The sound of silence was all Shane Vereen needed to feel good about the first NFL start for Chad Wheeler.
“I mean, his name wasn’t called — that’s usually a good sign for an offensive lineman,” Vereen told The Post. “For his first start, I’m very proud.”
Nothing is fixed and nothing is settled, but ever so slightly, a legitimate offensive line is taking shape for the Giants.
Just because Wheeler, an undrafted rookie from USC, made his NFL starting debut and held up fine as the Giants stunned the Chiefs 12-9 in overtime does not mean Wheeler is the answer. He could be, though, and that at least is something to watch and consider, making the final six games a proving ground amid the misery of this season.
Wheeler, 23, is a left tackle by trade, starting 45 games at that position at USC and working at left tackle all summer with the Giants. Only recently has he moved over to get work at right tackle, and that is where he was needed after Justin Pugh went down with a back injury and his replacement, Bobby Hart, struggled against the 49ers. Wheeler played all 69 snaps on offense against Justin Houston, who entered the game with 7.5 sacks. The Giants were smart about this and had one of their tight ends, Rhett Ellison or Evan Engram, practically affixed to Wheeler’s right hip on most plays. Houston finished with seven tackles but no sacks and no hits on Eli Manning. Plus, Wheeler was not called for any penalties.
“He held his own,’’ Manning said.
“Chad, the best way to describe it is you didn’t notice him a whole heck of a lot,” Ben McAdoo said Monday. “He was physical in the run game. I thought he did some good things in pass protection. Now the challenge for Chad is there’s film on him now, so when the opponent has film and they know who is playing, they can go study the tape. So Chad needs to study himself, as well as the opponent this week, and take steps to improve.”
This is not a one-week cameo. Wheeler has earned playing time. Pugh, dealing with a back injury, will not be ready for Thursday night’s Thanksgiving game against the Redskins at FedEx Field. When Pugh is healed, he should return to left guard, replacing John Jerry, with D.J. Fluker remaining at right guard. Brett Jones remains at center and Ereck Flowers at left tackle. Fluker suffered a toe injury against the Chiefs and is not expected to be ready to play in three days, a setback for a unit beginning to put things together.
Can this be a workable offensive line? Scoff if you must, but Flowers, after a shaky start to his third NFL season, has settled down. Since Week 2, he has not allowed a sack on 313 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Talk. That is the second-best blocking performance of any offensive tackle in the league in that span.
Jones has stepped in nicely for Weston Richburg, who is on injured reserve with concussion issues. If the Giants determine Richburg does not need to be re-signed, Jones could be a solid fall-back option. Fluker, signed to a one-year deal, has added life and enthusiasm and that outrageously huge body to the run blocking and deserves another contract. Pugh, like Richburg, is in the final year of his contract and needs to be re-signed, as he is versatile enough to play right tackle and either guard spot.
Wheeler, at 6-foot-7 and 312 pounds, looks like a prototype NFL offensive tackle, even with his long, flowing hair. He had some injury issues in college, but the reason he was not drafted was concern about his character, stemming from a 2015 altercation with police that led to a psychiatric evaluation. He came clean with the Giants about this incident. On Sunday, he became the first undrafted rookie free-agent offensive lineman to start for the Giants in 14 years, since Jeff Roehl in November 2003.
Should the Giants take a tackle high in the NFL draft or sign a youngish veteran in free agency? Why not? No one is putting the stamp of approval on Wheeler just yet, or on Flowers either. But there are options now that were not there just a few weeks ago, and that is encouraging.
More observations coming out of the second Giants victory of the season:
— The hot topic around Evan Engram last week was this: How difficult is it for you to juggle individual success with team failure? Engram’s rookie season has been excellent, yet the Giants continued to lose. He admitted it was extremely tough on him, and the pained expression on his face after games revealed this to be true.
Well, take a look at a picture of the Giants locker room following their victory over the Chiefs. Standing in the center of all the attention, not far from Ben McAdoo and Eli Manning, was Engram, and his smile could have lit up the room.
“I like this one a lot better,’’ Engram said of winning despite a poor individual performance.
“That stuff doesn’t matter to me, as long as we get the ‘dub.’ Definitely it switched around.’’
Engram was held without a touchdown catch for the first time in five games, had only one reception (for 9 yards), had two drops and was called for a holding penalty and a pass interference penalty – the offensive pass interference call was shaky, at best. Engram played 58 of the 69 offensive snaps and was asked to play a larger role in run blocking and pass protection, helping out Wheeler. Still, it was a rough performance, but Engram still finds ways to contribute. He was named a game captain by McAdoo – a rare honor for a rookie – and older teammates have noticed the way the kid carries himself.
