What Geoff Schwartz's Return Potentially Means for the NY Giants Offensive Line

After more than a dozen announcements confirming reports of players—many of them starters or key role players—being placed on season-ending injured reserve, the New York Giants announced this week that they’re actually going to get a player back from the IR list.

That would be offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, who has been on the injured reserve/designated to return list since the start of the season thanks to a dislocated toe injury suffered in a preseason game against the New York Jets on Aug. 22.

“I am ready to go,” Schwartz told reporters. “I had a couple good weeks of practice. Last week was real good. I took every rep for the scout team. I felt good out there. I expect I’ll be ready to go.”

Schwartz’s situation is an interesting one.

First, the 3-7 Giants, regardless of what some of them might believe about still having a chance to get into the postseason, are way past that point and are now playing for pride and, to a certain extent, for their jobs next year.

Second, Schwartz will try to become the first member of the Giants who suffered a toe injury this year—the other two being safety Cooper Taylor and linebacker Jon Beason—to come back from the injury, a feat he believes he can accomplish.

“Luckily for me, I don’t run as much as they do. I don’t have to do some of the movements that they have to do,” Schwartz said when asked if he had any concerns about aggravating the injury.

“My shoes are good; they set me up good. It is a little different with the skill guys. They don’t have the option to get the shoe that is real bulky and good for not being able to move my toe very much, [but] I don’t know the extent of their injuries.”

The biggest question is where Schwartz will fit in on an offensive line that after 11 weeks is the league’s 19th-best run-blocking unit and its 14th-best pass-blocking group, according to Football Outsiders.

Head coach Tom Coughlin, who will ultimately make the call as to where—and when—Schwartz plays, was asked by reporters during his day-after press conference if he had any initial thoughts regarding that decision.

“I have no preference, other than getting him going,” Coughlin said.

Let’s look at three possibilities the Giants will likely consider and see which scenario makes the most sense for Schwartz, who is in the first year of a four-year, $16.8 million deal that, per Over the Cap, is the second-highest contract out of 76 given to offensive guards this year.  

Right Tackle

In the least likely of the scenarios, the Giants would only make a move to replace starter Justin Pugh if his quad strain acts up to where he can’t practice and/or play, as was the case last weekend against the 49ers" target="_blank">San Francisco 49ers.

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Both Pugh and Coughlin are confident that this won’t be the issue, with the second-year player telling reporters, “I feel good. Keep getting treatment, making sure they are working on it. My job now is to get healthy, and get back out there and help this team.”

If there is a setback, Schwartz has experience playing that right tackle spot and certainly would be a much better option than Charles Brown, who Coughlin, when asked by a reporter how Brown played in relief of Pugh, said, “Not very well.”  

He wasn’t exaggerating either. In his first offensive snaps of the 2014 regular season, Brown played in 62 of the Giants’ 70 offensive plays, earning a minus-7.9 grade, the lowest of any Giants offensive player, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

So what makes Schwartz a better option at right tackle if Pugh is unable to go? He’s played nine games at that position, starting six, all of those starts coming as a member of the Carolina Panthers in 2009 and 2010.

Over that two-year period, PFF has him down for allowing three sacks and seven quarterback pressures—not bad for a guy who was a young player just really getting his feet wet at the NFL level at the time.

Left Guard

When Schwartz was initially signed as a free agent this winter, the plan was for him to be the new starting left guard, replacing James Brewer, a Giants 2011 fourth-round draft pick who was all but handed the starting job in 2013.

For whatever the reason, Brewer didn’t come close to delivering the goods on the field despite having such impressive size (6'6", 330 lbs) and physical tools for the position.

His performance was so unsatisfactory that he’s yet to earn a game-day uniform from the team this season, the coaches instead preferring to activate Brown and Dallas Reynolds, both free agents, over their own homegrown draft pick.

When Schwartz went down with his toe injury, the team decided to move rookie Weston Richburg, its second-round pick, in at that spot.

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Richburg’s rookie season has been a learning experience. Per PFF, he has allowed two sacks, five hits and eight hurries as a pass-blocker, resulting in a minus-1.8 grade.

However, Richburg has struggled at times with run blocking, earning a minus-7.4 grade in that area. This is probably due to a lack of solid NFL strength necessary to stay with his man on blocks, a problem that will only be resolved once the rookie can spend a full offseason in the team’s weight-training program. 

The coaches prefer to keep Richburg on the field—this much was made clear by Giants offensive line coach Pat Flaherty, who in June told reporters, “I don’t like them standing around. How are they going to do good standing beside me?”

So what about moving Richburg to center, which is his future positon anyway, and putting Schwartz in at left guard?

Yes, this would necessitate uprooting two players on the five-man line, something that the Giants probably would prefer not to do since they seem to value consistency on that offensive line.

Still, the move makes sense in that Richburg can start grooming for his future job, while Schwartz, who did all his studying and preseason reps at left guard, can pick up where he left off.

As an added benefit, moving Richburg over to center would move J.D. Walton, the current starter whose minus-10.7 PFF grade is the third-worst of the offensive linemen (behind John Jerry and Richburg) on the bench as depth for the center/guard spots.

In addition, such a move, as bold as it might be, would allow the rookie to begin to flourish at the position where he spent the majority of his college career, the very same position that helped get him to the NFL.

Right Guard

If the Giants are looking for the best way to get Schwartz back on the field, the coaches really need to consider inserting him at right guard and sending John Jerry, the current starting right guard, to the bench.

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Per PFF, Jerry is the lowest-graded Giant on either side of the ball, carrying a minus-14.3 mark that breaks down to a minus-3.3 in pass blocking and a minus-11.0 in run blocking.

His combined sacks allowed, quarterback pressures and quarterback hits—23 of them—is the most given up by any Giants offensive player. 

If that’s not enough to make a case for removing Jerry from the starting lineup in favor of Schwartz, then how about using past production as a reason?

Last season, as a member of the Kansas City chiefs, Schwartz, the Chiefs’ starting right guard, was PFF’s ninth-best overall guard in the NFL and the fourth-best right guard.

Where Will “the Schwartz” Be?

Last season, a big reason why Justin Pugh was so successful as a rookie, besides his talent and work ethic, is that he had an established veteran lined up next to him in David Diehl, who stepped in for the injured Chris Snee.

Diehl played a big role in teaching Pugh everything he knew and then some, and his influence on the 2013 first-round pick should not be underestimated.

Although offensive linemen sit in the same meeting room every day to learn the plays and the schemes, going out onto the field and executing the assignments, which require solid communication among the offensive linemen, is a whole other ballgame.

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With Diehl next to him, Pugh succeeded.

This year, Pugh has been next to Jerry, and his play has regressed. While this is not necessarily a poor reflection on Jerry and the communication between the two, it’s a valid question that needs to be considered when contemplating breaking up that right side of the offensive line.

Would Schwartz, who as previously noted seemed to find his niche at right guard, help improve the communication and in effect help Pugh? It’s a valid question to which the answer won’t be known unless the move is made.  

Based on history, Schwartz’s best position is at right guard.

If the Giants coaches are looking to get him back on the field, improve the run blocking, upgrade the pass blocking and minimize the number of changes that need to be made along the offensive line, right guard is the clear-cut best way to accomplish all three objectives.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football and The SportsXchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.