For anyone who has taken this flight in exec econ...

If the front section is full (and it usually is), I am going to try the next to last row in the middle. The last two rows go down to 2 seats in the middle. Last time I tried the very back and found it quiet and relatively comfortable having the freedom to get up at will, and not having a window climber to disturb me. It seemed that the second to last row had a bit extra legroom by some design fluke to handle the taper of the plane. Am I just seeing things?

A coworker came to the exact same conclusion at the same time I did, so maybe we are on to something? Has anyone noticed this?

Edit: To add one more question, I believe *G members do NOT have lounge access in Newark. Am I correct? Sadly, I dropped under PPS level since my last trip there.
Thx.