When Hal Hunter looks at the right side of his offensive line, the Giants position coach sees a serious, workmanlike tandem on the field and a split personality off of it.
But the two steely veterans are finding out they have common interests beyond just shoring up lackluster right guard and right tackle spots that have been more like a crumbling wall in recent years for the Giants.
“More than I thought when I first met him,” right tackle Mike Remmers said of right guard Kevin Zeitler. “We were talking about Nintendo 64 yesterday and how much we love playing video games, especially on the 64. He’s got his N64 with him here. We don’t get a lot of free time, but when we do, it’s nice to kick back, put the feet up and relax and play some games.”
The long days of training camp allow for such discoveries. Remmers is a Mario Kart kind of guy. Zeitler likes Super Smash Bros., among others.
If the two offseason additions can be as good at giving Eli Manning time to pass and opening up holes for Saquon Barkley as they are at avoiding banana peels on race tracks and racking up knockouts, the Giants may be in business.
In the past two seasons alone, the Giants have started 11 offensive linemen on the right side. The names range from first-round picks (Ereck Flowers) to obscure ones (Adam Bisnowaty), but none have had the staying power or ability to consistently get the job done.
In Remmers and Zeitler, the Giants have experienced big men who have been sturdy and capable. General manager Dave Gettleman may finally have the hog mollies he desired.
Remmers was the final piece to the new line, signing in May after recovering from offseason back surgery. He did not participate in OTAs but has hit the ground running in training camp, and it has helped that he was in Pat Shurmur’s offense with the Vikings in 2017.
“I’m feeling excellent,” Remmers said Thursday. “I feel like I didn’t really skip a beat. The beginning of camp, even if I was doing OTAs, you can’t simulate exactly a whole game scenario. So the first few days was definitely a learning experience, but I feel like I’m learning every day and getting back into a groove.”
Part of that is learning the ins and outs of Zeitler, the man he will line up next to every snap. The two have 14 seasons of experience between them, but had never met until this year.
“I think we balance each other out nice,” Zeitler said. “I’m the very kind of hyper-focused, let’s-get-this-done type, and he takes a little lighter focus, he likes to joke around and have a good time out there. I think it’s a nice balance. It keeps us both kind of level.”
But according to Hunter, Remmers can flip the switch quickly when he gets between the lines — “tough, aggressive, nasty guy,” Hunter said. And that hasn’t been hampered by his offseason back issues.
“He looks pretty healthy,” Hunter said. “A couple guys did a couple bull rushes on him [Wednesday], and he anchored down on them. He anchored down, and I was like, ‘Damn.’ He looked good to me. He’s been tested more than once, so he looks good.”
Nate Solder and Will Hernandez played every single snap on the left side last season. Now, Remmer and Zeitler hope to provide the same kind of stability on the right.
“I love playing next to him,” Remmer said. “Just knowing the guy next to you sees what’s happening and he’s able to react with you instead of having to walk someone through it, [it helps].” Everyone’s on the same page, everyone’s quick, everyone’s on top of it. We’ve been studying a lot. I think that’ll be us this year.”
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