Shaun O’Hara saw the same thing everyone else did, saw how the Giants offensive line was getting manhandled and abused early and often Sunday in Carolina. Thinking back to his days playing center in the middle of all that chaos, O’Hara wondered why offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride did not come up with some badly needed adjustments.
“The thing I was kind of hoping I would see is after the first couple of possessions [was] them saying, ‘You know what? We’re struggling. Let’s just go no-huddle, let’s go up-tempo, let’s change something up,’ ’’ O’Hara, currently an NFL Network analyst, told The Post. “That was always the way I felt when I was playing was the best way to get out of it. We’re struggling in a couple of different phases, let’s not sit here and try to draw up the perfect play and try to figure out who’s messing up. Let’s change it up, let’s go fast break and let’s put the pressure on the defense, let’s put them on their heels.
“Carolina’s defense just pinned their ears back and they were coming after ‘em. They weren’t even thinking about the run game, and when you see that, I look at it, let’s throw ‘em a curveball here, let’s be the aggressor and let’s make them react to what we’re doing, not vice versa.’’
O’Hara played center in the NFL for 11 years, the last seven with the Giants. He saw this season’s version of the offensive line dominated by the Panthers as Eli Manning was sacked four times in the first quarter and six times in the first half of a 38-0 loss. O’Hara was looking for a faster pace to slow down the Panthers, a change in approach that never came before halftime.
“I feel like Eli likes that, I feel like when I was playing, I liked it for a number of reasons,’’ said O’Hara, who also is a regular on the Giants postgame show on the team’s website. “Number one, it made the defense kind of vanilla, it made them say, ‘Alright, we don’t have time to send in an exotic blitz by formation,’ they just kind of call out a base defense and they roll. Number two, it gets them kind of tired. After the third sack you had to be sitting there saying something’s up, we’re not doing a good job of protecting, so maybe we should run the ball, call a couple of quick screens.’’
Taken aback by the horrid showing by the offensive line, O’Hara — known for his playful jabs to his fellow linemen — took to Twitter after the game: “Just heard NYG flight home was delayed. Apparently Eli was sacked while waiting to board!’’
O’Hara acknowledged left tackle Will Beatty, who allowed three sacks, “had a tough game.’’ Channeling his inner offensive lineman, O’Hara couldn’t resist adding, “I will say I thought the holding call they called on the touchdown run was petty. That to me was the killer right there.’’
The player who replaced O’Hara at center, David Baas, missed the season opener with a knee injury and O’Hara said, “He didn’t look very fluid in the Denver game, he looked like it was his first game back.’’ O’Hara also sees right guard Chris Snee struggling to stay on the field despite a hip injury.
“He’s battling through, a lot of guys probably would have tapped out by now and say I need some time off,’’ O’Hara said.
O’Hara also has noticed Snee might be trying to do too much to help rookie right tackle Justin Pugh.
“A lot of times veteran players play worse than the rookie sometimes because they’re so worried about telling the rookie what to do that they forget about what they’re supposed to do,’’ he said. “It kind of becomes a domino effect.
“I look at that group and say they’re still a talented group and they’re very smart. Guys are gonna get beat physically in the NFL, but that group, mentally, they can handle the wrinkles in the game plan you want to throw in week and week out. Pugh is a rookie, but in conversations I’ve had with him he’s a smart kid, I think he’s a quick learner. I feel like they can handle any end-game adjustments and that stuff. I can very well see the Giants going into Kansas City and coming away with a win.’’