Earl Thomas is a great teammate — whether he's sharing the stage with Richard Sherman or a robot.
While the All-Pro safety continues to shine as Sherman's co-star in the Seahawks "Legion of Boom" secondary, Thomas is one of several NFL-wide superstars, including Drew Brees, Jamaal Charles and A.J. Green, featured in the hilarious "4th and Touchdown" series of commercials for Old Spice.
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It might have been odd to some to see Thomas holding a trombone instead of a football, but it's not far off from one of his other long-time pursuits.
"I didn't keep it but it was a great prop," Thomas said, who played in his high school band. "I played alto sax, tenor sax. I play the drums by ear and the piano by ear. I never cared about the culture in the sense that if you were a football player, you had to live by this rule of being rugged and mean."
At that time, Thomas didn't see either a Super Bowl ring or a chance to do such a funny ad in his future.
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"In high school, I never thought about it. In college, the NFL wasn't on my mind, but it happened," Thomas said. "I didn't care about money or anything like that, but it happened. I try to stay in the now and enjoy and grow from everything."
The Seahawks now stand at 6-3, a mark that would get them back to the playoffs for another shot at the Super Bowl. But their defense hasn't been the same dominant force yet because of some offseason personnel losses and key injuries — middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, cornerback Byron Maxwell, now fellow safety Kam Chancellor and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane. Thomas was prepared for all the adversity in trying to defend their title.
"I always expect it to be the toughest, whether or not it is, you just crush it," Thomas said. "You enjoy this, because you look at it from the angle of the young guys coming into the game. You have a chance to affect their lives with the way you do stuff with routine and leadership. All that stuff in football brings team first; I love all of that.
"This season has made us take a positive look at how we can get better as football players. It's better than us staying the same. After winning the Super Bowl, it's human nature for some guys to say 'I've accomplished what I've set out to accomplish and I can stop.' We look at it from the standpoint that we can redefine ourselves as a defense."
While the Seahawks have had to reshuffle their defensive personnel, they also are challenged by every team's best offensive game plan.
"That's great; we're bringing the best out of people," Thomas said. "In return, we're seeing what we can do to get better. When you play talented teams, you're going to see yourself do things you haven't done before."
Thomas continues to make a lot of plays all over the field, but it took until Week 10's home game against the New York Giants to record his first interception of the season, a total he hopes to pile on to soon.
"You just always build off of that," Thomas said. "When you watch film after a game on Monday, you ask yourself a lot of questions and see how your body was moving. You see what opportunities you had to make interceptions, and when you actually do, it feels good."
It came at a critical time, as Thomas helped put the game away by picking off Eli Manning in Seattle's own end zone.
The thing I look at is how it happened, with Sherm doing everything he can to box out, and the ball got tipped up, and how I was able to catch it," Thomas said. "That's what teamwork is all about.
As for Thomas' chemistry with Sherman in leading the Seahawks' secondary, the coverage mindmeld on the field doesn't happen by chance.
"It keeps getting stronger every week," Thomas said. "It starts in practice, the way we talk to each other. Even off the field, our conversations have great depth and I walk away with great insight. He's a hell of a teammate to have."
As for the perception that Sherman, Thomas and the rest of the "Legion of Boom" talk too much about how well they play, the Seahawks' defensive backs just filter all that outside noise.
"In America, we reward the outspoken, passionate and confident person," Thomas said. "It's kind of crazy when you look at a team sport and how they try to misinterpret that. But I love the way we are. We have that same college mentality of just loving this game, and it shows."
