The Case Against an Earl Thomas Trade

[davidariust24]

First off when you take the defense's best play off the field, the player who is the QB of the defense, it not going to be as good. Second what Gil Brandt said once is there are several values for every player in the NFL. There's the value a fan who wants the team he's a fan of to trade one of it's players. There's the value a fan places on a player they want their team to trade for And there's the value a team places on each player and what they want in trade and the least they would accept. Lastly there's the value the other 31 GM's place on a player and the most they would give up to acquire him. Now Brandt said seldom are the fans value the same as the GM's and since the GM's are the ones that acquire players it means that fans generally place the wrong value on players.

If Thomas does become a free agent next year then every team can start a bidding war for him so there's no guarantee he would end up in Dallas. Although I don't think there will be a big bidding war for him. He'll be 30 going into his 10th season and on the downside of his career and the past couple of years he's missed 7 games due to injury and those injuries come more often the older you get. To many people here think of Thomas of 4 or 5 years ago and think that's what he is today and he's not.
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Hmm. . All I'm going to say is this . He made the pro bowl last year. How many safeties get in? Was he a starter. You don't get into the pro bowl if you are a has been.

 

[Jipper]

Hmm. . All I'm going to say is this . He made the pro bowl last year. How many safeties get in? Was he a starter. You don't get into the pro bowl if you are a has been.

I don't think of him as a has been, more so as a never will be....







As in never will be a cowboy, at least in 2018!!

 

[gjkoeppen]

Hmm. . All I'm going to say is this . He made the pro bowl last year. How many safeties get in? Was he a starter. You don't get into the pro bowl if you are a has been.

I never said he is a has been, but no matter what you say nobody can stop father time. His best seasons are behind him and injuries are going to come more often and easier. Yes Thomas was one of the best safeties of his time at one time but age will take it's toll as it always does. To many people still see the Thomas of 4 or 5 years ago. Lastly there are many who think being named to the Pro Bowl is a joke ever since they allowed fans to count as 1/3 of the votes. That makes as much sense as sportswriters who never played a single down in the NFL deciding what players should be in the HOF. Again there are more and more people that believe the only ones deciding who gets in the HOF are those already in the HOF and not be hindered by any rules stating maximum number that can get in each year or none if they so decide.
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[davidariust24]

I understand we all have our opinions. I feel those guys in the secondary need their own leader on the field and he'd be that. I'm one of the ones who pay for that. I feel with him thw defense won't have to have the offense control the clock. They can make their own plays . Someone like him on the backend would help your corners a ton. I may be one of the few but this team should be able to challenge this season.

 

[Sydla]

Hmm. . All I'm going to say is this . He made the pro bowl last year. How many safeties get in? Was he a starter. You don't get into the pro bowl if you are a has been.

He was 2nd team All Pro last year.

The notion he’s on some slide would seemingly be a stretch unless one wants to knock him for only being 2nd team All Pro and not 1st team.

And the notion that a S that good cannot have a big impact on a defense is bizarre too.

 

[Sydla]

I never said he is a has been, but no matter what you say nobody can stop father time. His best seasons are behind him and injuries are going to come more often and easier. Yes Thomas was one of the best safeties of his time at one time but age will take it's toll as it always does. To many people still see the Thomas of 4 or 5 years ago. Lastly there are many who think being named to the Pro Bowl is a joke ever since they allowed fans to count as 1/3 of the votes. That makes as much sense as sportswriters who never played a single down in the NFL deciding what players should be in the HOF. Again there are more and more people that believe the only ones deciding who gets in the HOF are those already in the HOF and not be hindered by any rules stating maximum number that can get in each year or none if they so decide.
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He was an All Pro last year too. So no, it wasn’t just fans voting.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

There’s no such thing as a “missing piece” or “being one player away.” Professional football is a game of attrition as much as anything. You add talent where it works out in the cost benefit analysis.

 

[davidariust24]

He was 2nd team All Pro last year.

