction in the middle of what became a lost campaign. Granted, Flowers never looked like an All-Pro, but the numbers and game film provided proof he had improved.
It is, however, oddly fitting Flowers may have undone all that positive work with his actions in the final week of the year. Those of us not in the locker room and not employed by the Giants may never know all that happened, but the perception out there is that Flowers and fellow offensive lineman Bobby Hart mentally checked out before the season finale. New general manager Dave Gettleman cut Hart ahead of the Week 17 showdown with the Washington Redskins in an apparent message to others on the roster.
In fairness to Flowers, he denied quitting on his teammates. Per Dan Benton of USA Today/Giants Wire, Flowers told reporters he spoke with doctors about his groin injury and wasn’t able to play against the Redskins. That’s fine, if true. Injuries happen. A groin problem should not be taken lightly, particularly as it pertains to somebody battling in the trenches on a cold December afternoon.
Former New York lineman Geoff Schwartz, who last played with the Giants in 2015, isn’t buying what Flowers attempted to sell. On Tuesday, Schwartz blasted both Hart and Flowers during an appearance on WFAN. In short, Schwartz stated linemen often play hurt, and he also suggested Flowers is only with the team because his first-round value means money owed to him is guaranteed unless the club suspends him for disciplinary reasons:
Perhaps most worrisome for Giants fans clinging to hope Flowers can become a serviceable starter in the NFL was Schwartz’s critiques of the third-year pro’s play. Schwartz ripped into Flowers’ techniques with comments similar to those made by others who have analyzed the tackle’s play. Without directly saying it, Schwartz essentially stated he has little, if any, faith Flowers will become even a hint of what the Giants hoped he’d be in 2015.
Flowers’ poor play was somewhat forgivable when it was believed he was doing whatever possible to improve. One wouldn’t need to search long to find stories about Flowers allegedly working to get into better shape and fix his on-the-field issues, and such reports appeared promising once Flowers stopped being a sieve in October. That now feels like a long time ago.
Whatever did and didn’t occur during the holiday season doesn’t erase the harsh fact that Gettleman and a new coaching staff cannot trust Flowers to start at left tackle next September. The Giants will play either an immobile Manning, an unproven Davis Webb or a rookie at quarterback. None of those three options need a revolving door at such an important position.
Assuming Schwartz is accurate and not just being overly harsh considering stories he and others heard about Flowers, moving the much-maligned tackle to the right side of the line isn’t the answer. The possibility exists the Giants could get something for Flowers in a trade if there’s a coaching staff and/or a front office out there that believes he’d be worth a minimal investment, but Big Blue would receive little compensation in such a transaction. Gettleman could just cut Flowers in attempt to remove what safety Landon Collins may call a locker-room cancer.
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As cliche as it may be to say, the Giants need a culture change immediately. Some athletes aren’t worth the headaches. Flowers is too bad on the field to be any sort of problem or distraction off it. Dismissing Hart made sense, and it showed Gettleman is serious about not dealing with any players not fully dedicated to the cause. Cutting or trading Flowers would indicate no individual, regardless of money owed to him, status or history, is guaranteed anything as of March. It’s a move that should be made unless Flowers impresses Gettleman over the next two months.