Kozmo, Brian Hoyer for one more year, and Royal Blood: While We’re Waiting…
December 19, 2014My Sportsman of the Year: Joe Thomas
December 19, 2014The differences between how NFL players and NFL fans look at a game, season, or even an NFL career are endless. Obviously NFL fans are the ultimate outsiders no matter how much they love the team they watch every week. This isn’t groundbreaking or even all that novel a concept, but Joe Thomas’ session with the media yesterday served as another stark reminder of the differences.
Fans have nothing but time to stew between games and I believe Joe Thomas when he says NFL players can’t really live that way during the rigors of an NFL schedule.
“To me, each week is a block and you approach it. It goes back to the whole concept of compartmentalizing. It’s hard, and I just addressed it here with Jeff is that it’s hard to look back and reflect at this point. We are, week to week, trying to stack as many wins as we can. Then, when the smoke clears we’ll do our evaluations and act accordingly. When you get into the routine of an NFL week it is really hard to do anything other than that normal routine to prepare for the opponent.”
“I just think when you get in coach mode that each week is a new challenge, and you get what’s thrown on the table, here’s what’s available to me. I’ve got to find a way to take what we have and look at what problems or what challenges the opponent presents, and you formulate a plan to be successful. When you go through that week you go out and give the best effort you can. Then, you’re onto the next one. Then, like I said, there’ll be a time and a place to look back on all of it and deal with more of the big picture stuff.”
My fan relationship with Joe Thomas has changed a bit over the past year. More and more I try to take what he says with a grain of salt because Joe Thomas is the ultimate teammate. He seems like an optimistic guy and he can talk himself into anything potentially working out. That’s not a bad thing for an NFL player, but it gives me pause when he talks about coaches, executives teammates or otherwise. When he speaks highly of Brian Hoyer, Colt McCoy, or endorses Pat Shurmur, he lacks the “big picture” mentality when he’s saying those things in all likelihood.
That’s not a knock on Joe Thomas, but he just told us that he needs to have a short-term perspective during an NFL season. I don’t need to take that with a grain of salt. I believe that.
3 Comments
I think it’s a great perspective that he relays above and it is the correct one for a NFL player to have.
JoeT needs to only worry about what he can control and what will help him the most right now. We don’t need nor want JoeT worrying about who might be starting at QB in 2015 (for instance). Right now, we need him to prepare for the Carolina Panthers that is still fighting for a playoff spot.
Have loved JT from day one but realized a few years ago that he is the ultimate glass-is-half-full-guy in responding to the media in EVERY situation. He is a coach’s dream but he doesn’t give much insight outside of these rare glimpses for us fans.
I think we could have guessed that when he was fishing on draft day. I am perfectly ok with this.