I just don't get the Zach Thomas signing.

[Doomsdayblitz]

Unless we get him for close to the league minimum for a yr. or two, I just don't understand signing a 34 yr. old ILB who is small than our starting SS. Don't get me wrong. I loved Zach Thomas in his prime. The guy is a flat out football player-period, but he's middle-aged now, and we have at least 4 quality ILBs vying for 2 positions. I felt that Kevin Burnett really came on last year, and I'm not ready to close the book on Bobby Carpenter. He is a very good athlete who might have needed these past two years to come on this season.

Then, you throw in the two starters in Ayodele & James, and I don't know where Thomas fits in. I know it's always good to have as much competition as you can, but not at the cost of the cap.

There are too many younger players out there who can give us much more bang for the buck. My only hope is that we sign Thomas for a song, and that his tenacity & veteran leadership are the intangibles that Wade Phillips felt we needed around here to get us over the playoff hump.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I was in Cozumel during the Thomas signing so I missed the sky falling and all other things that happen during that time.

I don't mind the signing, he will be an upgrade to Ayodele without question unless he suffers from injury problems. Both James and Thomas are very good tacklers and thats what you want from your ILBers.

What confuses me is the $3M they used on him after franchising Hamlin. That about cuts the cap space in half and they are looking at signing Barber and Canty at around $2.5M/yr each and want to resign Flo which should cost upwards of $7M/yr. (more likely $8M+)

Top that off with two first round picks coming. They don't sound like they aren't going to cut Ayodele who has a 5/yr contract signed in 2006. Not sure what the numbers are on that. They also have Carpenter signed to a first round contract. They have nine LBers on the roster, maybe four five of them can play ILBer. Someone has to go. Money wise, I figured Ayodele. The only guy left is probably Justin Rogers unless they are going to package players in trade. If you cut Rogers instead of Ayodele, then the $3M paid for Thomas stings a lot worse.

 

[Doomsday101]

What I heard is Thomas will get a base of 1 mill and signing bonus of 1 mil as well as incentives that could bring it to another 1 mill.

 

[YosemiteSam]

What I heard is Thomas will get a base of 1 mill and signing bonus of 1 mil as well as incentives that could bring it to another 1 mill.

This is true, but they said the incentives were easily obtainable. Meaning all he has to do is NOT be injured for most of the season like last year.

 

[Dallas]

I guarantee you that Z Thomas will outplay and win the starting spot soon to be vacated by Ayodele. Zack Thomas is your new WILB.

Also don't forget that this is a 1 year deal. You will get much more from ZT than you do right now w/ Ayodele. Why not upgrade the spot?

Wade has already said that ZT will not be taking Brady's spot. That leaves Ayodele, and I am very ok with that.


My money is ZT beating out Ayodele in TC and starting game 1.

 

[thewireman]

Z Thomas was on the Mike Irvin show and said he was already studying film, this is the kind off player the boys need, someone that is dedicated to football and will bring leadership to the defense, cause lord knows they need it

 

[Future]

Z Thomas was on the Mike Irvin show and said he was already studying film, this is the kind off player the boys need, someone that is dedicated to football and will bring leadership to the defense, cause lord knows they need it

He still isn't that killer-instinct type of leader that we need IMO

 

[khiladi]

Unless we get him for close to the league minimum for a yr. or two, I just don't understand signing a 34 yr. old ILB who is small than our starting SS. Don't get me wrong. I loved Zach Thomas in his prime. The guy is a flat out football player-period, but he's middle-aged now, and we have at least 4 quality ILBs vying for 2 positions. I felt that Kevin Burnett really came on last year, and I'm not ready to close the book on Bobby Carpenter. He is a very good athlete who might have needed these past two years to come on this season.

Then, you throw in the two starters in Ayodele & James, and I don't know where Thomas fits in. I know it's always good to have as much competition as you can, but not at the cost of the cap.

There are too many younger players out there who can give us much more bang for the buck. My only hope is that we sign Thomas for a song, and that his tenacity & veteran leadership are the intangibles that Wade Phillips felt we needed around here to get us over the playoff hump.

It is a perfect fit, because of Zach in pass coverage. Jerry made some comments to the effect that he is the type of player that understands the game, and he doesn't get lost in crossing routes. I believe Jerry was alluding to our problems this year when it came to our LBs in coverage, specifically Akin. He also flies to the ball making tackles, and this is going to be an added benefit because he will be allowed to roam and won't be engaging big lineman. He is incredibly quick, even at his age, way quicker than the younger Akin.

If you look at the tackles of Akin within the system, the numbers were nothing special, and plain crappy as it concerned tackles for a loss. He also got smoked in zone coverage, and more often then not as many noticed, he looked lost when playing pass. That limited the ability of our defense to get aggressive with the blitz, because a QB can simply look for the player Akin was responsible to guarding in the blitz package.

