By Ryan Dunleavy | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The only thing most NFL offensive linemen enjoy more than pancake blocks is talking about their craft in an abstract way that mentions cohesiveness, chemistry, playing as a unit, and the sum of the parts being greater than individuals.

"The best offensive lines are not necessarily the best O-linemen," NFL Network analyst Shaun O'Hara said. "They are the best group.”

So is what the Giants are attempting in 2018 even possible? Can they manage a quick fix to a problem that has plagued the team during its 42-54 stretch with one playoff berth over the last six seasons?

Of the five projected starters for the season-opener, three are in their first year with the team and at least one more (maybe both of the other two, depending on a position battle) are in their first year playing a new position.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

In other words, the Giants are trying for a quick turnaround at a position where nothing is more valuable than time.

The new-look offensive line won't really be put to the test until training camp opens and pads come on in late July — nothing is more misleading during pad-less non-contact practices in shorts than the play along the line of scrimmage — but three pre-draft minicamp practices, 10 OTAs and mandatory minicamp means time together.

For all the hype about teaming Saquon Barkley with Odell Beckham, Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram to form possibly the greatest collection of skill talent around Eli Manning during his 14-year career, none of it will matter if the offensive line doesn't improve.

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Pro Football Focus graded the Giants as the No. 26 offensive line in the NFL, with 17 different combinations used. The highest individual grade went to veteran guard John Jerry, who since was forced to take a pay cut and demoted to second- and some third-team reps during OTAs.

If all this sounds familiar, it echos 14 years ago, when the Giants were said to have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL but quietly pieced together a group that eventually started the Super Bowl XLII victory and paved the way for the NFL's top-ranked rushing attack (two 1,000-yard rushers) in 2008.

Here is a closer look at the process of assembling an offensive line now and then, as well as the thoughts of three of those Super Bowl winners on if the Giants can pull off a quick fix:

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

NOW ...

The Giants used the same two first-team tackles (Ereck Flowers and Nate Solder) for every first-team rep during media-attended OTA practices.

There was slightly more rotation at guard, where Will Hernandez and Patrick Omameh are expected to start on the left and right sides, respectively. John Grecco and Jon Halapio, both of whom re-signed this offseason, also took first-team snaps.

The real battle is at center between Halapio and Brett Jones, neither of whom was a starter when the 2017 season opened. Jones started 13 games after Weston Richburg was injured and his progression is one reason the Giants did not make an effort to re-sign Richburg before he received a $47.5 million deal from the 49ers.

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Where did they come from?

LT Solder: Signed four-year, $62 million free-agent contract after seven seasons with the Patriots

LG Hernandez: Selected with the No. 34 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft

C Halapio: Played in 10 games with first six career starts for Giants in 2017, four seasons after he was drafted

C Jones: Signed in 2015 as free agent from Canadian Football League

RG Omameh: Signed a three-year, $15 million free-agent contract after four seasons with three different teams

RT Flowers: Selected with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, started 46 games at left tackle

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Chris Faytok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

THEN ...

Joe Theisman said during a 2004 NFL preseason game the Giants had the worst offensive line in the NFL, and it became a rallying cry. Not just for the rest of that season, but for years to come as O'Hara never forget.

At the time, the Giants had four of the pieces who would become their vaunted offensive linen, though two had not yet played a regular-season snap for the team. The Giants later swapped pieces — adding Kareem McKenzie and losing Luke Petitgout — in free agency.

For comparison's sake, Solder and McKenzie are the big-time free-agent additions, Omameh-Jones/Halapio are former undrafted free agents just like predecessors Rich Seubert and Shaun O'Hara, and Chris Snee and Will Hernandez are both former No. 34 overall draft picks.

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Where did they come from?

LT David Diehl: Selected in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL Draft

LG Rich Seubert: Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2001

C Shaun O'Hara: Signed three-year deal with Giants in 2004 after four seasons with Browns

RG: Chris Snee: Selected in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft

RT Kareem McKenzie: Signed a seven-year deal with Giants in 2005 after four seasons with Jets

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CAN YOU CHEAT THE PROCESS?

In a word ... no.

“They have to work in concert," McKenzie said of offensive lines. "Think of it in terms of a symphony orchestra. If they have not played with one another over a consistent period of time, it’s really difficult to understand what one another sees. On the offensive line, everyone has to see a defense the same way to be able to play off of one another. That’s what takes times.”

Here is another analogy that works, especially if you have seen National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation."

"There are no shortcuts," O'Hara said. "It's like trying to bake a turkey in the oven. You can't speed it up or you are going to dry it out like Cousin Eddie did. They need game reps and game time together, but I already think this offense is going to be different and it's going to look more physical than it has the last few years."

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The extra minicamp the Giants were afforded — three practices before the draft — as a new NFL rule to help first-year coaching staffs could help speed up the process. The problem is Flowers skipped those voluntary practices, when Chad Wheeler filled in as the first-team right tackle.

“You can go ahead and put any number of different pieces together," McKenzie said, "but does it look like what you want it to in terms of a jigsaw puzzle? You can fit in any piece you want, but does it work? Does it make sense? What looks like art to one person might look like junk to another. We all have to see things in the same idealistic viewpoint.”

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A REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE

Nearly nine years after the fact, McKenzie recalls a specific example where he and Snee prepared together for a game against Raiders. Protecting Manning, who played through an injured heel, was as important as ever, and he threw two early touchdown passes and got to sit through the second half of a blowout win.

“The guy you are playing next to, what does he struggle with? You can go ahead and plan on the field within that play who is going to do what," McKenzie said.

