JBell
That's still my Quarterback
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I haven’t caught many Dolphins games in the past few years (but neither has anyone else) so it was hard for me to gauge if Thomas was a good signing or not. New England was interested in him, so I thought eh, if they’re interested he must still have something left in the tank. But then I remembered that the Patriots have a fetish for old aging linebackers.
So I went back to week two and took a look at the game at Miami , specifically to see Thomas and what kind of level he was playing at. Supposedly the selling factor for the Cowboys FO was his performance in this game.
Thomas played inside linebacker in the Phins’ 3-4, where he had major responsibilities in the middle of the field – a place where Jason Witten does work. J-Wit was coming off a week where he single handedly took a crap on the city of New York , going for 6 rec., 116 yards, and a TD. He was held to a measly two catches for 26 yards in week 2 though, and Thomas was a big reason why.
The Proof (warning, it's kinda choppy.. thanks youtube!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00sOEfxdCGU
Play 1: It was 3rd and Goal, and if you watch Romo's eyes, his primary option was Crayton over the middle. Zach was anticipating Pat’s route the whole way and Romo could do nothing but check it down short of the endzone. That’s a four point play.
Play 2: Witten ran his favorite route, the “three pump
57)”, where he runs a 15 yard out and up. Thomas had outside leverage from his CB and played the inside beautifully. How many times have we seen Bradie and Akin’s lame attempts at trying to run back and cover a TE? I love Bradie James, but he and Ayodele just don’t have the quickness to drop back 15-20 yards to stay with tight ends. I’m still having flashbacks from Jerramy Stevens’ go ahead touchdown in the ’07 playoffs.
Play 3: “Silly quarterbacks, your feeble attempts at fooling me do not work.” –ZT. He simply does not get beat on play action. I was watching the ‘07 Dolphins/Browns game on NFL replay, and it only confirmed that belief. Obviously the play that stands out is the huge hit on Wit, and the easy dropped INT, but sniffing out the PA is impressive in its own right.
Play 4: Once Again Zach had tight coverage on Witten . He had a little help from his teammates on the play, but who was the only guy talking trash at the end of it? That’s right, Zach Awesome.
Play 5: Oliver Hoyte trying to catch a ball = bad. Oliver Hoyte trying to catch a ball + worrying about a linebacker coming at him = disaster. He couldn’t catch malaria if he went camping naked in the Amazon, but that’s beside the point. Watch how quickly Zachary covers ground from the middle of the field all the way to the flats. He’s going to come in handy when *** holes like Kevin Faulk and Brian Westbrook try to get those cheap dump-off first downs.
His pass coverage is the main reason why I love his signing so much. It’s really the most slept on part of his game.
When you think of Zach, you think of toughness, kicking ***, monster trucks, ripping apart phone books with your bare hands, and pretty much anything manly. But aside from being a tackling machine, he has some finesse in his game and is really going help us in pass coverage. With Newman, Henry, and Pac-Man (*crosses fingers*) manning the outside spots, and Zachary covering the middle… I have no idea where teams are going to throw. Oh yeah, at Roy Williams.
So I went back to week two and took a look at the game at Miami , specifically to see Thomas and what kind of level he was playing at. Supposedly the selling factor for the Cowboys FO was his performance in this game.
Thomas played inside linebacker in the Phins’ 3-4, where he had major responsibilities in the middle of the field – a place where Jason Witten does work. J-Wit was coming off a week where he single handedly took a crap on the city of New York , going for 6 rec., 116 yards, and a TD. He was held to a measly two catches for 26 yards in week 2 though, and Thomas was a big reason why.
The Proof (warning, it's kinda choppy.. thanks youtube!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00sOEfxdCGU
Play 1: It was 3rd and Goal, and if you watch Romo's eyes, his primary option was Crayton over the middle. Zach was anticipating Pat’s route the whole way and Romo could do nothing but check it down short of the endzone. That’s a four point play.
Play 2: Witten ran his favorite route, the “three pump
57)”, where he runs a 15 yard out and up. Thomas had outside leverage from his CB and played the inside beautifully. How many times have we seen Bradie and Akin’s lame attempts at trying to run back and cover a TE? I love Bradie James, but he and Ayodele just don’t have the quickness to drop back 15-20 yards to stay with tight ends. I’m still having flashbacks from Jerramy Stevens’ go ahead touchdown in the ’07 playoffs. Play 3: “Silly quarterbacks, your feeble attempts at fooling me do not work.” –ZT. He simply does not get beat on play action. I was watching the ‘07 Dolphins/Browns game on NFL replay, and it only confirmed that belief. Obviously the play that stands out is the huge hit on Wit, and the easy dropped INT, but sniffing out the PA is impressive in its own right.
Play 4: Once Again Zach had tight coverage on Witten . He had a little help from his teammates on the play, but who was the only guy talking trash at the end of it? That’s right, Zach Awesome.
Play 5: Oliver Hoyte trying to catch a ball = bad. Oliver Hoyte trying to catch a ball + worrying about a linebacker coming at him = disaster. He couldn’t catch malaria if he went camping naked in the Amazon, but that’s beside the point. Watch how quickly Zachary covers ground from the middle of the field all the way to the flats. He’s going to come in handy when *** holes like Kevin Faulk and Brian Westbrook try to get those cheap dump-off first downs.
His pass coverage is the main reason why I love his signing so much. It’s really the most slept on part of his game.
When you think of Zach, you think of toughness, kicking ***, monster trucks, ripping apart phone books with your bare hands, and pretty much anything manly. But aside from being a tackling machine, he has some finesse in his game and is really going help us in pass coverage. With Newman, Henry, and Pac-Man (*crosses fingers*) manning the outside spots, and Zachary covering the middle… I have no idea where teams are going to throw. Oh yeah, at Roy Williams.
