NY Giants must prove they belong in the fight up front with Cowboys

EAST RUTHERFORD - The New York Giants have been pushed around for too long on both sides of the ball.

John Harbaugh wants to build a bully in the swamps of Jersey, and that's been the mission from jump.

The Eagles , the Cowboys and even the Commanders the last two years have all taken turns pushing the Giants around, mocking their existence regardless of the four Vince Lombardi trophies that sit in the lobby of their training facility.

It's time for the Harbaugh Giants to answer back. They need to squash the outside perception around the team that a while ago became a pushover in the NFC East and beyond.

The Giants have emphasized building a team that refuses to get dictated to between the lines, in back page headlines and on banners pulled by planes over MetLife Stadium like there were two seasons ago. You're not going to see any of that with Harbaugh here, at least not for a while, as his presence immediately raises the floor of the franchise.

That was going to take making over a locker room that needed to not only help establish a shift in expectations and results, but also do what is needed to change perspective and performance.

We have talked about creating identity, and for years - during the recent decade-plus of despair in particular - the Giants were quick to try and steal that from their past, instead of coming up with a new way of defining themselves.

There must be a refusal to let opponents force their will upon the Giants, which has happened far too often.

Truth be told: Harbaugh demands it. And if the Giants want to win and change their fate, they'll have to win physically up front on both sides of the ball, especially against the two teams that have dominated them in that regard for far too long.

That challenge begins with Dallas on Sunday night, and the Cowboys suffered a potentially significant loss when it was announced Monday that All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith will undergo surgery that will keep him out 4-6 weeks.

Smith's absense is enormous for Dallas, which already has questions at both tackle spots on the offensive line.

For the first time in a long while, the Giants have reason to believe they belong in that fight in the trenches.

But the toughness needs to come from the players, and it's not solely about want-to. Some players are just made that way, and in order to compete with the Eagles and the Cowboys, the Giants are not going to measure up consistently until they could match that edge not only with talent, but in their hearts and minds.

These Giants want to play with attitude, which they have this summer. They want to hit you and hit you hard, and if they take a punch, be resilient enough to hit back just as hard, even harder.

For years, the Eagles have been that way, and it's shown up on the scoreboard and in the standings - especially against the Giants, who have not won in Philadelphia since 2013. The Cowboys have done that, too.

If the Giants are going to compete at that level, they must alter the mindset and the football from the inside out.

Take a look at the offensive line. The Giants signed left guard Jon Runyan Jr. to a two-year contract extension, which means four of the five starting offensive linemen are now under contract through 2028. That's how the Eagles and Cowboys built their dominant groups, keeping units together with a mix of top shelf talent, draft picks and solid veterans.

Left tackle Andrew Thomas is in that first group, right guard Sisi Mauigoa is the prized rookie, and both Runyan and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor represent the latter. Center John Michael Schmitz still has much to show entering the final season of his rookie deal.

The Giants now have three young, drafted offensive line that they believe in and not just for this year: Mauigoa, Marcus Mbow and J.C. Davis. Let them develop behind the starting OL, creating a strength with this group.

Eventually, they all could find different homes on the line. Don't move 'em in-season, though.

The Giants' pass rush of Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux is incredibly gifted, and their production should be among the league's best. The inside linebacker tandem of Tremaine Edmunds and Arvell Reese has reshaped the way this defense will be viewed because of their uncanny skill sets in the middle.

What will decide everything is the play up front, specifically against the run. You know what you are going to get from veterans D.J. Reader at the nose and Shelby Harris beside him, but what about the snaps when they are not on the field? No one expects Reader and Harris to play 100 percent of the snaps.

The Giants will mix and match around them.

A trade for 370-pound beast C.J. Okoye from the Ravens. Veteran Dean Lowry plans to sign to the practice squad. They drafted Bobby Jamison-Travis and he has a chance to earn a role. Outside linebacker Chauncey Golston has been emerging as a 5-technique option.

There is more work to be done, but on paper, the run defense should be improved, especially from a schematic and communication standpoint.

How important of a factor was this in the Giants' quest to set a new tone under Harbaugh? Harbaugh left no doubt as far as the significance of not allowing opponents to impose their will on the ground back at the Scouting Combine in late February just weeks after he accepted the job.

"Well, we better [be improved] - it's a must thing, I can tell you that," Harbaugh said. "There's a lot to it. There's three levels and layers to your defense, and all three layers and levels have got to be committed to and incorporated in stopping the run, no doubt. Every single one of the 11 guys has got to be committed to stopping the run. You can't let people run all over you, there's no doubt about it."