"I knew from watching film they had a certain stunt coming. I told Chris, and true indeed that’s what happened. Because we watched film, we can plan for it and go ahead and be successful at it. That's knowing who does what."

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ONE SPEED-UP FACTOR

When former coach Tom Coughlin and offensive coordinator John Hufnagel were hired in 2004, O'Hara, Diehl and Snee all learned the offense simultaneously. Seubert missed the entire season due to injury, while McKenzie didn't join the fold until 2005.

“There are a lot of things that this group can do, especially because they are learning the offense together," Diehl said. "It’s not like somebody has been here for three years and somebody is acclimating. They are all learning at the same pace and it’s a process. They can build themselves together as a great unit.”

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DEEPER? OR AN OPTICAL ILLUSION?

As the Giants brought in Solder and Omameh as free agents and drafted Hernandez, they also let Justin Pugh, Weston Richburg and D.J. Fluker leave as free agents. That's essentially a 3-for-3 swap.

But the improvements made by Halapio and Jones make it feel as if there is more depth than in the past.

“I love the fact that there is a lot more competition," O'Hara said. "Anybody who has watched the Giants over the last few years knows the depth has been lacking, the competition has not necessarily been there. I like the pieces they’ve brought in and now they’ve got to find a way to make it a unit."

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Giants general manager Dave Gettleman talked about building a run-first offensive line of "hog mollies," but he really changed personnel more than he did add to it. Regardless, it is more than former general manager Jerry Reese did when he largely ignored the glaring weakness last offseason to predictable disastrous results.

“It was something talked about the last couple seasons," Diehl said, "and immediately addressed by Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur as what they needed to do to turn around the organization.”

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James Kratch | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

NOW OR NEVER FOR FLOWERS

Diehl played four of the five offensive line positions during his career, seamlessly moving from guard to tackle or from the right to the left side. Flowers now is moving from left tackle to right tackle, so what's the challenge?

“The challenge is his job’s on the line," Diehl said. "He has had every opportunity to prove why he was a first-round draft pick. It’s not about what anybody says now. He has to prove he is a viable tackle in the NFL. Basically, his livelihood is on the line."

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Shurmur has praised Flowers for his performance and communication during OTAs, but it's no secret the Giants tried to trade him during the NFL Draft after he did not show up for the voluntary minicamp. The Giants want to make Flowers "earn" a starting job, but they didn't bring in any veteran competition.

"It always comes back to fundamentals and technique," Diehl said. "You can be one of the strongest and most gifted athletes in the world, but if you don’t go out there and tie your hands together and punch and redirect defensive ends, you are fighting an uphill battle in the NFL.”

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Flowers was tied for the team-lead in offensive snaps played in 2016 and finished second to Manning in 2017. He has had trouble with his knee bend when giving up sacks.

“You are flip-flopping your feet, but you are still taking the same power angles that you took at left tackle, compared to when it’s a condensed fight on the inside at center and guard," Diehl said.

"It’s a controlled aggression. You have to have the confidence and trust in your technique: You are five yards out and it’s you and a defensive end and you are not going to let him get by you no matter what.”

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HANDLING CRITICISM

Even though he now gets paid to criticize, O'Hara hasn't forgotten Theisman's words.

“When I came to the Giants in 2004, Joe Theisman went on air and said the Giants had the worst offensive line," O'Hara said. "We wore that like a badge of honor. We were not going to let them say that about us. I think these guys have to feel that same pressure.”

It's not that different from what was said about the Giants' offensive line over the last few years.

“I don’t think criticisms from broadcasters is a motivating factor," McKenzie said. "I think it’s the role of everyone in that room to want to do better and do their job to the best of their ability to help a team win. Outside criticisms are always going to be there. The guys in the room are the ones who hold each other accountable. We don’t have to talk.”

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Ryan Dunelavy | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

STILL GOT IT!

Diehl, Seubert, O'Hara and McKenzie, with help from David Bass, got one last block in at the Landon Collins Celebrity Softball Game. A fan was told he could win a free trip to Disney World by two-hand touch sacking quarterback Davis Webb during a 15-second window.

Seemed easy enough ... until the offensive linemen took their positions. The fan wound up buried in the dirt by O'Hara and underneath a pile of all the linemen keeping him pinned to the ground.

No holding penalty was called by emcee Joe Ruback, also known as superfan License Plate Guy.

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“As a group, you’ve got (to have) an edge to you and you can finish people kind of like we finished that poor kid," O'Hara said. "You’ve got to have a little dirtbag in you to be a good offensive line.”

Ever any thought about letting the fan — who still received a $200 gift card — win for the sake of fun?

“There was no way," Diehl said. "You want to maybe give a little bit in an event like this because it is for charity, but we would never live it down if anybody saw us give that sack up.”

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VERDICT

The Giants offensive line might be much-improved when the 2018 season starts, especially over the product that was on the field at the end of last season, after Richburg, Fluker and Pugh went on injured reserve.

Both O'Hara and Diehl singled out Omameh as an under-the-radar pick-up, counted Solder as an elite left tackle in the NFL, and complemented Hernandez for the nasty attitude he has shown in getting involved in multiple practice scraps.

But don't expect too much too soon, remembering history often repeats itself.

“It’s going to take time," McKenzie said. "When I came to the Giants in 2005, it took us a couple of years to congeal and become the offensive line of note that we were. It really depends on how much time they have to work with one another.”

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Ryan Dunleavy | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Ryan Dunleavy can be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy.