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Editor's note: This is Part 6 of 26 in Art Stapleton's New York Giants summer series Q&A
The New York Giants have a Super Bowl winner and possible Hall of Famer at head coach in John Harbaugh, with whom the entire team can strive for a championship standard the franchise has failed to meet for far too long now.
The standing ovation for Harbaugh from the assembled Giants fans inside Beacon Theatre back in May for the team's Town Hall event was only just the beginning.
And Harbaugh, their head coach set to usher in yet another new era for the franchise in its 102nd year, certainly knew how to play to his audience moments later.
With chants of "Cowboys suck" ringing out around him, Harbaugh was asked by a fan if he could promise the Giants were done being kicked around by their NFC rivals and most hated foes: the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders.
That's when Harbaugh with 193 career victories rallied a fan base with a pledge that felt an awful lot like a battle cry he will repeatedly deliver between now and the start of the season.
"I could [not] care less about what's happened last year or the year before that or 10 years before that," Harbaugh said. "All I care about is tomorrow's practice, because if tomorrow's practice is the way it's supposed to be, that will be one more step in the direction of being a good enough football team to kick the Cowboys' ass."
26 QUESTIONS: See our growing list of Giants questions for 2026 season
For now, there are far more questions than answers. But we hope to set the table for the summer and beyond with 26 questions that will define the 2026 Giants season.
The Giants have always loved to compare and contract within their championship history, and for a decade-plus, the current team in that given year has rarely measured up.
So when I pose the question above, I do so admitting that standard is set ridiculously high for the current group of Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan, John Michael Schmitz, Sisi Mauigoa and Jermaine Eluemunor.
Truth be told, the bar to clear is not insurmountable, either.
What the offensive line of David Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O'Hara, Chris Snee and Kareem McKenzie accomplished for the Super Bowl XLII championship Giants was remarkable.
Collectively and individually, there was no complacency nor satisfaction. It wasn't until the following season, even after what, where the Giants' offensive line was truly awarded its flowers.
The Giants have lived through horror stories on the offensive line before. Too often, to be honest.
As a franchise, from top to bottom, they believe Francis "Sisi" Mauigoa is ready to flip the script as the integral piece to bridge the gap between the present and future with hope that this unit will evoke positive memories of the past.
Ereck Flowers and Evan Neal took their lumps as immediate starters, tagged with bust labels early.
So did Andrew Thomas, although his turnaround remains a cautionary tale for not giving up on talent.
Schmitz and Weston Richburg were inconsistent at center as the talent fluctuated around them.
Joshua Ezeudu showed flashes, but he was bounced around with too much asked of him too soon.
The Giants had a gaping hole between Schmitz and Eluemunor with veteran Greg Van Roten still unsigned despite playing every snap the past two years here. A patchwork collection of one-year, prove-it hopefuls including former Ravens starter Daniel Faalele, Neal and Ezeudu was the reason for plenty of apprehension as offseason plans unfolded.
It's still early to judge linemen on both sides of the ball with no pads and full contact until Week 2 of training camp, but the best compliment I can pay is that Mauigoa blends in and holds his own already.
To be able to count on Eluemunor at right tackle and Thomas at left tackle, leaving Marcus Mbow as the swing tackle heading into his second season, the decision to bring Eluemunor back was huge.
The Giants averaged 129.1 yards per game on the ground last season, ranked fifth in the league, and that was with Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy and Jaxson Dart all missing time, plus the contributions of Devin Singletary.
A lot of whether the Giants' offensive line can take a leap and garner the level of respect the OG O-line did back in the day - beyond the Super Bowl, of course - will depend on Schmitz's chances of finally breaking out as a solid and consistent piece in the middle. Also, left guard Jon Runyan can answer criticism and step up as more of a physical presence than he has been given credit for, avoiding questions of being a possible salary cap casualty later this summer.
Health. Execution. Talent. Continuity.
The 2007 Giants proved they had all those factors up front.
If the 2026 Giants can do that while playing the physical brand of "bully" football Harbaugh desires, this offensive line won't be answering to the same questions that have dogged this franchise for more than a decade.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Is this the NY Giants’ best offensive line since Super Bowl XLII?
