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NFL writer on Andrew Thomas

Ned In Atlanta : 10/23/2020 8:31 am
A close friend of mine covers the Falcons for the AJC and formerly covered Georgia for another paper. Prior to the draft he told me he thought Andrew Thomas would be Jake Matthews - what he termed "solid." Solid would be fine. I texted him last night in the midst of another disastrous game for Thomas and this was his response.

"He'll be fine. He'll work with Kynan Forney this offseason and be straight."

Apparently Forney is a former NFL offensive lineman who worked with Thomas prior to the draft. He has also worked with Falcons 2nd year OT Kaleb McGary. My friend said Mcgary had a terrible rookie season and apparently has been much, much better this season.

Just grasping for silver linings, yet again.
From his li God's ear...  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 10/23/2020 8:32 am : link
Because Thomas has been horrific.
*his lips to God's ear.  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 10/23/2020 8:32 am : link
Damn phone.
Interesting info, thanks for sharing.  
j_rud : 10/23/2020 8:33 am : link
Conversely Nick Gates has acquitted himself quite well after a disastrous start.
He will be ok.  
section125 : 10/23/2020 8:33 am : link
I go back to Sy'56s OT review last spring. He flat out said that Thomas will have trouble in pass protection for a while.

I know I keep mentioning that, but it was in his review and it seems prophetic.
Can he work with him this weekend?  
LBH15 : 10/23/2020 8:34 am : link
I'll pay for the flight.
Why can’t he work with him now  
Saquads26 : 10/23/2020 8:34 am : link
Lol
RE: Can he work with him this weekend?  
section125 : 10/23/2020 8:40 am : link
In comment 15021302 LBH15 said:
Quote:
I'll pay for the flight.


Do you think he will do anything different that Colombo - a real NFL player and a real NFL coach isn't doing? His point was the guy will continue to work with Thomas in the off season when players are not with the team..
I said this on a different thread  
Beer Man : 10/23/2020 8:41 am : link
But it seems more appropriate here. In Thomas we have a rookie OT, who (due to Covid) didn't get a full off-season, is being asked to start at the most difficult position on the OL, and is being asked to go against other teams' best ER every week. As with most OTs, he probably would have benefited from cutting his teeth at RT or one of the OGs. I believe with Thomas we have a way to go before we know what we have; certainly more than 6 or 7 games. He has all the tools you want to see in a LT, and the Giants have a good OL coach; time will tell.
I think we have  
Lines of Scrimmage : 10/23/2020 8:45 am : link
to wait for the second year to really judge. Just like a rookie QB he is experiencing new things each week and the speed of the NFL is a much different level.

Even some outstanding LT's started at RT and I think the Jonathan Ogden started at guard.

Right now he is shell shocked and has no confidence. Hopefully this somewhat long break gives him a breather to settle down.
RE: I said this on a different thread  
jvm52106 : 10/23/2020 8:45 am : link
In comment 15021317 Beer Man said:
Quote:
But it seems more appropriate here. In Thomas we have a rookie OT, who (due to Covid) didn't get a full off-season, is being asked to start at the most difficult position on the OL, and is being asked to go against other teams' best ER every week. As with most OTs, he probably would have benefited from cutting his teeth at RT or one of the OGs. I believe with Thomas we have a way to go before we know what we have; certainly more than 6 or 7 games. He has all the tools you want to see in a LT, and the Giants have a good OL coach; time will tell.


No offense but, I think this line of thinking just doesn't fit todays NFL. Teams don't stack the best at RDE or ROLB anymore, they are all over. It didn't matter who was rushing against Thomas they all got through. He hasn't shown one solid trait to his game!
Eric Fisher was the first overall pick in 2013  
Milton : 10/23/2020 8:49 am : link
As a rookie, he started 13 games and allowed 7 sacks and 35 hurries. According to Pro Football Focus, his run-blocking grade of -6.5 ranked 55th out of 76 NFL tackles who played at least 25 percent of their team's snaps. His overall grade as a tackle ranked 70th.

