Post by EddieNYG on Sept 21, 2017 13:28:51 GMT -5
Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jackie Slater put Giants rookie tackle Chad Wheeler through a full week of individual instruction this summer in Orange, Calif., prior to Wheeler's first NFL training camp. And Slater came away from their time together blown away.
Slater said in a phone interview with the Daily News on Tuesday that he saw and felt the same drive in Wheeler that Slater's compatriots in Canton possess.
"When I go to Art Shell, 'Big' Bob Brown, or Ron Mix or Jonathan Ogden, all of these guys are very conscientious, they don't want to let anybody down, and they want to be successful," Slater, 63, said. "And when I saw Chad, it was the same thing I saw when I visited those men in Canton. I'm not putting him in the same echelon with those guys. He's got a long way to go. But you've got to have a strong drive to be successful and be dominant to even attempt to do these things. And Chad has that."
"It ain't all about the money with this kid," Slater said. "Everybody's looking for that pay day, but I sense he wants to know how to be a problem solver. He wants to be able to think his way around the football field. When I got that sense, I became more willing and fired up about working with him and pouring that into him, because I was like that."
Most intriguingly, Slater said Wheeler understands how much technique means for the success of an offensive lineman -- everything. This is noteworthy especially because the man ahead of Wheeler on the Giants' depth chart, starting left tackle Ereck Flowers, consistently receives criticism for playing with poor technique that leads to frequent pressure on Eli Manning.
Slater said in a phone interview with the Daily News on Tuesday that he saw and felt the same drive in Wheeler that Slater's compatriots in Canton possess.
"When I go to Art Shell, 'Big' Bob Brown, or Ron Mix or Jonathan Ogden, all of these guys are very conscientious, they don't want to let anybody down, and they want to be successful," Slater, 63, said. "And when I saw Chad, it was the same thing I saw when I visited those men in Canton. I'm not putting him in the same echelon with those guys. He's got a long way to go. But you've got to have a strong drive to be successful and be dominant to even attempt to do these things. And Chad has that."
"It ain't all about the money with this kid," Slater said. "Everybody's looking for that pay day, but I sense he wants to know how to be a problem solver. He wants to be able to think his way around the football field. When I got that sense, I became more willing and fired up about working with him and pouring that into him, because I was like that."
Most intriguingly, Slater said Wheeler understands how much technique means for the success of an offensive lineman -- everything. This is noteworthy especially because the man ahead of Wheeler on the Giants' depth chart, starting left tackle Ereck Flowers, consistently receives criticism for playing with poor technique that leads to frequent pressure on Eli Manning.
Pretty sad state of affairs with the Giants OL, but if Wheeler develops into our starting LT going forward it would really take the pressure off the team in the draft and free agency looking for a LT.
I thought Flowers would improve in year 3, but he is still making mistakes out there and not showing any signs of being able to do that.
Maybe we will see Wheeler at LT before the year is done?