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For seven long weeks, New York Giants rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas had struggled mightily. He had arguably played worse than all other first-round offensive tackles and many were beginning to liken him to former Giants draft bust Erick Flowers.
But in Week 8 versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — perhaps the most dominant front seven he had played all season — Thomas showed up and showed out.
Against the likes of Jason Pierre-Paul & Co., Thomas pieced together his best performance of the year, earning a pass blocking grade of 65.7.
Despite that solid performance, Thomas is far from satisfied. He knows there’s a deep hole he must climb out of and he remains focused on daily improvement.
“Still a lot of work to do. I think I’m making progressions every week. Small steps every day, but I’m continuing to work on getting better,” Thomas told reporters on Thursday. “It’s just focusing on my technique. Trying to make it muscle memory, so I don’t have to think about it. There will be some plays where I might slip up with my hand placement or my footwork in my set. Just trying to nail all those things in so I do it every time.”
Things get no easier for Thomas in Week 9 against Chase Young and the Washington Football Team, but at least they’re a familiar opponent. Sunday’s game will represent the first time in Thomas’ career where he sees a team for the second time, and this comes just three weeks after they squared off the first time.
“That whole front is very talented. They have some really good pass rushers. Chase, in particular, is very athletic. Very good lateral quickness, he can move side to side pretty well. It’s going to be a good matchup for all of us,” Thomas said.
In the last game against Washington, Thomas found himself benched early on for disciplinary reasons and then replaced later in the game for what head coach Joe Judge said was a “planned rotation.” This time around, Thomas will draw the start and be asked to carry the full load.
“You go back in like you don’t know anything about the team. Looking at all their different pressures, looking at their fronts. You go back and watch the games they played since they played us and see if there’s any adjustments. See if there is anything they would do differently than the first time,” Thomas said.
If the Giants wish to get back on the winning side of things, Thomas is going to need to keep Young at bay. And if he can string solid performances back-to-back, perhaps it will help take some of the mounting pressure off of him.
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