The notion he’s on some slide would seemingly be a stretch unless one wants to knock him for only being 2nd team All Pro and not 1st team.

And the notion that a S that good cannot have a big impact on a defense is bizarre too.

All pro means the league studied you and you're one of the best in the league. Hmmm. Not the same that he was 3-5 years ago. What did Gil Brandt say again

 

[gjkoeppen]

He was an All Pro last year too. So no, it wasn’t just fans voting.

So he was All Pro last season that by no means he's going to be All Pro this year or ever again. Every year he gets older and slower and more accessible to injuries. He's proved he's a me me me type player and the Cowboys don't need another Bryant going into the end of his career.

 

[glimmerman]

Still no signing.

 

[Sydla]

So he was All Pro last season that by no means he's going to be All Pro this year or ever again. Every year he gets older and slower and more accessible to injuries. He's proved he's a me me me type player and the Cowboys don't need another Bryant going into the end of his career.

No one can predict the future but the fact he was an All Pro last year puts a serious dent in your commentary that he's on a decline.

You've tried to pass off a bunch of nonsense in this thread such as saying teammates don't like him for his hold out and how he's going to be another Bryant (frankly ridiculous commentary) and now that he's been in decline despite playing exceptionally well last year.

 

[Doomsday101]

Thomas is a playmaker and you can't have enough of those on a team, he is one of the top FS in this game. I would love to have him if things work out, if not so be it.

 

[erod]

This defense looks much improved. It looks faster. It is young.

Good defense right now.

But to be a great defense, they have to get Earl Thomas here. Bottom line.

Xavier Woods isn't ready for this yet, and Heath and Frazier are solid, but not spectacular.

 

[glimmerman]

This defense looks much improved. It looks faster. It is young.

Good defense right now.

But to be a great defense, they have to get Earl Thomas here. Bottom line.

Xavier Woods isn't ready for this yet, and Heath and Frazier are solid, but not spectacular.

ET would be a upgrade for this secondary for sure. It was just a preseason game Thursday but I was seeing the middle of the field open again. Been a pain in our backside for years. Players wide open. ET could help close that up for sure but we aren’t going to deal them the draft pick they want and it don’t look like they are gonna budge either.

Why the seahags would want to keep a player that really don’t want to be there is beyond me. I know they need to keep together the talent they have left and it’s a business and he SHOULD show up and be a professional but he isn’t. And it a matter of time before it effects the locker room.

 

[Stash]

So he was All Pro last season that by no means he's going to be All Pro this year or ever again. Every year he gets older and slower and more accessible to injuries. He's proved he's a me me me type player and the Cowboys don't need another Bryant going into the end of his career.

Your "case" has been exceptionally weak.

If he's "proven" to you that he's a "me me me type player", that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. But that's all it is. Nobody else sees him that way. And his own teammates have said otherwise on record.

And you keep wanting to make dismissive staments about fans. "Fans trying to play GM", "fans" voting players you deem as unworthy into Pro Bowls. Are you aware that you're also a fan?

 

[erod]

ET would be a upgrade for this secondary for sure. It was just a preseason game Thursday but I was seeing the middle of the field open again. Been a pain in our backside for years. Players wide open. ET could help close that up for sure but we aren’t going to deal them the draft pick they want and it don’t look like they are gonna budge either.

Why the seahags would want to keep a player that really don’t want to be there is beyond me. I know they need to keep together the talent they have left and it’s a business and he SHOULD show up and be a professional but he isn’t. And it a matter of time before it effects the locker room.

I appreciate Stephen for his carefulness with signings. It's refreshing.

But when a player so specifically and exactly meets a very immediate and pressing need that could make a HUGE difference.....you have to step up and pay for it. Give the Seahawks a 3rd that could very reasonably be a 2nd if certain qualifications of games played is met. Or, perhaps a guy like Taco Charlton or Jourdan Lewis would be a fair trade since we look long at those positions suddenly.

