NFL-Giants: NY Giants football news

Snee and McKenzie

As the season began I was excited about th right side of the Gaints offensive line. Snee and McKenzie are big enough to bring a real power running game to New York. The unning game is working pretty well, but many people weonder why McKenzie has been penalized so much this year when in years past (with th Jets) he was rarely penalized.

Pete Frisco on Sportsline says that McKenzie has been just anoher player. While I expected ewer penalties and mor dominating play considering the money involved, I do think McKenzie is playing beter than your average right tackle. Here's what frisco said:

The Giants average 29.1 points per game to lead the league. A lot of it has to do with Eli Manning and the skill people, but the offensive line has made a major improvement over a year ago. Left tackle Luke Petitgout has played much better than he did in 2004, and the addition of Kareem McKenzie has helped at right tackle. McKenzie was signed away from the Jets as unrestricted free agent, and although he's an upgrade, he hasn't played nearly as well as the Giants had hoped. In fact, he has been just a guy, clearly a player not worth the money the Giants paid to get him. The best player on the line so far is coach Tom Coughlin's son-in-law, guard Chris Snee. In his second year out of Boston College, he has emerged as a dominant player at his position and could be ticketed to the Pro Bowl. The word on him is that he backs down from nobody and has improved greatly as a pass protector. When you're the son-in-law of the coach, you have to have a thick skin, capable of taking anything thrown your way. Word is Snee is all of that. The Giants players ribbed him last year, but he handled it with ease. Keep an eye on this emerging talent. Snee missed time last season with a glandular infection that had him wake up on game day with a swollen gland so big he couldn't put his helmet on. He lost 20 pounds. Now that he's back healthy, he's becoming a force. One more thing: He's probably the only guard in the league who spent vacation time in Hawaii with his head coach.

Posted by James Trotta at November 11, 2005 9:04 PM