Here's one reason Adalius may sign with the Pats...

[Seneschal2]

...Bill Belichick. I know the following was reported before:

“I never really met Belichick before, and you always hear about how he’s a mean guy,” Baltimore linebacker Adalius Thomas said yesterday, prior to returned a fumble 70 yards for a score in the AFC’s 31-28 win. “But it’s real interesting to see how he reacts with different players, how he gets comfortable over here. He’s actually a really nice guy. I was surprised.”

But I wasn't aware of this:

...ever since Bill Belichick coached Thomas at the Pro Bowl (where the coach allowed Thomas to address the team before and after practice), I have gotten the feeling that this is a match.

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In addition to the obvious need the Pats have for his abilities, and how a defensive-minded coach like BB will put him in a position to succeed, perhaps Thomas believes Belichick has enough faith (and respect) in him as a person, to also become a team leader. With the long term concerns about two leaders in Rodney and Tedy, there will certainly be an opportunity for new leadership. For Adalius to sign here, something besides $$$ has to motivate him. I think the 'character' players know that what the Pats FO offers are intangibles. Similar to what the Pats seek in their players, some potential Pats seek the same, only from a players perspective.

Meeting with BB at the Pro Bowl may have made a deep impression on Adalius Thomas. We can only hope his impression leads to donning a Pats uni...

 

[Seneschal2]

Oh sure, I spend 20 mins writing a topic -- and look what happens! :rocker:

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

Oh sure, I spend 20 mins writing a topic -- and look what happens! :rocker:

Start a thread on why the Bears may trade Briggs for a 3rd round pick.

 

[Seneschal2]

Start a thread on why the Bears may trade Briggs for a 3rd round pick.

LOL. Ironically, the last time I started a thread on why we would sign a top tier FA -- it was about Colvin. He signed that day. So I thought I'd try again.

 

[zippo59]

LOL. Ironically, the last time I started a thread on why we would sign a top tier FA -- it was about Colvin. He signed that day. So I thought I'd try again.

I know I appreciate it.

 

[Caspir]

Definitely. Losing the AFCC sucked, but one advantage it gave us is that Belichick got to interact with players from other teams. It allowed him to show the type of person that he really is rather than the robot that the media portrays.

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

I remember that. I was up late surfing the net when I went to projo.com. The picture on the Patriots team page had changed and though there was no article yet, the caption said that Colvin wasn't leaving until a deal was done. I instantly tried to come to the board and it was down. It was down for several days. That was rough.

 

[NEPat]

Oh sure, Thomas can keep right on thinking Belichick is the nicest guy on the planet, right up until he puts on pads for his first practice

Seriously though, I know money is almost always the most important thing, but if his Pro Bowl experience helps make up his mind to sign, then great. The Pro Bowl isn't totally useless after all.

 

[psychoPat]

LOL. Ironically, the last time I started a thread on why we would sign a top tier FA -- it was about Colvin. He signed that day. So I thought I'd try again.

Well, Senny, dear ol' buddy,
some of those Jedi mental powers
(distributed in another thread)
... seem to have rubbed off on you.

Oh say, you don't handicap horse races, do you?

 

[Major **********]

You know what's funny. When we signed Rosie and Harrison in the same day in 2003, KFFL was down for some reason IIRC.
KFFL is down again today.

Coincidence?

I think not.

 

[BelichickFan]

You know what's funny. When we signed Rosie and Harrison in the same day in 2003, KFFL was down for some reason IIRC.
KFFL is down again today.

Coincidence?

I think not.

Well I know one of the jerk offs who runs that place hates the Patriots with a passion so it wouldn't surprise me.

To hell with them . . . nice find on Thomas addressing the team, we need strong leadership up the middle, we should get that with Bru, Thomas and Rodney.

 

[Seneschal2]

I remember that. I was up late surfing the net when I went to projo.com. The picture on the Patriots team page had changed and though there was no article yet, the caption said that Colvin wasn't leaving until a deal was done. I instantly tried to come to the board and it was down. It was down for several days. That was rough.

You mention projo.com, it was Tom Curran who broke the story of why Colvin would sign, and coincidentally tied into the thread I started. Here's how it went down:

On that other forum, my name was VT -- here was the thread title and content:

Originally posted by VT
"It's obvious - BB wants Colvin..."

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I remember BB saying how impressed he was with Colvin but I couldn't remember the source of his comments. Did some digging, found what I was looking for -[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Bill Belichick Press Conf. Transcript - 11/7/2002[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]You talk about (Brian) Urlacher but it's hard to overlook Colvin. I mean that guy is really a good fast football player. He is probably one of the smallest rushers in the league, but also one of the most effective. He has got tremendous quickness and even though he plays end in a lot of cases as well as linebacker, again this is a guy that has big time speed off the edge, pass rush ability, is very, very instinctive. People try to run plays on him, you know draws, screens, shovel passes, stuff like that, to take advantage of his up-field speed rush and they just can't get him. This guy is really good. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Colvin is just really an outstanding blitzer and pass rusher. Now he is good at everything. He is very instinctive in the running game. Even though he is not a real big man, he plays with explosion and strength. But what makes him really effective as a blitzer is he ends up being the fifth rusher, not the fourth. So you get a 3-4 team like the Steelers, well you know those linebackers are coming because they only have three down linemen. Whereas when you get a four down line team and they bring that fifth rusher and match him up on a back or a tight end or get him to come off the edge, he can be really tough to block. Now they put him down on some of their third down stuff and playing as a true defensive end. And he is very effective there too with his hand on the ground where he is just coming But when you add in the blitz element to that and make him as a fifth rusher, not the fourth, then defensively you can really create some mismatches and they do a good job of that. Urlacher, he is a different style of play. Urlacher is good, but he is a different style than Colvin. Colvin brings his own style but I think it's every bit as effective as Urlacher. He just does different things.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Originally posted by VT
It seems rather obvious to me that a defensive mind like Belichick may secretly salivate when thinking about what he would do with a player like Colvin. I'm hoping Colvin is also aware that BB is a coach that will put him in a position to make plays -- which is exactly what all good players want.
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
If I were Colvin, I'd sacrifice a few $'s and accept the Pats decent offer , play for a recent Super Bowl winner that still remains competitive and be with a coach that will maximize my abilities. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It's obvious our D has some needs but Colvin represents much more than just filling a need -- he's an impact player. We all know what that can mean in terms of wins and losses. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Second and lower tier FAs only for the Pats is not written in stone -- Let's make him priority #1.[/FONT]

Here's what one of the posters wrote:

Congrats to VT who pulled out BB's November press conference in a thread yesterday. Curran used the same reference in his article. I hope VT got a thanks e-mail from TC.

Here was Curran's response:
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Originally posted by Tom Curran
I had actually asked the Pats PR staff for the pre-Bears transcripts BEFORE VT posted every pertinent quote from them. So as you might imagine I was really excited when I saw the ballbuster post them about 14 hours before they'd be in the paper. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Twisted minds think alike.[/FONT]

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Hey, this was fun -- thanks for the memories. :singing: