After finishing last season with All-Pro honors, New York Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas solidified himself as one of the better tackles in the National Football League. This season, however, Thomas missed a career-high seven games with injuries, the worst of which was a strained hamstring suffered in the team's Week 1 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Even when he was healthy enough to return, Thomas didn't look quite the same, though Thomas at 50 or 60 percent is probably better than most at or near 100 percent.
"First thing, just health and try to do all the rehab I can do to be ready for next year," Thomas said. "I missed a lot of time this year, which I think hurt the team. So, just doing what I can do to be healthy.
"You try to convince yourself that it's something that you can do to prevent certain injuries, but it's football; things are going to happen. Just try to be more aggressive this year and just make sure everything is fine-tuned when the first snap happens."
The Giants recently hired former Raiders offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo as their new offensive line coach, replacing the fired Bobby Johnson. Bricillo will be tasked with getting the most out of a struggling offensive line in New York.
Thomas, though, told reporters as the players packed up their belongings the day after the regular season ended and the identity of the new offensive line coach wasn't yet known that he wasn't focused on who is or isn't on the coaching staff as much as he was focused on getting healthy for next season.
"I trust whoever they decide to bring in," Thomas said. "Right now, I'm just trying to get healthy, make sure everybody gets back for next year, and just try to have a positive mindset heading into next year."
Thomas says the responsibility falls on the players, not the coaches, to execute on game days properly. He plans to become more of a leader to help the younger players along the offensive line.
"Just trying to become a better leader," Thomas said. "Find ways to be a better talker and a better leader vocally. I think that's something I can work on and be better at. Especially for the room, with the young guys. So, that's the two things I'm focused on [this offseason]."
"I think a lot of times, we get caught up in who's the coach. I think some of the blame has to be on the players. That's why I said I want to be a better leader. Sometimes, I get focused on myself, just worrying about my issues, my injuries, or whatever is going on."
"At the end of the day, it's a players' game. So, we have to play. All they can do is tell us what the plays are and what the technique is, but at the end of the day, we've got to block. So, that's the mindset we've got to have."
The first step in turning around an underperforming unit and team is accountability. It also takes health and leadership. Thomas looks to do his part next season to help improve the Giants' offensive line.
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