Make no mistake, though, it’s more than simply showing up for work.   Quality of results is critical.  The Seinfeld characters made the puffy shirt and shrinkage part of the American lexicon.  Similarly, the Giants bruisers up front have cleared the way for four 1000 yard rushers over the past three years.  Not to mention consistently giving quarterback Eli Manning time in the pocket; enough time to become a Pro Bowl player.

While those numbers point to group success, individual accolades have often eluded the players.  For example, whereas Chris Snee is singled out as an elite guard, tackles Kareem McKenzie and David Diehl, as well as guard Rich Seubert and center Shaun O’Hara, rarely make anyone’s “Top 10″ list.  O’Hara made the Pro Bowl last year but there are still those who think he isn’t in the upper echelon of centers.  Diehl, it has been said, has the footwork of a guard and McKenzie can’t be trusted without help.  Seubert, the crazy man of the group, who came back from a grisly broken leg, is feisty but lacks talent.  These offensive linemen get so little respect, Rodney Dangerfield would feel sorry for them.

This leaves disgruntled Giants fans voicing their displeasure on message boards and blogs alike.  The good news for those angry fans is the Giants offensive linemen don’t care about the slight.  They know their value is as a unit.  They enjoy being “peacefully unaware” of their shortcomings.  In fact, a closer look at the Giants linemen through the prism of what we’ll call “The Seinfeld Theorem”, shows the experts are missing the critical ingredient in an individual lineman; the ability to thrive as a member of a unit.

Since the end of the popular sitcom none of the actors who portrayed Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine have had comparable success as a solo act.  The Seinfeld Theorem postulates this is a result of the group being stronger than the combined strengths of the individuals.  To put it more simply, sometimes the whole is greater then the sum of its parts.  In the football world, the Giants offensive line, likewise, has also proven that good players playing together can be great.

Cameron Snyder, Hall of Fame football writer for The Baltimore Sun, once said the unit that takes the most time to develop on a football team is the offensive line.  His point is well thought out and well taken.  More than any other unit, an offensive line must work together as a team; their success depends on it.  With specialized defenses and complicated blitz packages, linemen must function as if the group is one.  If not, they will be divided and conquered.  The stability of the Giants line, and the success they’ve experienced, can’t be a coincidence.

Great offensive lines have a sixth sense when it comes to working together.  It’s a gift not given, but earned.  It comes from each lineman’s in-depth knowledge of what his line mates will do.  It is a knowledge bought and paid for with hundreds of practices and thousands of film sessions.  It’s why those same publications that ignore the individual Big Blue lineman also say the Giants have arguably the best offensive line in football.

Giants fans have seen this before.  They remember fondly the line of Karl Nelson, Bill Ard, Bart Oates, Chris Godfrey, and Brad Benson.  These men were so anonymous their “fierce” nickname was The Suburbanites.   They too were a perceived patchwork offensive line.   They too were a collection of under-the-radar maulers.  And they too anchored a Super Bowl winning Giants team.

This is where the comparisons end, though.  There will never be another Seinfeld and The Suburbanites only won one Super Bowl.  This Giants line has a chance to do it again.  They have a chance to show the, so-called, experts they belong along side the great offensive lines of the all time.  They have the chance to show everyone, just like the characters in Seinfeld, they too are the masters of their domain.