Walter Thurmond III: Push Ups or Interceptions?

Walter Thurmond: Legion of Boom in New York?

When training camp started, SI’s Don Banks caught up with Walter Thurmond III for a quick interview:

During which, Mr. Banks asked Walter: Does the Legion of Boom — the secondary that you were a member of over in Seattle — does it transfer within this league or is it an entity all of its own and are you trying to bring some of that mentality east to the Giants?

Walter Thrumond: I mean really it’s just a mindset, you know, just the ability that you go out there everyday, compete in practice, compete in games. And really wanting to become a force to be reckoned with out on the field. That was the whole mindset, that was something we were able to accomplish and it’s really just holding yourself to the highest standard possible.

Mr. Banks: Do you see the potential for a version thereof here in New York?

Walter Thurmond: Oh most definitely, there’s a lot of talented DB’s out here, the whole defense is talented and I’m really looking forward to playing with this group of guys. You know, the sky’s the limit for us and it’s going to be a great season.

Walter Thurmond: Push Ups or Interceptions?

In yesterday’s practice, according to Giants.com, Walter Thurmond had an opportunity to pick up the fourth INT of the day. Read about it in this post titled, 3 standout players from practice (8/5):

"SecondaryUp and down, inside and out, the interceptions came from all over the depth chart on Tuesday. Safeties Cooper Taylor and Nat Berhe, whom safeties coach David Merritt praised earlier in the day, grabbed the first two of a three-interception day for the secondary. Taylor jumped in front of a Ryan Nassib pass for tight end Larry Donnell, and a few plays later, the rookie Berhe snagged one off Curtis Painter intended for tight end Adrien Robinson. Later on, cornerback Trumaine McBride intercepted Nassib to complete the trio of picks. Cornerback Walter Thurmond III almost made it four but couldn’t quite hold onto it. That cost him 10 pushups."

Wow, it looks like push ups it is.

Now, maybe push ups aren’t the biggest deal. However, it’s the little things like that… noticing the minor details like dropped passes and holding players accountable for their mistakes that helps build a team; where everyone is holding themselves to the highest standards possible.

To be the best, you must not practice the worst habits, but practice the best habits, over and over until you become the best. That’s the idea in theory, anyway, and it’s a theory that has been tried and tested for ages throughout human history. Quite frankly, it works. The saying is, “practice makes perfect.”

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And, it’s a quaint saying. However, it isn’t just practice, it’s attitude, it’s what players do with their practice time. It’s effort versus want-to. If either of those two things are lacking than the practice will suffer. That’s not to say you need to go 150% every moment. As it’s not about rate of speed, or how much energy you use. It’s about what YOU get out of it, if you practice for hours and you don’t improve, it’s not a quality practice.

The saying ought be, “Bad practice creates bad habits, good practice promotes improvement, great practice leads to impactful results, while attempted perfect practice increases likelihood for perfect performance.”

But that won’t fit on a bumper sticker, so alas, the saying is what it is. This year, the New York Football Giants and players like Walter Thurmond have an opportunity to practice often. And, with a head coach like Tom Coughlin, you can be guaranteed the Giants aren’t having bad practices. This idea doesn’t guarantee attempted perfect practices, although attitudes amongst the players about holding yourself to the highest standard is a good sign the Giants are closer to that style practice vs having 90 guys going through the summer motions.

The Giants have four more preseason games to get it together for the Detroit Lions. Currently, the team is 1-0. With that truth, combined with Thurmond’s highest standard possible philosophy, the G-Men have a genuine opportunity to bloom their team into something special. Maybe not the Legion of Boom per say, but a Giants style unit with the talent and ability to win in February.

Giants Nation, how good will Walter Thurmond III be defending the slot for the New York Giants?