Interesting tidbits on Thomas

[SVN]

History snub could forever taint the '09 Colts - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

The Patriots are in a precarious situation with Thomas

The New England Patriots may have put Adalius Thomas(notes) back in the starting lineup the past two weeks, but there are those who would still be shocked if he was back next season. Thomas has been diplomatic of late, but a former Baltimore Ravens teammate says the onetime star free-agent signee feels like he has been made a scapegoat for some of the Patriots’ defensive struggles this season.

Clearly, if Thomas is cut, it will be because he hasn’t meshed well – both within the framework of the defense, and the expectation that he would toe the line through his own struggles. Thomas hasn’t shown the ability to be a natural pass rusher and has flirted with criticizing head coach Bill Belichick more than once. And word around the campfire was that when the Belichick sent four players home for showing up late to a meeting three weeks ago, his No. 1 target was Thomas.

“They’re not used to that type of guy and they’re not going to put up with that type of guy,” said Thomas’ former Ravens teammate. “They want you to be quiet and be a good little soldier. Then Bill [Belichick] can play his mind games and you can’t chime in on it or say anything about it. [Adalius is] frustrated. … They never should have moved him to inside linebacker when he got there. That messed everything up. Why try to make him that? He never played that, and you try to make him that because that’s what [Bill] saw for him.”

The former teammate said that, despite Thomas’ solid numbers, he believes the initial juggling at middle linebacker – combined with last year’s season-ending injury – took Thomas out of his groove as a pass rusher and contributed to problems this season. More troubling to the Patriots, he believes that if Thomas is released this offseason, he will sign with the New York Jets and reunite with Rex Ryan, whom Thomas thrived under when Ryan was the defensive coordinator with the Ravens.

“He’ll be a great fit [with the Jets],” Thomas’ former teammate said. “He’s still got a lot of juice in that body. He’ll be great. If anybody knows how to use him – who got 20 sacks from him in two years – it’s Rex. That’s the man who really created him. The Patriots have the ultimate weapon but they don’t know how to use him.”

One thing is clear: Whatever happens with Thomas won’t be strictly about money. The Patriots already paid out almost $24 million in Thomas’ first three seasons. And while his $4.9 million base salary in 2010 isn’t peanuts, it’s not so astronomical that he would be cut if he were playing at a high level this season.

 

[blackglass3]

Ugh. I remember one article from when Thomas was signed calling him "Bill Belichick's Ultimate Utility Knife" because of his versatility. Now the move to ILB in 07 is the reason he's not playing well in 09? Child, Please! Whomever gets him next year is going to get a quickly aging LB that couldn't thrive in a system where Tully Banta-Cain looks like a world beater. Besides, would the Jeats really be able to afford him and Bart Scott?

Oh, and this line is pretty ridiculous: “They’re not used to that type of guy and they’re not going to put up with that type of guy,” said Thomas’ former Ravens teammate. “They want you to be quiet and be a good little soldier. Then Bill [Belichick] can play his mind games and you can’t chime in on it or say anything about it.

Good God, what a whiny little crybaby. See that front door? You should have checked your ego at it, Adalius. Maybe you wouldn't have had your "toes up" at home or spent alot of games these days being the first person a RB runs past/over.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Ugh. I remember one article from when Thomas was signed calling him "Bill Belichick's Ultimate Utility Knife" because of his versatility. Now the move to ILB in 07 is the reason he's not playing well in 09? Child, Please! Whomever gets him next year is going to get a quickly aging LB that couldn't thrive in a system where Tully Banta-Cain looks like a world beater.

And besides, would the Jeats really be able to afford him and Bart Scott?

Yea that article is laughable. Perhaps the greatest DC is NFL history and one of the most successful HCs every who coached the greatest pass-rushing LB off all-time doesn't know how to use AD.

 

[BionicPatriot]

Clearly, by losing the immortal, unstopabble Thomas, we'd be forever DOOOOOOOOOOMED

 

[mgteich]

The team needs to decide whether Thomas is worth $5M of new money to play in 2010. His contract calls for $6M in 2011.

