Duane Thomas: The Cowboys' Rising Star

Verdict

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Right and he often had Jim Brown with him, who I guess was some guru/adviser to him or something. Even in the locker room after SBVI he had Jim Brown in there with him.

Im not sure how or why Jim Brown became viewed as someone who is important for anything other than his accomplishments on the field. He was a great player. That is all.
 

Reverend Conehead

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Back then..

Especially to be different made you a target.

Thomas was quiet. Then suddenly said too much. Actually he had traits of bi-polar which was unknown back then.

Symptoms are radical mood swings, depression and tendencies toward suicide are frequent.

Thomas having Jim Brown around helped him anchor.

Those days being different was dangerous. Racial prejudice was out of control.

Kent State changed my generation permanently. So Thomas was subject to all sorts of pressure to conform.

Today we should see him as one of our great players who had real life issues going on, too.

That sums it up right. I do think he was bipolar. Today, he would get treatment. He was also under a lot of financial pressure. He didn't make anywhere near what even a scrub makes today. He owed money,and money was tight. When he tried to get a raise, the team refused. I'm sure that frustration just added to whatever else he was going through.
 

Redball Express

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That sums it up right. I do think he was bipolar. Today, he would get treatment. He was also under a lot of financial pressure. He didn't make anywhere near what even a scrub makes today. He owed money,and money was tight. When he tried to get a raise, the team refused. I'm sure that frustration just added to whatever else he was going through.
I forgot about the money issues.

I know how I get when stuff rolls downhill.

And money can keep me up at night and beat my dog.

Any word on Thomas' dog?

He OK?
 

OmerV

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Bob Lilly got along with him based on the NFL network show on the 1971 Cowboys. Duane could not stand Dan Reeves though.
Probably because Lilly was quiet and unobtrusive off the field, and Reeves was more outgoing and vocal. Reeves always had that coaching mentality of trying to get everyone to work together.
 

Established1971

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Im not sure how or why Jim Brown became viewed as someone who is important for anything other than his accomplishments on the field. He was a great player. That is all.
I left out that Duane Thomas would only speak through him. When reporters asked him a question he would have Jim Brown talk. It was rude, needless and weird. He did this for a while, even in a championship celebration.
 

RS12

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Probably because Lilly was quiet and unobtrusive off the field, and Reeves was more outgoing and vocal. Reeves always had that coaching mentality of trying to get everyone to work together.
Watch the show next time it is on NFLN. Should be mandatory for Cowboys fans.
 

DenCWBY

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He was worse than Dez. He actually went a season without talking to teammates. And Dez would celebrate with teammates. Not Duane.
Dez would celebrate with himself and camera X ing to the fans but whatever.
 

OmerV

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Dez would celebrate with himself and camera X ing to the fans but whatever.
I can't point to specific examples because watching Dez after every good play was never my focus, but I do remember a video someone circulated on here last year some time that showed Dez running a route on the far side of the end zone, and the pass going all the way to the other side of the end zone for a TD, and Dex running the 40 or so yards across the end zone to celebrate the play with whoever it was that caught the pass.

To be clear, I'm not calling Dez selfless, or saying he was always happy for everyone else and wasn't concerned about personal states. As I said in one post, while he might celebrate one time, he might pout (or get upset) if he felt the throw should have gone to him, even if the play was successful going to someone else.

My point was only that Duane wasn't off and on with this kind of thing. He just didn't want to be coached or be subject to anything other than what he personally wanted to do.
 

tyke1doe

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Duane Thomas lived and played in another era. I can understand his mood given the times in which he lived.
Still. The guy gave one of the most memorable quotes about the Super Bowl.
 
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