Ereck Flowers glad to be a guard now, not a “villain”

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Ereck Flowers is hoping for a clean slate, a chance to change his reputation.

But there’s a part of him that doesn’t understand all the criticism he took in New York.

Now Washington’s starting left guard, Flowers told Darryl Slater of NJ.com that he was stung by the abuse that was heaped upon him when he was the Giants’ left tackle.

“If you read about me, you’d swear I was this villain,” Flowers said. “A lot of people don’t know me, so maybe some people have some built-up opinion about me.”

Well, in defense of people, Flowers wasn’t very good football, after the Giants used a top-10 pick on him in hopes he’d anchor an offensive line instead of dragging it to the bottom of the sea. It may not have been all his fault, but he wasn’t an answer to a problem either.

Flowers said his time in New York “just taught me valuable lessons, not to focus on what somebody else is saying about you. Sometimes, you’ve got to look at who is saying it.”

In New York, it was everyone, including the Giants, who cut him last October. But he’s 25, has some talent, and a chance to reinvent himself with a team that needs help.

“I didn’t have anger,” he said. “I just wanted a fresh start. For me, football has been more enjoyable here. I’m just trying to refine my game, get rid of bad habits, and create some good ones, especially at a new position.”

With Trent Williams not present and Donald Penn filling in at left tackle, Washington would certainly benefit from Flowers becoming a productive player. And if he does, it would be a remarkable reclamation.