Monday Transcript: Offensive Tackle Andrew Thomas

Offensive Tackle Andrew Thomas

Q: How cool was it to see (Center) Nick Gates get out there and contribute on Sunday?

A: That was a great moment I think for us, and definitely for him. Seeing him in practice was a great feeling for us earlier the past few weeks but seeing him on gameday getting a chance to get out there and be on the field again is a great thing.

Q: This is the first time you're going into a Bye Week with a winning record and a very impressive record, is there any different feeling this year heading into a bye?

A: Yeah, it's a great feeling going into the Bye Week 6-2 but that's just the first half of the season. We've just got to continue to get better each week. Clean up a lot of things and hopefully win the stretch later in the year.

Q: What would it mean for you to be selected to a Pro Bowl, to be selected All-Pro, a lot of people have you as one of the best if not the best offensive tackle in the league right now. What would that mean to you?

A: I would say honestly the biggest thing for me is winning. As long as the team is winning, I'm feeling good – especially if I'm doing a good job contributing. I think all of the individual accolades come if you're winning, you're playing well. So, I just try to focus on getting better each day and I think those things come later on.

Q: How much do you think you're contributing to the winning? I can't look at your yards or your catches or your touchdowns even though you had some last year. How much do you think you're responsible for where the Giants are right now?

A: That's the thing about the offensive line, we do a lot of the dirty work. It's not just me it's all of the guys up front, the tight ends, receivers, quarterback, everybody buys into the process. We're working hard just to be physical in the run game, try to protect, try to be explosive on the offensive side of the ball.

Q: Where do you think you personally have made the biggest leap from last year?

A: Honestly, I would just say consistency. There were some plays last year I would say I had lapses in technique. I think I'm doing a better job this year of just focusing on my technique each and every play regardless of the situation and I think that's helping my game.

Q: Does this break come at a good time for you? You've had to monitor your ankle and things like that. Are you looking forward to staying off it for a week now?

A: That's a great thing to have some time to recover, get your body back. The ankle is something that I work with every day, I manage, so I'm not too worried about that. It's a great time for us to relax a little bit, take a step away from football and then hit it full throttle when we get back.

Q: The Bye Week is about a week, maybe less than a week. Does it do a lot that you noticed last year and this year? Would you feel better next Monday when you come back to work?

A: Yeah, this schedule's a little different than what I'm used to, so this will be my first time having this much time away. Just trying to do a good job of getting some lifts in, making sure I'm getting good sleep, and trying to eat as good as possible. You know you've got to get a little bit of good food. I'm going back home so just trying to do a good job of staying locked in, so I feel good when I come back.

Q: What are the one or two go to things you must have when you're home and who's going to make it for you?

A: Go to is American Deli. It's a wing spot in Atlanta. Got to have it.

Q: What was the general message from (Head Coach Brian) Daboll heading into the Bye Week?

A: The first thing was just focusing on managing your time right, taking care of your body. The other part was the first half of the season is over with, we did a good job putting ourselves in a good position, but that part of the season is over and it's about what we do next. So, just doing our best to go 1-0 each week and staying focused on that.

Q: In terms of the crowd noise in the building yesterday, as a collective unit for you guys, I know you've played in some tough spots early on this year. How much can this group grow from that experience yesterday in terms of what you had to deal with? Can that help you going down the road in the second half of the season?

A: That was a great atmosphere that we played in, definitely challenging being able to communicate. We just watched the film, there are a lot of things that we can clean up. Which in a game like that, that's what you want to see. It's like, 'Okay, we didn't just get fully dominated. There are some things that we can do better as players, as coaches.' Give credit to Seattle they did a good job but there are some things that we can definitely improve on and get better at going into the next few weeks.