Continue reading...
The New York Giants have a Super Bowl winner and possible Hall of Famer at head coach in John Harbaugh, with whom the entire team can strive for a championship standard the franchise has failed to meet for far too long now.
The standing ovation for Harbaugh from the assembled Giants fans inside Beacon Theatre back in May for the team's Town Hall event was only just the beginning.
And Harbaugh, their head coach set to usher in yet another new era for the franchise in its 102nd year, certainly knew how to play to his audience moments later.
With chants of "Cowboys suck" ringing out around him, Harbaugh was asked by a fan if he could promise the Giants were done being kicked around by their NFC rivals and most hated foes: the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders.
That's when Harbaugh with 193 career victories rallied a fan base with a pledge that felt an awful lot like a battle cry he will repeatedly deliver between now and the start of the season.
"I could [not] care less about what's happened last year or the year before that or 10 years before that," Harbaugh said. "All I care about is tomorrow's practice, because if tomorrow's practice is the way it's supposed to be, that will be one more step in the direction of being a good enough football team to kick the Cowboys' ass."
26 QUESTIONS: See our growing list of Giants questions for 2026 season
For now, there are far more questions than answers. But we hope to set the table for the summer and beyond with 26 questions that will define the 2026 Giants season.
Question #6: Is this best Giants offensive line since Super Bowl XLII?
The Giants have always loved to compare and contract within their championship history, and for a decade-plus, the current team in that given year has rarely measured up.
So when I pose the question above, I do so admitting that standard is set ridiculously high for the current group of Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan, John Michael Schmitz, Sisi Mauigoa and Jermaine Eluemunor.
Truth be told, the bar to clear is not insurmountable, either.
What the offensive line of David Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O'Hara, Chris Snee and Kareem McKenzie accomplished for the Super Bowl XLII championship Giants was remarkable.
Collectively and individually, there was no complacency nor satisfaction. It wasn't until the following season, even after what, where the Giants' offensive line was truly awarded its flowers.
The Giants have lived through horror stories on the offensive line before. Too often, to be honest.
As a franchise, from top to bottom, they believe Francis "Sisi" Mauigoa is ready to flip the script as the integral piece to bridge the gap between the present and future with hope that this unit will evoke positive memories of the past.
Ereck Flowers and Evan Neal took their lumps as immediate starters, tagged with bust labels early.
So did Andrew Thomas, although his turnaround remains a cautionary tale for not giving up on talent.
Schmitz and Weston Richburg were inconsistent at center as the talent fluctuated around them.
Joshua Ezeudu showed flashes, but he was bounced around with too much asked of him too soon.
The Giants had a gaping hole between Schmitz and Eluemunor with veteran Greg Van Roten still unsigned despite playing every snap the past two years here. A patchwork collection of one-year, prove-it hopefuls including former Ravens starter Daniel Faalele, Neal and Ezeudu was the reason for plenty of apprehension as offseason plans unfolded.
It's still early to judge linemen on both sides of the ball with no pads and full contact until Week 2 of training camp, but the best compliment I can pay is that Mauigoa blends in and holds his own already.
To be able to count on Eluemunor at right tackle and Thomas at left tackle, leaving Marcus Mbow as the swing tackle heading into his second season, the decision to bring Eluemunor back was huge.
The Giants averaged 129.1 yards per game on the ground last season, ranked fifth in the league, and that was with Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy and Jaxson Dart all missing time, plus the contributions of Devin Singletary.
A lot of whether the Giants' offensive line can take a leap and garner the level of respect the OG O-line did back in the day - beyond the Super Bowl, of course - will depend on Schmitz's chances of finally breaking out as a solid and consistent piece in the middle. Also, left guard Jon Runyan can answer criticism and step up as more of a physical presence than he has been given credit for, avoiding questions of being a possible salary cap casualty later this summer.
Health. Execution. Talent. Continuity.
The 2007 Giants proved they had all those factors up front.
If the 2026 Giants can do that while playing the physical brand of "bully" football Harbaugh desires, this offensive line won't be answering to the same questions that have dogged this franchise for more than a decade.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Is this the NY Giants’ best offensive line since Super Bowl XLII?
Continue reading...
