Does everybody understand what we're getting with Adalius Thomas?

[SeanBruschi54]

So it seems to be that people who know me and who like to talk sports with me and etc have the wrong general idea about the type of player we are getting.

Some people look at the Stats and say "hes a sack machine that will tackle" They look at his 28 sacks in 3 seasons (the last 3) and his 239 tackles and figure hes a run stopping blitzing OLB.

I truly believe and hope no one here hopes for this man to reach similar sack stats with the Patriots. Because quite frankly it just wont happen. He comes from a blitz happy team that capitalized on his one stregth, his speed at attacking the QB.

With our team he might not even be considered a OLB, sure he might play and start the games off at that position but i realize he'll be utilized more often than not in various positions throughout our LB scheme. Maybe one play OLB the next ILB, after on 3rd downs he can put his hand down on a nickel scheme. The possibilities are quite endless. Hell he could even pull a Don Davis and go safety on us.

The point of this thread is this mans true presence wont be shown in the stats. He'll be a dominating force enough in our game that teams will have to play around him ala Seymour. The stats wont show him to have a great year but i can guarantee it now that he will make a presence that is more noticeable than anyone else on this team. Outside of Brady.

Just wanted to see what every ones general consensus was about our new key player.

 

[PATRIOT64]

So it seems to be that people who know me and who like to talk sports with me and etc have the wrong general idea about the type of player we are getting.

Some people look at the Stats and say "hes a sack machine that will tackle" They look at his 28 sacks in 3 seasons (the last 3) and his 239 tackles and figure hes a run stopping blitzing OLB.

I truly believe and hope no one here hopes for this man to reach similar sack stats with the Patriots. Because quite frankly it just wont happen. He comes from a blitz happy team that capitalized on his one stregth, his speed at attacking the QB.

With our team he might not even be considered a OLB, sure he might play and start the games off at that position but i realize he'll be utilized more often than not in various positions throughout our LB scheme. Maybe one play OLB the next ILB, after on 3rd downs he can put his hand down on a nickel scheme. The possibilities are quite endless. Hell he could even pull a Don Davis and go safety on us.

The point of this thread is this mans true presence wont be shown in the stats. He'll be a dominating force enough in our game that teams will have to play around him ala Seymour. The stats wont show him to have a great year but i can guarantee it now that he will make a presence that is more noticeable than anyone else on this team. Outside of Brady.

Just wanted to see what every ones general consensus was about our new key player.

I think he will be more noticable when playing teams with a great running back like Tomlinson which we will face again this year ...Last year Ladanian had the middle of the defense on its heels with Adalius it might be a bit tougher to do that,I think his presense will be felt with help in slowing down a good running game - Ladanian will NOT see 150 yards this time around.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Your right. The Pats style of defense is a lot different then the Ravens defense. I think AT will be used more in coverage then pass rushing. But who knows, maybe with more talent on the defense, the Pats turn to a more aggresive style like the Ravens.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

I think he will be more noticable when playing teams with a great running back like Tomlinson which we will face again this year ...Last year Ladanian had the middle of the defense on its heels with Adalius it might be a bit tougher to do that,I think his presense will be felt with help in slowing down a good running game - Ladanian will NOT see 150 yards this time around.

If the Pats can get some young, fast LB's that can contribute quickly, LT will have a harder time running all over the Pats defense like last time.

 

[Kontradiction]

Why is everyone so worried about the Chargers in the regular season for? We beat them last year with L.T. running for 150 yards, Tom throwing multiple INTs, and a lesser team as a whole when it comes to talent. We have definitely improved in the off-season with the draft still to come.

The only thing I don't want to do is see them in the post-season, especially at Qualcomm.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Your right. The Pats style of defense is a lot different then the Ravens defense. I think AT will be used more in coverage then pass rushing. But who knows, maybe with more talent on the defense, the Pats turn to a more aggresive style like the Ravens.

I think they will - I almost guarantee it. And I would say it is likely they will also be even less aggressive than last year. Ommmm.

Seriously, what I mean by this is, our D only ever does really well in one stat category, points scored against. It's always been at its best with maximum flexibility and versatility -- in coach speak "um yeah we can do a lot of things with him, he can do a lot of, you know, things, and then we can use those things in a lot of ways..." yadda yadda yadda.

Nope, we won't suddenly re-make the D... we'll use the talents that are there. And the more versatile your guys are, the more looks you can show, the more ways you can handle a given situation (betcha anything we don't get blitz-happy. Also betcha anything there will be 1 game when that's called for often, and for that week, we'll be the Ravens or the Steelers... then the next week, we'll be somebody else...)

Yammering over,

PFnV

 

[PATRIOT64]

Why is everyone so worried about the Chargers in the regular season for? We beat them last year with L.T. running for 150 yards, Tom throwing multiple INTs, and a lesser team as a whole when it comes to talent. We have definitely improved in the off-season with the draft still to come.