That was 2013. In 2018 he made the Pro Bowl. In 2019 they won a Super Bowl. Has he lived up to being the first overall pick in the draft? Probably not, but he wasn't a bust and I don't believe for a second that Andrew Thomas will be a bust. It's tough enough to start at left tackle as a rookie, let alone trying to accomplish that with no minicamps, no OTAs, a minimalist training camp, and no preseason games.
RE: RE: I said this on a different thread  
Angel Eyes : 10/23/2020 8:55 am : link
In comment 15021326 jvm52106 said:
Quote:
In comment 15021317 Beer Man said:


Quote:


But it seems more appropriate here. In Thomas we have a rookie OT, who (due to Covid) didn't get a full off-season, is being asked to start at the most difficult position on the OL, and is being asked to go against other teams' best ER every week. As with most OTs, he probably would have benefited from cutting his teeth at RT or one of the OGs. I believe with Thomas we have a way to go before we know what we have; certainly more than 6 or 7 games. He has all the tools you want to see in a LT, and the Giants have a good OL coach; time will tell.



No offense but, I think this line of thinking just doesn't fit todays NFL. Teams don't stack the best at RDE or ROLB anymore, they are all over. It didn't matter who was rushing against Thomas they all got through. He hasn't shown one solid trait to his game!

They didn’t even stack it back then; just look at the Giants with Michael Strahan.
The Gettleman killers...  
Coopcomic : 10/23/2020 8:56 am : link
Yes, he is ultimately responsible - but there's no doubt that Judge/coaching staff signed off on Thomas. He had to be the clear choice at #4. I do happen to like Gettleman, so yeah, I'm biased. Outside of the rookie issue, the lack of camp, the irregularity of everything - Solder was still scheduled to be on the team. Based on Fleming starting - it's not guaranteed that Thomas was necessarily the day one starter.
RE: The Gettleman killers...  
Beer Man : 10/23/2020 9:02 am : link
In comment 15021352 Coopcomic said:
Quote:
--- Solder was still scheduled to be on the team. Based on Fleming starting - it's not guaranteed that Thomas was necessarily the day one starter.
This is BBI, we expect our rookie 1st round picks to be all-star world-beaters from day-1. Any 1st round pick that doesn't meet this criteria and has to be developed or grow into the position is a complete bust (%>
I am sure that Columbo is working his ass off trying to coach up AT  
Rick in Dallas : 10/23/2020 9:07 am : link
He is playing right now with no confidence whatsoever.I'm sure his mind is a jumbled mess.
It might help AT that we don't play again until Monday 11/2.
If Thomas can figure out how to handle spin moves,  
Stratman : 10/23/2020 9:07 am : link
he will cut down his bad plays by at least half. I've never seen an OL get beat so often by it.
Thomas . . .  
dschwarz in westchester : 10/23/2020 9:14 am : link
1. As others have commented - it's way, way, way too early to consider him a bust. That will take seasons plural. One of the most frustrating aspects of NFL fandom these days is the lack of patience. If he is still getting beaten like a drum in two years I'll be worried. Right now we all just have to suffer through it and hope he gets better.

2. I will however say that I'm not sure Gettleman got the pick wrong (and I am still something of a Gettleman supporter). The value of Thomas was supposed to be the best mix of upside and 'ready' in the draft. Becton and Wirfs were supposed to be the project guys. So the fact that Thomas is struggling out of the gate negates a big reason he was drafted where he was drafted.

That said, if he cleans it up and turns into a good one it won't matter.
I Really Hope So  
LTIsTheGreatest : 10/23/2020 9:18 am : link
cause a lot of people are already calling him the next Erik FLowers. Bechton was the guy I wanted at that spot. Wirfs was my second choice
RE: I said this on a different thread  
peteschweaty : 10/23/2020 9:20 am : link
In comment 15021317 Beer Man said:
Quote:
But it seems more appropriate here. In Thomas we have a rookie OT, who (due to Covid) didn't get a full off-season, is being asked to start at the most difficult position on the OL, and is being asked to go against other teams' best ER every week. As with most OTs, he probably would have benefited from cutting his teeth at RT or one of the OGs. I believe with Thomas we have a way to go before we know what we have; certainly more than 6 or 7 games. He has all the tools you want to see in a LT, and the Giants have a good OL coach; time will tell.


