Andrew Thomas needs a good laugh, but keeps watching a horror movie.
Two weeks of outside criticism after their discouraging performance in the preseason final have grown now that the Giants are five days away from opening the season against the Broncos. Thomas is deep in the studio of films about passers-by Bradley Chubb and Von Miller, who form perhaps the most fearsome tandem in the NFL for any troubled young leftist.
“I have a chip on my shoulder naturally,” Thomas said. “The pressure I put on myself is greater than anything that comes from outside.”
It must carry the weight of the world.
Quite or not, Thomas, the most-chosen but lowest-scoring rookie of the four offensive attacks at the top of the 2020 draft, has become for fans the face of the line’s many offensive errors during the four-year tenure. years of CEO Dave Gettleman. The last-second deal that added two guards last week has little to do with Thomas, but he can put out fires for all members of the organization by playing well against the Broncos.
Thomas predicts more clashes with Chubb, who was second on the Giants ’draft board against Saquon Barkley in 2018, than Miller. So how can you be successful?
“Just be square in your posture,” Thomas said. “He has a lot of power because of his speed, so you have to have a good punch. You have to get well with your hands. Then he also has a long arm that counters with a dive and turns inside sometimes, so he is only really square in his posture and has power at the stroke “.
Miller, who missed all of last season, and Chubb, who missed most of 2019, have only played four games together since they fed each other 26.5 combined sacks in 2018. So there is no there is plenty of evidence to rule out Miller moving around to run to Thomas.
“He’s one of the best of all time to play in the league,” Thomas said, “so you have to be prepared.”
Overall, Thomas played better in the second half of last season than at the start, but allowed sacks in three of the last four games, including two in seven pressures against the Cardinals. He suffered a foot injury that warranted surgery in January and still requires his management, prompting Thomas to sit down last Thursday and show up for treatment during the team’s three days off.
“I’m fine,” Thomas said. “The rest days definitely helped. I’m excited to get back to work. The coaches just thought it was a good day to get some rest. “
Thomas seemed to have a quiet, solid training ground – “lots of good practice,” he self-assessed, until alarms went off when he allowed two sacks and another half-pressure against the Patriots. He also fought in joint practice against Josh Uche, the total career of a sack being 19.5 less than that of Chubb and 105 less than that of Miller.
“I try to ignore it,” Thomas said of the destruction and twilight forecasts. “As a unit, we always talk about trusting your game and having confidence in your preparation. This goes through practice. If you focus on what happened in the past, you will not have confidence in what will bring you closer in the future. “
Giants coach Joe Judge tried to take Thomas’ focus.
“It’s funny: sometimes the ratings on the outside don’t really have the whole picture and they understand the other 10 pieces that go together,” the judge said. “So you have to take this with a grain of salt sometimes.”
Thomas characterized his performance against the Patriots as “a learning experience” rather than a step backwards. It is still unknown with whom he will share communication responsibilities with the left guard, whether the injured Shane Lemieux, summer substitute Kenny Wiggins was called up by the internship staff or a newcomer like Ben Bredeson or Billy Price.
“There are always techniques to improve them, and when you focus on something, you may have to work on something else,” Thomas said. “Playing in the NFL, the boys will expose it. They watch movies, so you have to do everything you can to keep everything in mind. ”