Beatty, Seubert battling for spot on offensive line

ALBANY - David Diehl has no doubts about where he stands.

"I think I'm the best left tackle on this team and I'm one of the best ones in our division,'' he said, "and I'm going to go out there and prove it."

He may have a case. He has held down the starting job there for the last three seasons, including one in which the Giants won the Super Bowl, and he played every draining snap of the Pro Bowl at left tackle for the NFC back in February.

But when it comes time to decide who plays - or more precisely who plays where - none of that might matter.

Second-year tackle Will Beatty is pushing hard to win the left tackle job, but offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride made it clear in the spring that it's not Beatty against Diehl in that competition. It's Beatty against left guard Rich Seubert.

If the Giants decide they are better with Beatty at left tackle than they are with Seubert in at guard, they'll put the kid on the end as the first line of defense for Eli Manning and slide Diehl, who has played just about every offensive line position in his career, inside to left guard.

In most training camp battles, there are two guys fighting for the same position. But on the offensive line, the coaches have said that the best five will play, pitting tackles against guards. Apples against oranges. In an occupation in which head-to-head conflicts are easy to score, the situation suddenly is very murky.

And that doesn't even bring into account the emotional tremors that such a move could send through the team. Seubert is a very popular player, the soul of the offensive line. If he's ousted, there seems little doubt it would be handled professionally. But it also would be difficult.

Not that Seubert is giving up his job just yet.

"I'm 31 years old, I'm not that old," he said. "Guys can play this game for a long time. I know I've been through some stuff that may have taken some years off, but I feel great. I know I need to improve from last year [when he was limited by a shoulder injury corrected by offseason surgery], but I feel healthy, the body feels good and I'm excited."

Gilbride's assertion that Beatty and Seubert are battling for their jobs was not the only time the offensive coordinator has remarked about players and their longevity. He also said at one point in the spring that Seubert and others are "fighting Father Time." He said they were doing so valiantly, but it indicated clear concern about the mileage on their bodies.

Seubert took that in stride. One of his comments to Gilbride regarding that remark: "Look in the mirror." But he also wants to prove Gilbride wrong.

"Coach can say what he wants," Seubert said. "I know what I have to do. They know how I can play. This is my 10th year. I've been in a lot of games, a lot of reps, and they can make the decision."

Eventually they will. And it might not be the one that will be popular with the players who have formed the front wall for the offense for the past three seasons.