There is no particular point in cutting Thomas before camp, unless 2010 is a capped year.

In any case, I'm suspect that Thomas and Seymour would certainly like to add their skills to the top jets defense.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I think unfortunately what Ray Lewis had to say about AD - coupled with Ozzy's reluctance to extend him for big $$$ - was closer to the mark than anyone including AD wanted to admit. He could still fulfill a role here, but to do so he would have to commit to being all in on and off the field (including in the off season and practice). Otherwise he's of little use to Bill and sunk cost is what it is so I wouldn't expect Bill to have any qualms about moving on. What he might do though is flip him on the cheap (like in a deal for a pick or someone else's problem manchild) just to insure he doesn't land in Rex Cryin's ample lap again...

 

[cincipatsfan]

Yawn...

Cut his ass and let him go to the Jests. Then he might appreciate the value of keeping your mouth shut and doing what you're paid to do. This BS of publicly *****ing through ex teammates is very lame.

 

[BritPat]

He won't get chance to go near the Jets. They'll keep him and pay the money first.

He'll be traded in the off-season, of that I have no doubts. Denver, KC, Green Bay....

 

[PatriotsDaily.com]

As pointed out by Marty on the BSMW message board, the "unnamed" former teammate is clearly Bart Scott.

Robinson and he are tight, as Scott has been quoted numerous times by Robinson, and Robinson has written glowingly about Scott and Rex Ryan.

In the part where it says “He’ll be a great fit [with the Jets],”

I think you can safely assume that where it says [with the Jets] it actually said "here."

 

[MoLewisrocks]

The team needs to decide whether Thomas is worth $5M of new money to play in 2010. His contract calls for $6M in 2011.

There is no particular point in cutting Thomas before camp, unless 2010 is a capped year.

In any case, I'm suspect that Thomas and Seymour would certainly like to add their erroding skills and lack of positive leadership skills to the top jets defense that never seems to be sufficient to overcome it's longstanding lack of effective QB'ing and HC'ing.

Fixed that for you mg.

 

[BelizePats]

I read the article and had to laugh. AD has just disappeared for long stretches this season while playing for a team desperate for some pressure on the QB. When I watch him play I see a guy whose penetration just stalls at the point of O line contact. The guy still has some skills but at what price?
I can't see us not releasing him at the end of the year. And if the Jets want to overpay for a slow OLB that has lost both his burst off the line of scrimmage as well as his desire, I'll help push him up to the front of their line.

 

[mgteich]

You are certainly entitled to your opinion that the jets don't have a top defense.

Fixed that for you mg.

 

[RobertWeathers]

He won't get chance to go near the Jets. They'll keep him and pay the money first.

He'll be traded in the off-season, of that I have no doubts. Denver, KC, Green Bay....

Unless BB thinks Thomas is washed up wheras it won't matter really, I agree 100% with this.

 

[upstater1]

At $4.9 million for one year, there may be a team out there willing to part with a 4th rounder for him.

That's not a bad salary for an upper-level starting OLB, and it's just for one year so you're not on the hook for more, and then if he has a great season, you have the rights to him.

BritPat is right. There's no point in cutting him when you can trade him easily.

 

[BelizePats]

I like the idea of trading him. A 4th would be great. Hell, we gave up at 3rd and 5th for Burgess. I'd live to get a third back seeing as we don't have one.
What I like even more is that the team gets to dictate where he goes.
No Jets, unless they give up a 2nd!!!

 

[Deus Irae]

Solid piece with good points, although I don't buy the "ILB ruined Thomas" theory.

 

[JMarr]

I read the article and had to laugh. AD has just disappeared for long stretches this season while playing for a team desperate for some pressure on the QB. When I watch him play I see a guy whose penetration just stalls at the point of O line contact. The guy still has some skills but at what price?
I can't see us not releasing him at the end of the year. And if the Jets want to overpay for a slow OLB that has lost both his burst off the line of scrimmage as well as his desire, I'll help push him up to the front of their line.

