When guard Kevin Zeitler walks through the doors in East Rutherford, very little is going to be familiar to him. In fact, he knows only one current New York Giant personally — Victor Salako, who was signed to reserve/futures deal in January.
“I know Victor from the team last year. I spent some time with him in Cleveland during OTA’s and training camp last year, that’s the one guy I know prior,” Zeitler told reporters on Monday. “I have been on the phone and had talks with Nate Solder, he seems like a good guy. I’m excited to him meet him in person. I don’t know many guys but from everything I have heard they sound like they are a good group.”
Despite the somewhat awkward nature of walking into a room full of strangers, Zeitler remains determined to bring two things to the Giants’ offensive line: consistency and cohesion.
“I think I’m adept at both [run blocking and pass protecting]. I think it’s my ability to always be on the field. I am able to stay on the field, I am able to be out there and I am able to play consistently. I think having that availability is pretty big,” Zeitler said. “Cohesion does matter for an O-line. When you work together with guys for a long time you have the ability to know what they are thinking and what they are thinking of doing before it even happens. We have the off-season program, OTA’s and training camp. I think we have more than enough time to get the group on the same page.”
The Giants’ offensive line has struggled for years, so the pressure is certainly on veterans like Nate Solder and now Zeitler to turn things around. And at least early on, they’re all saying the right things, but we’ll see where it goes from here.
