Giants’ Andrew Thomas staying focused despite another 0-2 start

The New York Giants are 0-2 after two weeks here in the 2024 NFL season. Unfortunately, it is not unfamiliar territory for this suddenly floundering franchise.

The Giants may be celebrating their 100th season, which contains eight NFL Championships (including four Super Bowls), but the last decade or so has become very forgettable.

The Giants are 0-2 for the 10th time in the last 12 years. The names and faces may have changed, but the results have remained the same.

For players such as defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, a two-time college football national champion at Clemson, and left tackle Andrew Thomas from powerhouse Georgia, losing is a new concept to them.

Fans are booing and showing their displeasure on social media and the sports radio airwaves. Even the most notoriously loyal Giant fans are beginning to sour on the team.

“I definitely understand the perspective of the fans, but for us as players, it’s a new team every year,” Thomas told reporters on Monday.

“A lot of us haven’t been there for some of those years, so we’re just focusing on the next opportunity that we have. Obviously, we didn’t start fast, 0-2, but it’s a long season, so we’re just focusing on Cleveland this week, trying to get a win, and we’ll see if our things shake out from there.”

Sure, the Giants can turn things around. In 2007, they became just the third team to start a season 0-2 and go on to win the Super Bowl (the 1993 Cowboys and 2001 Patriots were the others).

No team has done it since. These Giants don’t appear to be the next.

In fact, since 2019, only two teams starting the season at 0-2 qualified for the playoffs. Neither got past the Divisional round.

Head coach Brian Daboll’s job may be secure for the time being, but the losses are beginning to mount. His record with the Giants is 15-20-1 and let us not forget that he began his stint with a 6-1 record.

Thomas was asked if the head coach sets the tone of a team.

“I think teams take on the personality of their coach, but I think the best teams lead themselves,” Thomas, a team captain, said. “Obviously, the coaches put us in positions to make plays, but it’s really up to us. They don’t cross the white line, so it’s up to us to have the mentality to be dominant, physical, and execute. That’s up to us.”

Most of it, anyway. But it would be nice to see some of that leadership on the field, and soon.