The Giants have been on a quest to improve their offensive line for the last few years and a big piece of that effort this year was drafting tackle Andrew Thomas in the first round.
Thomas started at left tackle against the Steelers in Week One and drew some nice reviews of his work against Bud Dupree from head coach Joe Judge. The line as a whole didn’t get the same treatment after allowing three sacks and 22 pressures while Saquon Barkley was running for six yards on 15 carries.
According to Thomas, coaches “called us out about it” and the rookie said that the unit is redoubling its efforts as they prepare to face the Bears this weekend.
“We have a standard that we set ourselves,” Thomas said, via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. “It wasn’t up to par. Everyone that blocks on the offense, we have pride in being able to run the ball. We’ve been practicing hard to make sure that things like that don’t happen again.”
The Bears are followed by the 49ers, Rams, Cowboys and Washington, so the line will have to find its footing quickly if the Giants are going to make their offense’s Week One effort an exception rather than the rule.