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GREEN BAY, Wis. — B.J. Raji fears the Giants offensive line about as much as he does a fluffy pillow.
The Packers Pro Bowl nose tackle openly questioned the line’s toughness yesterday, even grading Brandon Jacobs higher on the physicality scale than the blockers Raji will face Sunday in an NFC Divisional game at Lambeau Field.
“Not saying they’re soft, but it’s not the toughest group I have been against,” said Raji, a former first-round pick and New York City native who starred in high school at Westwood in Bergen County (N.J.).
“I played [the Giants’ offensive line] once this year and once last year,” Raji added, referring to a pair of Green Bay victories. “I can only judge from my vantage point up front — not necessarily the most physical. Their backs are pretty physical, but it’s not the toughest [offensive line].”
Though the Giants ranked last in the NFL in rushing, 6-foot-2, 337-pound Raji is much more impressed by their backfield than their injury-battered line.
“Ahmad [Bradshaw] is always tough,” Raji said. “He’s a good player, and he plays hard all the time. When Brandon’s running like Brandon, he’s very tough to tackle.”
But even while praising Jacobs, Raji couldn’t keep from getting in a subtle dig at Jacobs’ lack of speed and career struggles when asked to run horizontally.
“A guy like that coming downhill is going to be tough to stop for any safety, corner or even a linebacker at times,” Raji said. “For them to get balance, pad him up and get him to the ground [is going to be difficult]. He’s not the quickest guy, so you want to get him going east to west instead of downhill against your guys.”
Though Raji is impressed with Jacobs overall, he isn’t expecting a repeat of Jacobs flattening Packers cornerback Charles Woodson like he did in the 2007-08 NFC title game, a play that set the tone for the Giants’ upset.
“It’s a new team, and I don’t anticipate that happening,” said Raji, who came to the Packers two years after that game as the ninth overall pick out of Boston College.
Raji’s unexpectedly blunt bulletin-board material was ironic, considering he is at the forefront of a defense that ranked 32nd (and last) in the NFL in yards allowed despite the Packers’ 15-1 record during the regular season.
And though he was voted to the Pro Bowl, Raji has his own critics. The analysts at respected NFL blog profootballfocus.com ranked him as the worst defensive tackle in the NFC this season, noting that Raji made 10 tackles all year by their count (tackles aren’t an official league statistic).
Raji praised the Giants receivers but mocked tight end Travis Beckum for saying this week he sees “guys flat-out getting beat” on pass routes against Green Bay’s defense.
“Their receivers are great … but I don’t think any of their tight ends are in any position to say too much,” Raji said. “They’re not the best players at that position we’ve seen. And they didn’t beat us. We still won the game [at MetLife Stadium last month]. Obviously, we did enough there.”