With all due respect, this is total revisionist history. AD is still a freak specimen of an athlete who would have thrived here if not for the passive scheme that Pees and Belichick run. That's the point though--he was a bad fit to begin with, being asked to be a cog in a disciplined, complex defense that rarely blitzes and attacks the LOS. That's got to be frustrating for someone used to playing Rex Ryan-style defense.

I'm not going to question BB's defensive philosophy, but for all the moaning on this board lately about needing a pass rusher, it's ironic that the one guy best suited for it has been here all along. Maybe AD's attitude problems stem from the same frustration that 99% of the posters on this board have been expressing about presssure on the QB.

 

[TheComeback]

With all due respect, this is total revisionist history. AD is still a freak specimen of an athlete who would have thrived here if not for the passive scheme that Pees and Belichick run. That's the point though--he was a bad fit to begin with, being asked to be a cog in a disciplined, complex defense that rarely blitzes and attacks the LOS. That's got to be frustrating for someone used to playing Rex Ryan-style defense.

I'm not going to question BB's defensive philosophy, but for all the moaning on this board lately about needing a pass rusher, it's ironic that the one guy best suited for it has been here all along. Maybe AD's attitude problems stem from the same frustration that 99% of the posters on this board have been expressing about presssure on the QB.

We blitz about 30-40% of the time. AD does not have the pass rushing ability he used to. It's as simple as that. We used him in that role in 2007 with a lot of success. Face it, the guy stinks. They used him at all sorts of different positions in Baltimore. Switching to ILB has nothing to do with it--he took over for Ray Lewis when Lewis was injured. He is making up excuses for sucking, and he's a head case.

You're expected to be a "good soldier" on Belichick's team because he knows what he's doing. This is a disciplined team, not a party zone like the Jets.

 

[Sicilian]

Solid piece with good points, although I don't buy the "ILB ruined Thomas" theory.

Me neither. When Thomas signed, he was asked at the press conference about his ability to play inside, outside, even a snap or two at safety, and his response was something like (paraphrasing): "I don't think of it in terms of positions, it's just 11 guys out there with their jobs trying to make a play."

Unless that was totally lip service, I think he understood he would be playing positions that weren't his favorite at times.

 

[mayoclinic]

Some thoughts:

1. The idea that moving Thomas to SILB "ruined him" and took him away for his natural pass rushing skills is ludicrous. BB moved Mike Vrabel inside to SILB when necessity forced him to (Vrabel never complained, but noted how much of a toll it took on his body), and Vrabel had 12.5 sacks when moved back outside. The big scuttlebut on AD in 2006 (his contract year) was his versatility, and how the Ravens had moved him around to almost every position on defense at some point during the season out of necessity, including even safety. So to come to NE and not expect to be moved around was absolutely ridiculous. There was huge speculation when AD signed with the Patriots about all of the creative ways the genious coach would use the versatile weapon.

2. I could see AD signing with Rex and the Jets if the Pats cut him, which is a good reason to trade him rather than cut him if the Pats decide to move on. He's under contract, and has no recourse if a team is willing to pay his salary, which is large but not exorbitant in a non-capped year for someone with his skills. If he were cut a he would go through waivers, and a team which picked him up on waivers would have to pay his salary anyway, unless all 31 teams passed on him. A lot of teams which would likely never get a shot at Thomas if we were cut could find a use for him, and would be willing to give up something in return. BB traded Richard Seymour to Oakland. I can't imagine what fate he could have in store for AD.

3. If the Pats do keep Thomas, I hope we put him inside at SILB next year. I think it would be the best use of him, as he hasn't been effective as a pass rusher, he has the size and skills to play the position, and it would free up Mayo to play his natural WILB position and make plays. And I hope that Thomas takes a pounding inside.

4. Perhaps BB will think twice next time he considers signing a FA from a crybaby team like the Ravens.