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John Michael Schmitz prepares for 'werewolves' of the NFL

Aug 18, 2023 at 03:15 PM

Michael Eisen

Giants.com Senior Writer/Editor

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson this season will prepare his players to confront defensive opponents who are Cowboys, Raiders and Rams, among others. But his biggest concern might be werewolves.

"A werewolf has the ability to wreck a game," Johnson said. "When they have the ability to wreck a game, they're a werewolf. Dabs (coach Brian Daboll) talks about it and some other coaches I've been around, don't let the game wreckers wreck the game. There are guys you have to game plan. There's plenty of defenders in this league that have that ability. So, you have to do things to try to mitigate what they can do to your plan.

"They know who those guys are. They all know that at a certain point in time, they're going to have to block potentially the best defensive player by themselves. But they're also smart enough to know this guy is good enough for you to keep doing that, eventually he's going to win. So, what are we going to do to keep him off balance? That's very common around the league, people do that kind of stuff. Every week we see some werewolves, especially in our division. We just have to do things, depending on who it is, depending on the game plan. What are some things we want to do to try to mitigate what those guys can do to wreck your plan? Because if you don't and they wreck your game plan, then that's bad coaching."

Only two of the Giants' 15 offensive linemen have not confronted the NFL's mythical animals in a regular-season game. One is Marcus McKethan, who last week returned to practice after spending his entire rookie season on injured reserve with a torn ACL. The other is John Michael Schmitz, the team's second-round draft choice this year who is steadily solidifying his hold on the first-team center job. Schmitz started 35 games at the University of Minnesota.

In addition to the position's physical demands, center is a cerebral position requiring leadership and communication skills. What is the greatest challenge for a rookie in that position?

"Realizing that there are werewolves every week," Johnson said. "He sees one every day in practice (in Dexter Lawrence). He's going to see one every week. I love the Big 10. They don't have one every week. He's going to have one every week. So, one of the things I asked him in the draft evaluation process is how do you handle losing an individual battle? And he kind of smirked and I knew what it meant. He's not used to it. I said get used to it. It's going to happen to you, how you respond is going to be the biggest thing. I think he's handled it really well.

"I detailed it out further in the (pre-draft) conversation," Johnson said. "I made an example like Dexter Lawrence is one of the best in the league. You're practicing against him every day. He's going to win a lot. You're just going to have to compete, and he goes, 'I got it' and that's what he's done."

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