Tomase: Pats thought they had locked up Zach Thomas

[pats1]

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/patriots/

February 23rd, 2008
Pats thought they had Thomas
Posted by John Tomase at 3:56 pm

The buzz around the Combine is that the Patriots were sure they had locked up linebacker Zach Thomas on Friday night. The Patriots thought it was a done deal, but the allure of playing at home and the $3 million he received from Dallas were enough to sway the linebacker into Cowboys colors.

 

[Truck]

If the Pats had really locked him up, he wouldn't have ever visited Dallas.

 

[WTE]

unless he has reliable sources to back this up I'm going to assume someone with no inside info told him. If the Pats had really locked him up, he wouldn't have ever visited Dallas

Don Banks reported the same thing that Tomase wrote.

 

[BionicPatriot]

Is this what we're gonna go through again? Every guy who doesn't sign here get the Pats hope all up?

 

[ctpatsfan77]

FWIW, I don't blame Thomas or the Pats--I can't imagine the Pats having offered him $3M, or expecting that anyone would offer him that much.

Interesting that my post mentioning the lack of a concrete source ("Combine buzz", not even "An anonymous GM" . . .) and all the others commenting on the author were deleted. . . .

 

[LloydBraun]

Thomas will provide nice depth in Dallas, just like he would have here. But, his not signing is not the end of the world. The team will move forward and re-load.

 

[the Patriot]

I bet he's just bitter. Can we try signing somebody who isn't a senior citizen?

 

[upstater1]

The very idea that the Patriots thought they locked him up makes absolutely no sense.

Are people morons?

 

[spacecrime]

I bet he's just bitter. Can we try signing somebody who isn't a senior citizen?

That's the funny thing. This whole thread is dumb. It we had signed him, we would have a thread about our aging LB corps and how it just got older. I see Thomas getting $3 mil form Dallas and not us as a good thing.

 

[brdmaverick]

Immediately everyone wants to ask "where are his sources?" instead of even considering the story to be true. But even if it is true, who cares? If I were part of the Patriots staff, I would suspect that the orgianization would be the leading candidate to get his services as well.....

1.) Pats have Super Bowl aspirations
2.) Junior Seau was probably the leading pitchman (former Miami teammate)
3.) Thomas would be joining an experienced LB group where he would not be forced to be the star.

I wouldn't blame the Patriots for thinking they were the front runners.

That turned out not to be the case, boo hoo, life goes on.

When we all heard that he was cut we all liked the idea of him suiting up for us, but let's face it, he is NOT what the team needs. The team defenese, LB specifically, needs to get younger and an aging injury-prone veteran is not the solution.

 

[Joker]

Personally, I was never enamored with the midget runt playing here...the Pats handled him by sealing him off with a TE all the time.

 

[BPF]

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/patriots/

The Saints probably thought the same thing.

 

[Wildo7]

It is absolutely beyond me how the Cowboys manage their salary cap. It seems like they're in the running for every big name all the time and always seem to overpay. They have a ton of talent and now Jerry Jones is thinking about trading up to the #1 draft spot with Miami? WTF?

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

I'm glad the Pats didn't sign him. Use the money on a younger guy.

 

[rsd]

It is absolutely beyond me how the Cowboys manage their salary cap. It seems like they're in the running for every big name all the time and always seem to overpay. They have a ton of talent and now Jerry Jones is thinking about trading up to the #1 draft spot with Miami? WTF?

And how did that work out for them this past year? Ditto similar teams like Washington...

 

[Wotan_the_Wanderer]

Remniscent of the Pats losing out on John Lynch a few years ago. Said this, I never got what the big deal with Zack being a prospective Patriot was all about so I don't consider Zack signing with the Boys that big of a loss.

 

[BPF]

It is absolutely beyond me how the Cowboys manage their salary cap. It seems like they're in the running for every big name all the time and always seem to overpay. They have a ton of talent and now Jerry Jones is thinking about trading up to the #1 draft spot with Miami? WTF?

Hopefully they are interested in trading for the #7 pick, I would certainly like to move down and pick up another 1st in this deep draft.

 

[Robdude]

This just shows how out of touch Tomase can be. I am sure that no one thought Thomas was "locked up" if he was still talking to other teams and did not sign a contract. Everyone (fan or coach) knows that he was not. The Pats might have thought they made a sound offer to him but who hasn't seen a player get a better offer some where else?

 

[pats1]

For those questioning Tomase:

http://www.draftdaddy.com/blog/nfldraft.cfm

but we are starting to hear now that since the Patriots have lost out on Zach Thomas (Friday night at St. Elmo's Steakhouse the word was he was a Pat), they are toying with the idea of signing Morgan, if he is willing to play on a one year, incentive laden deal. While this has heated up, rumors from Bob Kraft are that Tedy Bruschi is close to making a retirement decision as well.

St. Elmo's is in Indy. Andy Hart and Erik Scalavino (staff writer turned gay restaurant reviewer) checked it out.