Giants GM Joe Schoen Takes Blame for Minor Miscue While Ducking Larger Issue

Getty New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen had an unanticipated admission during his bye week press conference.

Some might have hoped for a New York Giants admission on paying quarterback Daniel Jones $40 million per year or the lack of depth on the offensive line when general manager Joe Schoen took the podium on November 27 — but Jones got a vote of confidence, and the OL was excused (more on that below).

Instead, the NYG decision maker took full blame for the issues at returner, of all things. “That’s on me,” Schoen replied candidly when asked about rookie running back Eric Gray seemingly being forced into the special teams role early in the season.

“We tried to address the punt return — like, we knew it was an issue,” the Giants GM followed up. “In the draft, some of the guys we liked went probably higher than where we deemed you’d take a [returner].” Schoen went on to explain that veteran returner Jamison Crowder was the victim of a numbers crunch at wide receiver, adding that Big Blue is happy to have Gunner Olszewski now.

The accountability is all well and good from Schoen and many were pleased to hear it on social media, but others wanted answers on the offensive line and the quarterback. His responses were a bit different in that regard, however.

Giants’ Joe Schoen Uses Injury Excuse for Offensive Line

When questioned on the offensive line and where its “construction” went wrong, Schoen went right to the injuries.

“Uh, Andrew Thomas getting hurt the first series of the game,” the GM answered. “That doesn’t help when you lose and All-Pro left tackle.”

Although Schoen has a point, few thought this was a top blocking unit with Thomas, making the criticism of its “construction” — and lack of serious depth — more valid than the front office would care to admit.

“Through 11 weeks we had nine different starting O-line combinations, which is the second-most in 15 years,” Schoen went on, citing statistics that appeared to be prepped for the occasion. “We have 21 different O-line combinations which is the fourth-most in 15 years. So, we were down to our fifth and sixth offensive tackles.”

“It’s hard to prepare for that when you have eight or nine on the roster,” the general manager concluded.

Later, Schoen voiced that the same offensive line won 10 games last year, outside of the John Michael-Schmitz addition at center. “We ran it back with the same guys,” he reiterated.

There’s an old adage in sports that if you aren’t getting better, you’re getting worse. The Giants never fully addressed the offensive line, leaving them unprepared once disaster struck.

Giants Back RT Evan Neal Despite Brutal Honesty

One Giants blocker did take some minor heat from the NYG general manager.

“Evan [Neal] needs to play better,” Schoen stated candidly during the media session. “He knows that. Look forward to getting him back here when he’s healthy, but I think he’d admit there’s some things that he can do better, and we look forward to him continuing to improve.”

Having said that, Schoen did change his tune a bit after a follow-up question on potentially switching Neal’s position to guard.

“No, I don’t think [we need to consider a position change],” he stated later. “I went back and watched the Alabama stuff; the kid can play. We just got to get him to be more consistent.”

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in Evan,” Schoen continued. “He’s a hard worker. It’s killing him right now to [not] be out there. He’s missing some valuable reps in year two but as soon as he’s healthy — again, he’s scratching and clawing to get back — we’re looking forward to getting him back there. But he knows there is some things he can do better and that’s what we expect from him.”

We’ll see if the NYG front office attacks the offensive line with more urgency in 2024.