those tackles taken after him in the draft have the same situations and are outperforming him.
He was supposed to be the most NFL ready  
Mike from SI : 10/23/2020 9:23 am : link
of the OTs and has been woeful. It's too early to pass final judgment but preliminarily, Gettleman got it wrong. Shocking.
RE: I Really Hope So  
peteschweaty : 10/23/2020 9:23 am : link
In comment 15021427 LTIsTheGreatest said:
Quote:
cause a lot of people are already calling him the next Erik FLowers. Bechton was the guy I wanted at that spot. Wirfs was my second choice


at this point in both of their careers flowers had a better rating so you should apologize to him...lol.
We draft a left tackle 4th overall  
mfsd : 10/23/2020 9:29 am : link
and we obviously want him to be Walter Jones. But the reality is very few guys walk right in and play anywhere close to that level, especially as rookies.

I agree we'd settle for not a disaster right now. Which is a low bar, but it's also reasonable to set our expectations that this is basically a learning season for Thomas, after a weird and aborted rookie spring and preseason.

Appreciate the OP sharing that chatter. I do have better faith in this coaching staff's ability to coach guys like Thomas into better players over time
how have WIlls, Becton and Wirfs been thus far?  
PaulBlakeTSU : 10/23/2020 9:36 am : link
given similar constraints? I haven't watched the Browns, Jets, or Dolphins this year.
RE: I said this on a different thread  
WillVAB : 10/23/2020 9:51 am : link
In comment 15021317 Beer Man said:
Quote:
But it seems more appropriate here. In Thomas we have a rookie OT, who (due to Covid) didn't get a full off-season, is being asked to start at the most difficult position on the OL, and is being asked to go against other teams' best ER every week. As with most OTs, he probably would have benefited from cutting his teeth at RT or one of the OGs. I believe with Thomas we have a way to go before we know what we have; certainly more than 6 or 7 games. He has all the tools you want to see in a LT, and the Giants have a good OL coach; time will tell.


He’s getting beat every week the same way. His technique sucks and has always sucked.

People here seem to think the way a guy has played his entire life is easy to change and only takes time. You can’t just coach a guy out of 10 years of habits. This is the same shit we saw with Flowers, it’s just be are reluctant to call it out because he’s a rookie and not an asshole like Flowers.
Thomas has plenty of talent  
JonC : 10/23/2020 9:51 am : link
not worried about him yet, it looks like growing pains to be expected from a 21 year old, and a young offense lacking parts.
Andrew Thomas at #4  
M.S. : 10/23/2020 9:55 am : link

Blew a huge gaping hole in this entire franchise.

Plays like Ereck Flowers.

It's  
AcidTest : 10/23/2020 10:06 am : link
much too early to consider Thomas a bust. But it's not to early to bench him. At this rate, he may get Jones killed. He can't handle any kind of speed, either inside or outside. I want to see him play more this season, but he was been awful.
RE: RE: I said this on a different thread  
Ten Ton Hammer : 10/23/2020 10:06 am : link
In comment 15021522 WillVAB said:
Quote:
In comment 15021317 Beer Man said:


Quote:


But it seems more appropriate here. In Thomas we have a rookie OT, who (due to Covid) didn't get a full off-season, is being asked to start at the most difficult position on the OL, and is being asked to go against other teams' best ER every week. As with most OTs, he probably would have benefited from cutting his teeth at RT or one of the OGs. I believe with Thomas we have a way to go before we know what we have; certainly more than 6 or 7 games. He has all the tools you want to see in a LT, and the Giants have a good OL coach; time will tell.



He’s getting beat every week the same way. His technique sucks and has always sucked.

People here seem to think the way a guy has played his entire life is easy to change and only takes time. You can’t just coach a guy out of 10 years of habits. This is the same shit we saw with Flowers, it’s just be are reluctant to call it out because he’s a rookie and not an asshole like Flowers.


Its more like that this is because Thomas was a significantly better college player than Thomas.

Any bad tackle is now going to be called "Flowers" because that's the most recent failure. Guy gets beat? Flowers.

Flowers was always what he was. A low technique musclehead playing Tackle and good at it because he was freakishly strong when playing non-nfl talent. And not interested in learning anything to do his job better.



