Adalius Thomas

[Pats_Man1]

AD looked TERRIFIC today in past coverage!!!!!!!

I mean every pass that was thrown, close to him, in the middle was either incomplete passes or direct hit for no YAC!!!!!!!

This guy is the most scariest person in the middle of the field. He's a 6'2 270 Linebacker covering passses across the middle!!!!!

I'd say that he's worth every penny and more!!!!!:rocker: :singing: :rocker:

 

[DarrylS]

He was all over the place, when I saw #96 downfield in coverage, had to look twice.. he will not get the stats here, but makes this D better.

 

[Pat_the_Patriot]

Yuppers... I was a bit down on him earlier in the preseason... specifically for some suspect positioning when playing OLB in our basic 3-4 scheme... but at ILB yesterday... dude was a man-child. Difficult to really say how good he could become (given he's only been in the scheme for about a minute)... I am as excited by his contributions to the DEF as I am by Welker to the offense.

On a side note: How lucky are we to have J. Green... he also stepped it up (in a big way) out there. My head is still spinning by how well they played. I thought they'd be good... but WOW. Bigger test next week... but IF we can pull out a vicotry (and I think we can)...I believe that we'll have put the rest of the NFL on notice.

Unreal... unbelievable time to be a Pats fans... this is once in a lifetime type stuff.

 

[onegameatatime]

Yuppers... I was a bit down on him earlier in the preseason... specifically for some suspect positioning when playing OLB in our basic 3-4 scheme... but at ILB yesterday... dude was a man-child. Difficult to really say how good he could become (given he's only been in the scheme for about a minute)... I am as excited by his contributions to the DEF as I am by Welker to the offense.

On a side note: How lucky are we to have J. Green... he also stepped it up (in a big way) out there. My head is still spinning by how well they played. I thought they'd be good... but WOW. Bigger test next week... but IF we can pull out a vicotry (and I think we can)...I believe that we'll have put the rest of the NFL on notice.

Unreal... unbelievable time to be a Pats fans... this is once in a lifetime type stuff.

It's not luck. IIRC, Pats gave him a very good contract for a non-starter.

 

[Fixit]

He can't be any good, because Prisco (Silver?) said he was fat.

 

[JR4]

I wonder if they'll use him to shadow LT next week?

 

[onegameatatime]

QUESTION: which Thomas will we have:

The one Borges wrote about just BEFORE the Pats signed him:

"There will also be good value available this year, even at what will be the top
of the pay scale. Which players seem most likely to deliver value for their
services? Barring injury, here's one list of likely candidates.

Best values1. Adalius Thomas, LB: He wants a $18 million signing bonus and will probably get it, likely from the 49ers. Wherever he goes, the 270-pound Thomas appears headed toward making an impact."

Or the one Borges wrote about just AFTER the Pats signed him.

"In free agency, the negatives are usually evident, but if you need something bad enough, you minimize them," said an AFC North executive Friday night, before [the Patriots signed Thomas]... Thomas is a good athlete, and he was productive in their scheme in Baltimore, but he's not good setting the edge against the run and he's not a traditional 'Sam' [strong-side] linebacker because he has trouble getting off a tight end's block. I saw [Daniel] Graham bury him against the Ravens a couple years ago. They ran right over him the whole game..."

 

[mgteich]

I would think he will shadow Gates.

I wonder if they'll use him to shadow LT next week?

 

[shmessy]

I wonder if they'll use him to shadow LT next week?

I agree with Mg.
Call him the "Gates-Keeper" next week.

 

[wistahpatsfan]

We'll need him vs the Colts who absolutely killed us last year with those dumps over the middle. BB & SP fill yet another gap, ...classic!

 

[cblesz]

We'll need him vs the Colts who absolutely killed us last year with those dumps over the middle. BB & SP fill yet another gap, ...classic!

Exactly. I am sure he will be manning (no pun) the middle of the field against Dallas Clarke. And, I wonder how he was used in Baltimore against the Chargers...to either shadow Gates or LT. Gates was a monster yesterday and all Rivers does is look for him. So, if we have Gates locked down, we will be in good shape.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Thomas was signed, I think, with two teams (and players) specifically in mind.

#1: The Colts & Dallas Clark

#2: The Chargers & Antonio Gates

We shall see this week. I watched the San Diego game, and how the Bears only single covered Gates with Archuleta, was a mystery for me. I would love to see Thomas jamming Gates oin the line.

Thomas was all over the field yesterday. He was at the bottom of every pile in the running game, and could have had two Ints!

 

[cstjohn17]

The whole front seven played great, the edge rushers Vrabel and Colvin were beasts.

AD is growing into his new role on the inside. He understands the coverages but has awful hands. Yo ucan hear the ball clank of his paws. Time to bring back the Pepper Johnson LB drill. The one where he zings the ball at the LBs from about 10 yards away.

 

[cubicle_6]

Real good awareness in coverage, able to anticipate what the TE or back is doing. Sure is gonna come in handy against some of the better TEs in the league, something we've been missing.
Good to see Vrabel doing his thing back at OLB, too.

 

[PatsDeb]

Shadowing Gates would be a good game plan, as long as they have another shadower for LT. During the game yesterday afternoon SD looked to be a two trick pony - either throw to Gates or let LT run it. Other than that, they didn't have much "O". Chicago did a good job of containing LT early, then they appeared to wear down when their own "offense" couldn't keep the D off the field.

I was impressed by AD seeming to be 'everywhere" on the field yesterday too! Too bad he dropped that INT right on his hands!

 

[NYCPatsFan]

QUESTION: which Thomas will we have:

The one Borges wrote about just BEFORE the Pats signed him:

"There will also be good value available this year, even at what will be the top
of the pay scale. Which players seem most likely to deliver value for their
services? Barring injury, here's one list of likely candidates.

Best values1. Adalius Thomas, LB: He wants a $18 million signing bonus and will probably get it, likely from the 49ers. Wherever he goes, the 270-pound Thomas appears headed toward making an impact."

Or the one Borges wrote about just AFTER the Pats signed him.

"In free agency, the negatives are usually evident, but if you need something bad enough, you minimize them," said an AFC North executive Friday night, before [the Patriots signed Thomas]... Thomas is a good athlete, and he was productive in their scheme in Baltimore, but he's not good setting the edge against the run and he's not a traditional 'Sam' [strong-side] linebacker because he has trouble getting off a tight end's block. I saw [Daniel] Graham bury him against the Ravens a couple years ago. They ran right over him the whole game..."

Borges BEFORE and AFTER. Classic stuff!! Thanks for posting this.

Maybe we should start a sticky that will list similar "before" and "after" comments of the press and let the fans have a good laugh.

 

[Smash-MouthD]

I wonder if Felger will eat his words now, seeing how in the preseason Felger says on his radio show Thomas on the inside is a waste of money? Gee seeing good old #50 with 2 sacks and constant preasure back at his natural position seems to be a great investment. Felgers short sighted jabb's at the pats grow more tiresome by the day.

 

[rabthepat]

He could of had 2 Ints too.

 

[CTPatsFan]

I was surprised by his speed and agility, able to get to spots I didn't expect him to be. I probably shouldn't have been, but I was.