The New York Giants went into this offseason knowing they’d need to address the offensive line heavily, not just in terms of players but in how they approached developing the players.
And so head coach Brian Daboll did just that, bringing in former Raiders offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo and his reputation as a patient yet firm teacher to oversee the transformation of one of the league’s worst-performing units last season.
Bricillo, who in addition to the Raiders served with the Patriots in 2019-2021 as both a coaching assistant and an offensive line coach, has been a big hit with his players, who have lauded him for his attention to detail and his nurturing approach.
“Coach Carm’s a great teacher, a great offensive line coach,” said second-year center John Michael Schmitz. “He helps you understand the game and brings it down to a low level and works his way up, which is amazing. He just works well with us and I’ve got all respect for him. He’s really intelligent and knows the game well. He’s a great addition to our room.”
Veteran Jon Runyan, Jr, who signed as a free agent this off-season, agreed.
“Carm, he’s very detailed, very detail-oriented,” Runyan said. “There are some bad habits I’ve created over my career that through the glass of me back with Green Bay, kind of pushed to the side.
“To come here and have a new, fresh set of eyes on me–it’s good because it’s making me think more, it’s making me think more about my hands, my feet, and how everything is correlated to each other. Having that fresh set of eyes has been really beneficial, and I think it’ll help carry me the rest of this and into the training camp and pay dividends for me in the season.”
During his time with the Raiders (2022-203), Bricillo turned a bad unit into a solid group. The Raiders allowed just 40 sacks in 2023 and 35 the season prior. In that 2022 season, the Raiders offensive line also helped rush for 2,059 yards, their most since 2011.
The Giants, who haven’t had a solid offensive line in years, are hoping Bricillo, whose attention to detail, patience, and accountability, turn what’s arguably been a weakness into a strength, starting with helping the veterans raise their game even further and then reaching the younger talent like linemen Joshua Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan to smooth out their technique issues to better deal with NFL-level defenders.
Building the offensive line is a process and not necessarily one that will happen overnight. But if Bricillo can, at the very least, get the unit, both starters, and reserves, to perform more cohesively this season, the Giants’ offense should have a better chance of becoming the kind of offense they hope to be.
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