The only offensive player the Giants selected in the NFL Draft was Mitch Petrus, a guard from Arkansas taken in the fifth round, and there are some specific physical and character traits that attracted them to him.
“The guy is extremely aggressive,” offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. “He has great speed. He pulls. He does a great job in open space. He cut blocks. He will be feisty. He will be aggressive.”
He sounds like someone the Giants know quite well.
“Richie will be insulted when I say this,” Gilbride continued, “but he reminds me of a Rich Seubert.”
There comes a time when a team must import a successor, but that doesn’t mean the incumbent starter must step aside gracefully. Anyone who has seen 31-year old Seubert in action during his 10 years with the Giants fully realizes he is not going to go gentle into the night.
Seubert pulled an upset and stuck on the roster in 2001 as an undrafted free agent out of Western Illinois, overcame tremendous pain and odds in 2003 coming back from a gruesome fractured and mangled right leg that needed several surgeries to put back together.
He missed nearly two seasons, served as a reserve in a third season. He battled back into the starting lineup the past four years, became part of a Super Bowl-winning offensive line and last season started 14 games despite a debilitating shoulder problem before shutting it down with a bad knee.
No Giants player has been on the scene longer, none ranks higher in the eyes and heart of coach Tom Coughlin and few, if any, are as popular in the locker room.
This all helps Seubert, but if he falters on the field he won’t be carried into this season. He and right tackle Kareem McKenzie — who turns 31 later this month — are trying to retain their starting jobs, with second-year Will Beatty coming after McKenzie and Petrus waiting in the wings for Seubert.
“Right now if I have my way and things go the way we hope, there will be no injuries and the offensive line will stay intact and [Petrus] won’t contribute much at all,” Gilbride said. “But the reality of it is, right now over the last year we have lost a lot of time between the guards and the tackles with Kareem and then with Richie.
“They are very prideful, they are very tough. So I know they will do everything they can not to have that happen. They are fighting Father Time as valiantly as they can.”
Petrus was a walk-on at Arkansas as a fullback and tight end and figured he had to work harder and get stronger than everyone to have a chance. He kept lifting and lifting and, lo and behold at the NFL Combine, he tied a record by bench-pressing 225 pounds a ridiculous 45 times.
“I really surprised myself,” Petrus said. “I lost count what rep I was on. I didn’t even know what the record was. When I got up and they said ’45,’ I said, ‘golly, no wonder my back hurts so bad.’ ”
During the rookie mini-camp that concluded yesterday Petrus watched tapes of the Giants’ offensive line and certainly noticed Seubert.
“From what I’ve seen he’s a real physical player and doesn’t stop,” Petrus said. “I don’t compare myself to him, I’m not near as good as he is.”
The Giants feel Petrus has to translate some of his immense upper-body strength to anchor his lower body, but they love what general manager Jerry Reese described as a “vicious nature.”
Seubert even as a young player never was hesitant to instigate some mayhem and could usually be counted on to ignite the first sparks of training camp.
“You’re not going to see me get in any fights or anything,” Petrus said, before quickly adding “I’m not going to start a fight, at least.”
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The Giants today are expected to announce the signing of LB Micah Johnson, who led Kentucky last year with 105 tackles. The 6-foot-2, 258-pounder attended the rookie camp on a tryout basis and was impressive enough to receive a contract.