Jake Fromm was set to take the first-team snaps for the Giants’ first official practice of the week on Wednesday, still in line to be Big Blue’s starting QB on Sunday in Los Angeles.
And to a man, the Giants don’t seem worried about a player who has all of nine days in the system entering Wednesday possibly leading them to battle on Sunday.
“Jake does well with seeing the whole offense, knowing what the defense is running, what pressures are coming, getting the ball to the right people, being the best leader he can be,” left tackle Andrew Thomas, who protected Fromm’s blindside at Georgia, said earlier this week.
Despite what the Jets may have said about a quarterback change affecting defensive mindsets last week, the Giants do acknowledge that a new QB affects their offense. It’s only natural, as Fromm is a different type of quarterback than Mike Glennon, who is different than Daniel Jones.
But, Thomas notes, the player doesn’t matter in one way: the idea and the scheme doesn’t change.
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“From an offensive line standpoint, we're just trying to do the best job we can to open up holes for the running back and protect whoever's throwing the ball. Regardless of who's at quarterback, if we're not protecting, we're not doing our job,” Thomas said. “It doesn't matter, so the focus is on us performing better and that way the offense will perform better regardless of who's throwing the ball.”
It does help that even if Fromm doesn’t know the offense as well as he could just yet, he does have a lot of familiar faces on the team – including Thomas and Fromm, there are six former Bulldogs on the roster.
“When I saw the news that he was coming in, obviously excited,” Thomas said. “We won a lot of games at Georgia, so I'm excited to see him get his opportunity.”
“One of the things that's very impressive about this guy is you talk to former teammates of his, like we did before he got in here, and every single one of them lit up and said, 'We'd absolutely love to have that guy on the team',” head coach Joe Judge added. “He's got a very good presence.”
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And, one former opponent turned teammate said, he’s got a good presence in huge situations, even without a lot of experience.
“I think from an early age – it's a big-time place to play, in that setting, in that game, in that atmosphere. He came in and was well-composed and, obviously, they got away with the win,” said defensive back Julian Love, whose Notre Dame team lost in South Bend to Fromm’s Bulldogs back in 2017 in what was Fromm’s first start as a true freshman. “Obviously, that was only his freshman year, so he's only built from there. I don't know him personally too well, so I'm not the best to speak on him, but I'm excited to see what he presents in whatever position he is put in going forward.”
That’s the beauty of the NFL, Thomas says – when one goes down, it’s the next man up, and the next chance for someone to become the next superstar.
“Jake's getting his opportunity. I'm excited for him to get his chance, but, like I said, next man up and we're doing everything that we can to help him.”
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