The only thing I don't want to do is see them in the post-season, especially at Qualcomm.

We beat them by a 'miracle football strip' by Troy,Otherwise the games in the tank,They dominated us - We were luckier and they beat themselves with stupid mental errors.

No miracles and stupid immature mistakes are not likely again,We need to play better against them,and I think we can-we do have a better group now.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I wouldn't be so sure about that Sean. To be honest I don't know how good A Thomas is so I really can't make an assumption on what he will do this season. I will say ask you this though? Do you think he is better than McGinist or Vrabel? If you do then I do think 13 sacks is well within the realm of possibilty considering those two players have posted 9 1/2-10 1/2 sack seasons in previous years.

I'm not going to overvalue what we have in AT but I'm not going to undervalue him either. From all scouting accounts AT is a complete and versatile player and every players sack total depends on the scheme and stunt packages they are running for that particular game. 17 sacks? 7 sacks?Who knows?

 

[Kontradiction]

We beat them by a 'miracle football strip' by Troy,Otherwise the games in the tank,They dominated us - We were luckier and they beat themselves with stupid mental errors.

No miracles and stupid immature mistakes are not likely again,We need to play better against them,and I think we can-we do have a better group now.

All those things aside, that game was really over when our offense drove the ball down the field to score a touchdown at the end of the first half. I still have that game TiVOed and the expression on most of the faces on the SD sideline told the story. L.T. carried that offense so they were still able to go toe to toe with us. I do agree with you when you say we should have lost that game though. Thank God for Troy.

 

[unoriginal]

Luckily I haven't heard much around these parts about linebacker stat lines, so I don't worry too much about whether folks evaluate how All Day plays on the field.

 

[Terry Glenn is a cowgirl]

I truly believe and hope no one here hopes for this man to reach similar sack stats with the Patriots. Because quite frankly it just wont happen.

Never say never... he should be able to put up at least a decent sack total, not that it is the most important stat though.

 

[DarrylS]

The point of this thread is this mans true presence wont be shown in the stats. He'll be a dominating force enough in our game that teams will have to play around him ala Seymour. The stats wont show him to have a great year but i can guarantee it now that he will make a presence that is more noticeable than anyone else on this team. Outside of Brady.

Just wanted to see what every ones general consensus was about our new key player.

Isn't this the same argument we have about Richard Seymour, a lot of games he shows up with 3 assists and minimal stats, but if you key on him he is consistently double teamed and still makes tons of good plays. This defense in the trenches does not lend itself to a lot of high numbers, but many quality team plays. There will be those who will say he is a bust, because of numbers alone. But when it is all said and done, he along with #93 will consistently be honored by their peers. Numbers in D do not tell the story, particularly in this defense.

 

[SpiderFox53]

His presence immediately makes our front 7 better. That's all I really care about. Sacks are overrated.

 

[TripleOption]

I truly believe and hope no one here hopes for this man to reach similar sack stats with the Patriots. Because quite frankly it just wont happen. He comes from a blitz happy team that capitalized on his one stregth, his speed at attacking the QB.

I disagree. I see him as a menace from the OLB spot. He will be like Willie Mac, and with Colvin back to full strength on the other side...He will be very effective.

Hell, even Tully B-C was very good as a pass rusher from that spot and frankly he's a JAG.

 

[patsfan-1982]

he will be used alot of ways i dont think at cornerback like with the ravens but i think 89tak 8sacks and 3ints sonds about right

 

[satz]

Even though no one mentions this vrabel is when outside under pass rush scenario is a beast. The key is we have consistent pass rush over 4 quaters as after vrabel and colvin the quality nose dived .We need more LB as after a no huddle series we need to rest them or the defence winds down.

 

[dryheat44]

I'll stand by what I wrote a few months ago:

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showpost.php?p=340709&postcount=56

 

[satz]

I'll stand by what I wrote a few months ago:

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showpost.php?p=340709&postcount=56

Man r you one of the wise old men with a cowboy hat.:rocker:

 

[DaBruinz]

We beat them by a 'miracle football strip' by Troy,Otherwise the games in the tank,They dominated us - We were luckier and they beat themselves with stupid mental errors.

No miracles and stupid immature mistakes are not likely again,We need to play better against them,and I think we can-we do have a better group now.

Sorry, but I have to disagree here. The Chargers and Patriots were fairly evenly matched. The Pats had the air game, the Chargers the running game. It was a brutal battle and the game hinged on one mistake. That is the pure definition of hard fought game.

 

[sieglo]

We beat them by a 'miracle football strip' by Troy,Otherwise the games in the tank,They dominated us - We were luckier and they beat themselves with stupid mental errors.

It sure seemed like that at the time watching the game, but watch the tape again.... It wasn't a dominating performance by the Chargers. The game was actually really closely fought. But yes, we still needed the play of the decade by Troy to pull it out.