Marc Colombo Trusts Giants Safety Protocols as He Prepares Giants O-line

The game of football carries enough risk as it is, but playing the 2020 NFL season amid the COVID-19 pandemic adds a whole new level of concern.

But not for Giants offensive line coach Marc Colombo, a former NFL offensive lineman who this week has been putting his players through a variety of drills including some that don't allow for social distancing.

The 41-year-old Colombo, who is looking to build a line that could have as many as three new starters in 2020, has been able to put his linemen through these drills with confidence thanks to the health and safety measures implemented by the Giants' medical staff to keep the novel coronavirus at bay.

"When you walk in this facility, you can trust the protocols in place," Colombo said during a video conference call with reporters Friday. "It's going to help us get the reps we need, it's going to help us stay as healthy as we possibly can."

So that no one gets the wrong idea, Colombo and his players have adhered to the social distancing protocols by the letter.

Colombo, as he's teaching, can be seen with a facial covering. While not required to wear masks while engaging in on-field workouts, the players otherwise don them just as soon as practice ends.

"There are protocols in place to stay a certain distance and I adhere to those protocols and it's worked so far," Colombo said. "I hope it continues to work because it's a really good setup."

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Colombo inherited an underperforming unit from last year that allowed 43 sacks in 2019, 18th most in the league. This year’s group is expected to have at least three new starters, including two at offensive tackle and one at center.

The cancellation of the spring practices and OTAs means that Colombo has to get creative in expediting the unit’s jelling process.

“They’re just trying to get better. They know it wasn’t right previously,” he said of last year's showing.

“It’s our job as coaches to put them in a position to succeed. That’s my job, just trying to get in there and just hammer them with every little detail and make them understand why this is the right way to do it. They’ve bought in so far, and they’ll continue to keep buying in.”

By the time the season starts on September 14, the hope is that the unit—whoever the starters are—will be a fine-tuned machine.

“We’re just going to keep pressing every single day to get as good as we possibly can, as quickly as we can,” Colombo said.

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