New York Giants: John Jerry's Reinvented Himself
Timothy T. Ludwig, USATSI

New York Giants guard John Jerry has been a revelation this season along a very average offensive line. There’s a specific reason for this.

John Jerry had a career-altering offseason.

The veteran guard attended LeCharles Bentley‘s O-Line Performance Camp in Arizona, working on his game with other NFL’ers. “Best decision I ever made since I’ve been playing in the NFL,” Jerry said, via Jordan Raanan of NJ.com.

“I spent two months not just working out. I spent two months getting in a three-point stance and doing drills and doing technique things. That is something you rarely do in the offseason anywhere else that I’ve worked out.”

Weston Richburg was adamant about Jerry attending Bentley’s camp, and criticized his fellow linemen for not working harder. Jerry evidently took this to heart, because he not only spent his spring with Bentley, but he’s emerged as a pleasant surprise for Big Blue.

These nuances have helped Jerry, who’s been chastised in the past for not putting it all together, enjoy success during the first half of the season. He’s the eighteenth highest-rated guard in football, Pro Football Focus observes.

What has become increasingly clear is that Jerry is now one of the premier pass blocking linemen in football. He’s always had it in him, Bentley notes. “John Jerry has tremendous ability inside of him. That is what kept him in the league so long.

“But it’s always just the little dots that, when they connect, sometimes a player says, ‘Ah, that’s what it is. That’s what it is I’m trying to accomplish.’ Then you’ve got something.”

The six-year veteran has been an ironman, competing in all 447 offensive snaps this season. Bentley has seen a “pretty dramatic difference.”

His performance affirms that.

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.