You don't get a guy like Earl Thomas for a bag of Funyuns like everybody wants. They'll get a 3rd-round compensatory just for letting him walk anyway.

 

[Stash]

I appreciate Stephen for his carefulness with signings. It's refreshing.

But when a player so specifically and exactly meets a very immediate and pressing need that could make a HUGE difference.....you have to step up and pay for it. Give the Seahawks a 3rd that could very reasonably be a 2nd if certain qualifications of games played is met. Or, perhaps a guy like Taco Charlton or Jourdan Lewis would be a fair trade since we look long at those positions suddenly.

You don't get a guy like Earl Thomas for a bag of Funyuns like everybody wants. They'll get a 3rd-round compensatory just for letting him walk anyway.

They'll "get a 3rd compensatory" in 2020 - if Thomas signs a hug contract, and if the rebuilding Seahawks don't make any big signings themselves. There's a significant distinction and a formula that everyone seems to forget about.

Remember back when Demarco Murray signed in Philadelphia. Everyone assumed that we'd automatically get a 4th round comp pick. We went out and signed Greg Hardy and that comp pick was gone.

 

[gjkoeppen]

No one can predict the future but the fact he was an All Pro last year puts a serious dent in your commentary that he's on a decline.

You've tried to pass off a bunch of nonsense in this thread such as saying teammates don't like him for his hold out and how he's going to be another Bryant (frankly ridiculous commentary) and now that he's been in decline despite playing exceptionally well last year.

It's funny how you miss the little words like GOING INTO the end of his career. I should have said moving towards. The comparison to Bryant is valid because they're both me me me guys and the Cowboys had enough of me me me Bryant. As far as how his team mates feel about it, they may not have publicly said anything but there have been a couple of former players who have said if a team mate openly and publicly states he rather play some place else that they said that would weigh on their minds and wouldn't sit real well. One was Rodney Harrison who is on the radio on Sunday mornings. Again Thomas is not the same player he was at 25 and father time WILL show up sooner rather than later and I don't want the Cowboys throwing money at a me me me player who has limited time left when that player isn't going to be the piece that pushes them into a Super Bowl.
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[gjkoeppen]

They'll "get a 3rd compensatory" in 2020 - if Thomas signs a hug contract, and if the rebuilding Seahawks don't make any big signings themselves. There's a significant distinction and a formula that everyone seems to forget about.

Remember back when Demarco Murray signed in Philadelphia. Everyone assumed that we'd automatically get a 4th round comp pick. We went out and signed Greg Hardy and that comp pick was gone.

You made the very same comment I do when people say the Cowboys or this team will get this compensatory pick. It all depends on what free agents a team signs and for how much. You made a very good point.
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[Sydla]

It's funny how you miss the little words like GOING INTO the end of his career. I should have said moving towards. The comparison to Bryant is valid because they're both me me me guys and the Cowboys had enough of me me me Bryant. As far as how his team mates feel about it, they may not have publicly said anything but there have been a couple of former players who have said if a team mate openly and publicly states he rather play some place else that they said that would weigh on their minds and wouldn't sit real well. One was Rodney Harrison who is on the radio on Sunday mornings. Again Thomas is not the same player he was at 25 and father time WILL show up sooner rather than later and I don't want the Cowboys throwing money at a me me me player who has limited time left when that player isn't going to be the piece that pushes them into a Super Bowl.
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The comparison to Bryant is BS but typical exaggeration I expect from you at this point. I don't really care what Rodney Harrison says from a distance. By most accounts, Thomas is a great teammate, a good team leader and players that have and continue to play with him have come out in support of him. What Rodney Harrison says is meaningless at that point.

Thomas was an All Pro last year. I don't need him to play for 7 more years or even 5 more years, I need him to play for 2-3 at a high level and there's no reason whatsoever to think he can't play at the level for the next 3 seasons. Even if one stipulates he's not the same player he was at 25, he's still one of the 2-3 best FS in football and to suggest otherwise is just plain silliness.