John Michael Schmitz Offers Honest Assessment of NFL Debut Showing
New York Giants rookie John Michael Schmitz had a pretty good game against the Detroit Lions' second-team defense.
Schmitz's dead ball snaps were clean and uneventful. His pass-blocking was mostly crisp. His line calls smart. His run blocking was accurate.
But before anyone starts fitting him for a blue jacket for the team's Ring of Honor, both Schmitz and head coach Brian Daboll feel there is room for improvement.
"You know I'm pretty hard on myself," Schmitz said after the game. "I would just say I just did a good job communicating out there, but I know I can do better. And just being a leader up front and making sure everyone's on the same page. Yeah, that's all I'd say."
Daboll offered some limited praise to the rookie after the game in his meeting with reporters but added that he wanted to review the tape before anointing the second-round draft pick the starting center.
That's just fine with Schmitz, who welcomes the competition.
"I mean, it's a competition every day," he said. "You just can't be complacent with what you are with, where you're at. And you just gotta keep getting better every day and compete with one another, especially on the offensive line where you have five playing as one."
Like all rookies, Schmitz will no doubt benefit once he gets into an NFL weight room for an entire off-season--that will help him further hold up against the league's power players he'll be facing over his career. And for whatever physical limitations he might have, Schmitz makes up for it with his football IQ, toughness, and focus.
Schmitz, who will be the first to admit that he's far from being a finished product, is committed to doing his part to ensure that if he's one of the starting five, there will be very few hiccups from his play.
"Just taking it one day at a time," he said. "Gotta execute a lot better on offense, especially the offensive line. And just a little fundamentals and details that we gotta work on every day--keep getting better at it."
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