New York Giants: Marshall Newhouse Doesn't Deserve To Start 2
Brad Mills, USATSI

The prospect of New York Giants offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse starting at right tackle is very worrisome.

The unnerving play of Marshall Newhouse during the Giants’ Friday night loss to the Miami Dolphins should raise a red flag.

Actually, it should signify that nothing has changed.

Newhouse, 27, has never received a positive score from Pro Football Focus for a full season.

When he was a member of the Green Bay Packers, AcmePackingCompany.com dubbed him as “one of the favorite whipping boys of Green Bay Packers fans.”

When Newhouse was signed prior to the 2015 season, he was brought in as depth, not a starter.

But Will Beatty suffered a torn pectoral while lifting weights, so Newhouse was pushed into the lineup at right tackle.

The results were predictable.

Newhouse struggled immensely, grading out as PFF’s 68th best tackle and surrendering five sacks and 39 quarterback hurries.

More worrisome was his inability to correct the things that plagued him earlier in his career. He played too upright, had trouble moving his feet, and too often lost his leverage.

After missing the boat on a big-name offensive linemen who were available in free agency this past offseason, general manager Jerry Reese had no other option but to stick with Newhouse.

Well, his woes are back.

Newhouse was unimpressive against the Miami Dolphins in New York’s first preseason game.

He had a nice block on multiple linemen that led to a Rashad Jennings touchdown run, but nothing more. In fact, he only registered 11 average blocks all game.

Big Blue missed out on Russell Okung and Donald Penn in free agency, and there hasn’t been much to suggest that Anthony Davis will be wearing blue anytime soon either.

Kelley L Cox, USATSI
Kelley L Cox, USATSI

Despite these failed attempts at adding another lineman, there’s still another (inevitable) option: picking up quality players who will be released by their current teams before the season begins.

If the Giants fail to do that, quarterback Eli Manning could be in for a long season.

Despite the negativity, teammates Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg have rushed to Newhouse’s defense.

“Marshall’s a great player. He’s been in this system and he knows how to play in this system … I’m very, very confident in Marshall as our right tackle. He’s a helluva player,” said Pugh, via Big Blue View.

The fanbase begs to differ. The stats beg to differ.

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Justin Weiss is a staff editor at Elite Sports New York, where he covers the New York Islanders and Brooklyn Cyclones. In 2016, he received a Quill Award for Freelance Journalism. He has written for the Long Island Herald, FanSided and YardBarker.