“I think it started with 88,” guard D.J. Fluker said. “Eighty-eight came in with a speech the other day. He was like: ‘We need more energy on the offensive line, we need more energy. We need this.’ I was like: ‘Rookie, OK, I hear you talking, but we have to play for 60 minutes.’ But he got us fired up. I like that. You don’t have to be an older guy to step up and speak and he did a great job with that.”
— There is a delicate balance between instilling players with confidence and telling them they aren’t good enough when a head coach goes off-script and injects a whole bunch of trick plays. It can be viewed as open-minded gimmickry or flat-out desperation. McAdoo hit the right notes with the creative additions for this game. He called for a fake punt – the first one in 13 years called by a Giants head coach – he called for a halfback option pass, he lined 331-pound defensive tackle Robert Thomas at fullback near the goal line and, on one play, he had offensive tackles Flowers and Wheeler lined up outside, as receivers. Not everything worked – Shane Vereen’s halfback pass was intercepted – but the tone set by McAdoo turned out to be a winning one.
“It’s fun,’’ Vereen said. “It shows we’re not afraid to take a shot, we’re not afraid to take chances. Sometimes offensively we got to get creative like that. We got to do things we haven’t done, got to break tendencies. They told us to prepare for anything. It makes the game fun, brings more excitement to us, makes us feel like we can go out there and just play.’’Vereen already has taken some grief from Eli Manning, who told the running back, “You’re 0-for-1, with a pick.’’ From the 18-yard line, Vereen spotted Engram open in the end zone, but did not notice safety Daniel Sorensen lurking nearby and the pass, into the wind, was picked off.
“I asked him if he’d thrown any passes in the NFL before and he said that was his first,’’ Manning said. “I said ‘That was probably your last, also.’ ’’
Vereen, in his best quarterback-speak, tried to defend himself.
“It looked like he was open to me and then the backside safety kinda came out of nowhere,’’ Vereen said. “I tried to lead him, because the wind was blowing that way, I tried to throw it in front of him and low and on a line, try to cut the wind. Defense made a good play.’’
— There is nothing not to like about Aldrick Rosas, other than all those misses. His teammates were thrilled that Rosas, after missing an extra point in the second quarter, came back to hit short field goals of 26 and 23 yards in the wind, the latter being the game-winner in overtime.
“I couldn’t be happier,’’ punter, and holder, Brad Wing said. “I see a lot of myself in this kid, just as far as the journey he’s had with his career. It’s good to see him succeed. He’s got the talent, there’s no question, he’s gifted, got an amazing leg. Sometimes it just takes a bit of time for guys to get it going. I think he’s turned that corner now.’’
In a strange way, the Giants’ miserable season has helped with Rosas’ job security. If the Giants were in the playoff mix, they likely would not be able to stick with the rookie, who missed field goals in five consecutive games he had at least one attempt before going 2 for 2 vs. the Chiefs. Amid all the losing, the Giants can work through the misses, as it is clear Rosas has an uncommonly strong leg and great potential.
— It was a typically low-key milestone passing for Eli Manning, who started his 209th consecutive regular-season game, moving him past older brother Peyton and alone in second place among all NFL quarterbacks – Brett Favre is untouchable, with 297 straight starts. Eli Manning’s remarkable streak is the sixth-longest among all NFL players since the 1970 merger, behind Favre (297), offensive linemen Bruce Matthews (229) and Will Shields (223), cornerback Ronde Barber (215) and linebacker London Fletcher (215). By the way, Manning put together his 35th game-winning regular-season drive (drives in the fourth quarter or overtime), tying him with Ben Roethlisberger for third among active quarterbacks, trailing Tom Brady (41) and Drew Brees (39).
— Geoff Schwartz had a rough time of it in his brief stay with the Giants, as a series of nagging and serious injuries kept him off the field. His younger brother, Mitchell, is some player. Did you see the way he blocked against Jason Pierre-Paul? There is no doubt JPP was giving great effort, as usual, and he was able to make a few plays – his big hit on Travis Kelce jarred loose the ball that Damon Harrison picked off for an interception – but mostly, Mitchell Schwartz stymied JPP, who did not generate a single pressure on Alex Smith, according to PFF, despite 42 pass-rush opportunities.
— Why didn’t Alex Smith try to go after Ross Cockrell? With Eli Apple not in uniform, Cockrell started and played 74 of the 75 defensive snaps. With Janoris Jenkins playing well on the outside and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie attending to business in the slot, it was clear that Cockrell was the one to target. Yet Smith threw at Cockrell only one time, completing one pass for 11 yards. Strange.