Mike Greenberg may have called the Giants’ offensive line “terrible,” and while the metrics do back that up, he stopped short of referring to their home of East Rutherford, New Jersey, as a “swamp.”
Greenberg was a bit kinder in his assessment of the New York football Giants than in suggesting that Matthew Stafford should avoid Shrek’s home at all costs.
But he still referred to the Giants’ offensive line as “terrible.” And he isn’t far off, either. The Giants had a bottom-five unit during the 2024 season. Still, they mainly were marred by injuries, especially considering that 26-year-old Andrew Thomas missed most of the season with a Lisfranc injury.
Greenberg questioned Stafford’s desire to speak with other teams to gauge his value, including the Giants and Las Vegas Raiders, before ultimately returning to the Los Angeles Rams. This was rooted in the fact that New York’s offensive line isn’t anything to write home about.
But the only one writing was starting right tackle, Jermaine Eluemunor.
“Look, I mean, I’m all for people getting as much leverage as they possibly can,” Greenberg began. “Matt Stafford can’t seriously want to go to the Giants. I don’t mean this as disrespectfully as that sounds, but Field Yates kind of brought some of the options. You’re going to a wind tunnel behind a terrible offensive line on a team that was just awful last year, where the coach and general manager’s careers are basically hanging by a thread in that market. They’re in a ridiculously competitive division. I’m all for trying to drum up leverage, but if you’re Matt Stafford, that can’t possibly be right now anywhere near the top of your list — can’t it?”
“No way I would want to play for the New York football Giants,” said Damien Woody. “The New York football Giants are a disaster. We’ve seen what happened this past year, obviously, with Saquon Barkley. Them moving off of Saquon Barkley; him going onto win the Super Bowl. The disaster that was Daniel Jones. They can’t protect the quarterback. And oh, by the way, the front office and coach are barely hanging on as it is.
“So, if you go out there and your Matt Stafford playing outdoors in the NFC East with all that type of inclement weather, what happens if things doesn’t roll your way? That whole regime could be out. Then, you could be in a situation where you got a whole new regime coming in. I don’t want any part of that instability if I’m Matthew Stafford.”
Clearly, Stafford didn’t either, as he agreed to terms on a new deal with the Rams on Friday.
But that didn’t prevent Greenberg’s (and Woody’s) pointed comments to ruffle some feathers, especially on the Giants’ “terrible” offensive line.
Eluemunor took issue with the Get Up host, saying he wasn’t one to make excuses, but that “terrible” offensive line he was referring to was “dogging” some of the best defensive linemen in the league before Thomas was lost for the season.
The 30-year-old veteran then offered to sit down with Greenberg and watch some tape before vowing to protect whatever quarterback — not Stafford — is under center for his team in 2025.
He also extended the invitation to Thomas and Woody, too.
Whether they take up on his offer remains to be seen, but Eluemunor isn’t here for the disrespect.
Greenberg and Woody may have written off the Giants’ offensive line as “terrible,” but Eluemunor’s not just talking tough — he wants his chance to back it up, too. Before injuries derailed the season, he was convinced that he and his line were holding their own against some of the best defensive units in the league.
And if Greenberg or Woody want to talk, Eluemunor’s more than happy to break it down on tape.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.