Khalil Mack Sees Veteran-like Qualities in Rookie Andrew Thomas

The Bears veteran edge rusher was left impressed by rookie Andrew Thomas' poise and confidence against a tough Steelers defense.

Andrew Thomas is only a rookie, but don't tell Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack that he's in for a walk in the park Sunday when Mack and friends host Thomas and the Giants in the Windy City.

Thomas held his own against a tough Steelers defense Monday Night, and Mack, a five-time Pro Bowler, and three-time All-Pro, who typically lines up over the right tackle but studied Thomas on tape just in case the two go face-to-face was left impressed.

"Rookie or not, I know from the film he's done some good things even though they didn't get the win last week," Mack said. "I know it's going to be another challenge."

Thomas, the fourth-overall pick in this year's draft, was the Giants' best offensive lineman in his NFL debut, according to Pro Football Focus.

Although he graded out highly, Thomas, who frequently saw Bud Dupree across the line from him, had a few hiccups along the way. He kept the Steelers out of the sack column but did give up four quarterback pressures.

While Dupree was a strong opponent for Thomas to open his NFL career against, Mack is no slouch.

“I understand what type of numbers he has put up and how good of a player he has been for a while. But when I step on the field, there is not going to be time to think about what he’s done in the past," Thomas told the New York Post. "All I can do is focus on doing my best job.”

Mack had somewhat of a quiet day in Week 1, only racking up four total tackles and no sacks or quarterback hits against the Lions.

"Regardless of who's in front of you, you got to take advantage regardless," Mack said.

If for Thomas it's not Mack across from him, it will almost certainly be Robert Quinn, the former Dallas Cowboy who signed with Chicago this off-season. Quinn missed last week's game with an ankle injury, but there are reports out of Chicago that he could be closer to making his Bears debut this week.

“When you are going against talented pass-rushers, a lot of times teams will just allow them to do what they do best,” Thomas said. “Sometimes they don’t have to come up with different schemes. They will just go one-on-one to see if you can hold up.”

As a member of the Cowboys, Quinn got to practice against an offense rooted in philosophies brought about by then-head coach Jason Garrett, now the Giants' offensive coordinator.

"There are offensive schemes and there are players so it all depends on how you look at it," Quinn said.

"I can sit there and guess what coach Garrett might call but all I got is my key and my alerts and my responsibilities on the defensive call and after that, it goes down to playing football. Are they running the ball or are they throwing it? Tackle the running back or sack the quarterback? It's pretty simple."

Regardless of who lines up across from him, Thomas will make sure that the defender keeps his distance from quarterback Daniel Jones and the rest of the Giants' offensive backfield.