The role of the LBs within Parcells' system and Wade's system are different. The players drafted by Parcells were meant for his system, not the style Wade runs.

Zack Thomas looks like the perfect fit, and can not only make this defense better, but significantly better. I'm expecting a much faster defense, and way more aggressive style of play from Wade, because he has LBs that are well-prepared and who know their responsibilites in coverage in particular when the blitz is being sent.

 

[Doomsday101]

This is true, but they said the incentives were easily obtainable. Meaning all he has to do is NOT be injured for most of the season like last year.

I admit I'm not crazy about the ideal given the concussion problem Thomas is coming off of. I like the guy and hope he can come in and do the job but I admit I have reservations about this move.

 

[thewireman]

He still isn't that killer-instinct type of leader that we need IMO

I don't know, but the leadership alone is worth it for at least a year

 

[Hostile]

I guarantee you that Z Thomas will outplay and win the starting spot soon to be vacated by Ayodele. Zack Thomas is your new WILB.

Also don't forget that this is a 1 year deal. You will get much more from ZT than you do right now w/ Ayodele. Why not upgrade the spot?

Wade has already said that ZT will not be taking Brady's spot. That leaves Ayodele, and I am very ok with that.


My money is ZT beating out Ayodele in TC and starting game 1.

I won't touch this bet, and it won't surprise me at all if Ayodele is shopped in a trade.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I guarantee you that Z Thomas will outplay and win the starting spot soon to be vacated by Ayodele. Zack Thomas is your new WILB.

Also don't forget that this is a 1 year deal. You will get much more from ZT than you do right now w/ Ayodele. Why not upgrade the spot?

Wade has already said that ZT will not be taking Brady's spot. That leaves Ayodele, and I am very ok with that.


My money is ZT beating out Ayodele in TC and starting game 1.

I think baring injury it is obvious he would take Ayodele's spot. He is far better and has seven Pro Bowls and a boat load of stats to prove it. I have no idea why Phillips would even have to clairify that Thomas wouldn't take James' spot. The comparion between Ayodele and James is night and day.

2007      Games   Solo     Assists     Sacks
James      16      64        37          3
Ayodele    16      36        21          0
Thomas      5      42        10          1

 

[superpunk]

We needed a leader at the ILB position, and a guy who can set an example to the other LBs. We needed an improvement in pass coverage from our ILBs. We needed a guy who breathes football and isn't boo-hooing his way out of town immediately after a playoff lost. We needed some fire and grit and toughness from our all bark and little bite LB corps.

There's really nothing to understand about this. Thomas is a perfect fit for what we need. And he's filling that need for cheap.

 

[HoosierCowboy]

and one thing the CBs lack is leadership--Thomas has a chance to be our defensive MVP and if he's healthy will be a pro-bowl linebacker with 130+ tackles--if you have a fantasy team with defensive players, draft him

 

[Future]

I don't know, but the leadership alone is worth it for at least a year

Aren't Ellis, Ware, Ferg, Roy, Bradie all leaders? We've got guys that have been around and can lead, adding another classy sportsmanship type guy won't provide us much in that department IMO.

He might still perform, we'll have to see about that.

 

[speedkilz88]

Wade mentioned at the end of the year that he now knows where he needed to upgrade to run his defense the way he wanted. Zach Thomas, one of his favorite players, replacing Ayodele at wilb was one of those upgrades. Face it, Thomas is the best ILB on this team.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It all depends on his health, specifically the concussion issue.

Zach had 50+ tackles in 5 games last year. That's how many Akin (the invisible Lber) had the ENTIRE SEASON!

If Zach's healthy and replaces Akin at WLB you are talking a MAJOR upgrade to our defense in terms of on-field production. Not to mention all the intangibles he brings to the team.

I've been skeptical that he can return to form since head injuries are tough to overcome but all the doctors say he is fully recovered, so we shall see.

 

[Doomsday101]

Thomas will be trying to fit in with Dallas anyone thinks he steps in and takes over leadership is kidding themselves. If what people mean is leading by example I would agree but I doubt players will look to the newest member of the team as the leader of the defense.

 

[anygivensun]

Nice. Thomas' numbers work out to 112 solo tackles, 27 assists, and 3 sacks over a 16 game schedule. Let's hope he can stay healthy.

 

[alancdc]

This is true, but they said the incentives were easily obtainable. Meaning all he has to do is NOT be injured for most of the season like last year.

If this is the case, and he earns that bonus by staying healthy isn't that a good thing? If healthy, there is no doubt he helps us. If not, he doesn't get the higher money?