The Giants can help Will Beatty every minute of every day, study with him, give him advice, pump him up and let him know that he’s not out there by himself. Beatty knows this.
“I’m not going out there alone,” the rookie offensive tackle said yesterday. “I got a great core to back me up.”
Nevertheless, at some point on Monday night, Beatty will have to stand on his own two feet and make the blocks and the reads necessary to give the Giants a chance to beat the Redskins at FedEx Field so that this dysfunctional playoff drive can continue.
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“I can help him watching film and helping with his technique, but when it comes to game time it’s you as an individual, you got your own number, your name is on the back of your jersey,” left tackle David Diehl said. “Obviously we’re all going to rally around him, we’re all going to be there to support him. This is his chance. This is his opportunity to step up and show why he’s here.”
Beatty finds himself as the starting right tackle for the Giants, subbing for injured veteran Kareem McKenzie, who is out at least two games with a strained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Beatty started in place of McKenzie on Oct. 25 against the Cardinals. He is a natural left tackle, drafted in the second round out of Connecticut to eventually step into the starting left tackle spot, as the long-range play is to move Diehl back inside to guard or possibly out to right tackle.
“[Beatty] is a good, young football player,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “We have asked him to play a number of spots. He has played left tackle, tight end, right tackle and he has done a good job. He is going to have to do another good job.”
There is no doubt Beatty, at 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, has a far different body type than the massive McKenzie. Beatty is leaner and more athletic, but lacks McKenzie’s strength and experience.
“He is a very good athlete,” Coughlin said. “There is just an awful lot to learn at this level and that normally is the barrier guys have to overcome. He is still working at that. Let’s face it, by no means is that accomplished.”
Beatty, reserved and studious-looking wearing stylish Dolce and Gabbana prescription glasses, has an interesting battle up ahead. When the Redskins are in their base defense he’ll go against defensive end Phillip Daniels, but in obvious pass-rush situations Beatty will see Andre Carter and his 11 sacks over on his side, with rookie sensation Brian Orakpo, a strong side linebacker, moving to right end to knock heads with Diehl.
“It’s not like I’m going in and this is my first start,” Beatty said. “I got the first-start jitters behind me now, I can go with the rest of the vets and perform.”
In his first start, Beatty got an earful before every play from right guard Chris Snee, who offered similar instructions last week when Beatty replaced McKenzie in the second half of the 45-38 loss to the Eagles.
“It goes with the territory of being a vet and helping a young guy,” Snee said. “It’s not an inconvenience for me, it’s just I’ll have no voice after the game.”
Beatty changed his seat in the meeting room this week, moving alongside McKenzie, paying extra attention to his note-taking.
Diehl reminded Beatty: “As a rookie they’re going to try to intimidate you.”
It helps that Beatty has the entire week to work with the first team, a group that now includes him.
“I want Kareem to get healthy,” Beatty said. “That’s not the way you want to get a spot, by someone going down. You want to actually earn it. Now that I have the spot I’m going to take full advantage of it and make sure they know why they drafted me.”