Austin Jackson, the 18th pick, was flashing well for the Dolphins....  
BurberryManning : 10/23/2020 10:21 am : link
prior to going down with injury. He had allowed zero sacks and accumulated two penalties while starting at LT, which was relatively surprising to begin with as Jackson was thought to be very raw and needing a season or two of NFL strength training.

The Dolphins are also starting two additional rookies on their OL that seem to be performing well.
This is what happens when your roster is shit  
BlueHurricane : 10/23/2020 10:24 am : link
And guys are forced to play before they are ready. Its baptism under fire. Hopefully it doesn't ruin him.
Andrew Thomas was the #4 Pick in the NFL Draft  
M.S. : 10/23/2020 10:39 am : link

If he wasn't ready to start in the NFL in Year One, he didn't merit the #4 selection.

Fourth out of 4 OTs on most pre-Draft Boards. And we made him the first OT off the Board.

This is how the losing continues year after year after year.
4th overall  
TyreeHelmet : 10/23/2020 11:16 am : link
And we are hoping this guy “will be fine”. I’m not expecting Ogden but how about being able to compete? He is completely overmatched and has been embarrassingly bad.

I’m not even asking for a good O line. But one of these seasons can they at least have an average one? Every year it’s the same train wreck.
I would have hoped to see his physical tools flash  
widmerseyebrow : 10/23/2020 11:19 am : link
somewhere. Quickness on pull, a few crushing down blocks...I don't expect his technique to be anywhere near polished but I don't see the physical tools other than his size at the moment.
......  
BrettNYG10 : 10/23/2020 11:26 am : link
I thought Thomas was supposed to be pro-ready and able to hit the ground running. The other OTs behind him look much better. Thomas is one of the worst linemen in the league right now, he's not just struggling.
I’m no expert here  
5BowlsSoon : 10/23/2020 11:53 am : link
But what do OL coaches do? I believe we have a couple of them.
Thomas doesn’t play square  
Carl in CT : 10/23/2020 12:06 pm : link
Drops his foot back too quick, and leans forward too often. Other than that he is an all pro.
RE: He will be ok.  
Matt M. : 10/23/2020 12:28 pm : link
In comment 15021300 section125 said:
Quote:
I go back to Sy'56s OT review last spring. He flat out said that Thomas will have trouble in pass protection for a while.

I know I keep mentioning that, but it was in his review and it seems prophetic.
What's "a while" and realize there is no guarantee that he won't always have trouble with pass protection. A little trouble is fine. But, has regressed every week to the point where he is getting beat with the same 2 moves nearly every pass play. He went from looking OK for a rookie to extremely troubling in a few weeks. This is a guy who was drafted to be our LT for the next decade. We have a lot of problems if that isn't going to be the case because of his poor play. It will set back this team even further.

Along these lines, it is why I have been repeatedly calling for Lemieux and Peart to start. We realy need to see them get significant snaps the rest of the way because neither can literally play any worse than their counterparts. A few weeks ago, for Peart, that meant only Fleming. Now, that includes Thomas. At this point, if Peart looks good at LT and they moved Thomas to RT and it worked out, I'm fine with that. But, we really needed at least 2 of those 3 guys to pan out by next season away and long term. We need to know what we have in those 3.

The good news on the OL is Gates at least seems to be getting a little better each week.
It seems like the stunts and spin moves destroyed  
Simms11 : 10/23/2020 1:50 pm : link
him last night as well. He’s been very slow to react to these things. Fundamentally he still needs tons of work. He’s not a stupid kid and appears to be a hard worker. I think Colombo will get him straight by next year. He’s certainly athletic enough.
All those worried these aren't growing pains  
BlueHurricane : 10/23/2020 2:04 pm : link
Please site the last tackle picked at 4 or less who came in and immediately played well at LT. I'll wait........
RE: All those worried these aren't growing pains  
Breeze_94 : 10/23/2020 11:03 pm : link
In comment 15022193 BlueHurricane said:
Quote:
Please site the last tackle picked at 4 or less who came in and immediately played well at LT. I'll wait........


Not quite sure I understand what you mean by "picked at 4 or less"

But....Becton and Wills...
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