Iloka versus Thomas

[JW82]

Right...but you know what Stephen says....you don't pay up for age or anything else. You also don't give up valuable draft picks for age. Besides all this is moot. Seattle doesn't appear to be shopping him any longer.

I am sure Seattle got less flexible when they saw X Woods get banged up. I think if I were betting on it, I think Ioka is 50/50 and ET is 10/90 chance. If I was making the call, it would be ET all day and well worth a 2.

 

[G2]

- He's not going to get $6MM now. And when you take into account the depressed FA market for safeties this year where guys were just sitting out there in FA, he's not going to get some long term big money deal. More than likely, at this point, he'll get a one year deal from someone looking for S help.

- The aversion to guys that are in their late 20s is frankly bizarre. Oh my god, the guy is 28?

- The reality is this team had a S issue before Woods even pulled up lame. The other reality is that while Thomas is a much better player, it's not as easy to get Thomas because it's a trade. So if this team is trying to plug a hole here, especially in the short term, then guys like Iloka make sense. What doesn't make sense is thinking that Jeff Heath and Kavon Frazier are good enough to man the S position for a team that has aspirations of making the playoffs.

It really comes down to Seattle with ET. It's kind of in their hands.

 

[LittleD]

I am sure Seattle got less flexible when they saw X Woods get banged up. I think if I were betting on it, I think Ioka is 50/50 and ET is 10/90 chance. If I was making the call, it would be ET all day and well worth a 2.

Maybe so but, you know Will has his rolodex and lots of safeties on speed dial if necessary. There will also be good cuts on the final cut down and safeties available on other teams PS. If we need one, we will find one and at Stephen's price point.

 

[Garrettop]

Need to bring in a SS and a FS. Iloka and Thomas are likely the BA. Can't run the Cover 3 well with physical corners without the safety net in place. FO has gotta get it done.

 

[visionary]

Sorry but, IIoka can be signed for low money and no draft picks. ET will require a high pick and loads of money which might cost us Lawrence next season. You are right though there is no comparison for whom we should pursue.

Thomas is a far superior player and fills a glaring need. Important thing with him is to not overpay and have a reasonable deal before we trade for him
I would be ok with Iloka if he comes cheap because he still brings experience

Comparing those 2 is ridiculous

 

[Sydla]

Thomas is a far superior player and fills a glaring need. Important thing with him is to not overpay and have a reasonable deal before we trade for him
I would be ok with Iloka if he comes cheap because he still brings experience

Comparing those 2 is ridiculous

I don't think he's saying that Iloka is as good as Thomas. He's saying that with all things considered - cost, trade versus just sign, etc. - Iloka might make more sense or at least be more attainable.

I mean at this point, Seattle holds most of the cards now that Woods is pulled up lame......... you going to bow to their demands now? I want Thomas in the worst way too but I don't think I'd give up my first rounder for him.

 

[jterrell]

I won't be mad if DAL grabs Iloka who is a legit NFL safety but he isn't a top 30 Safety, much less top 5.

Two things jump put from the "comparison" provided.
1. Age. I am shocked they are that close in age. Feels like Earl Thomas at Texas a decade ago and Iloka was being studied for the draft a couple years back.
2. Iloka's size. He is one of the larger safeties in football. And DAL has not been leaning toward those guys. Iloka would basically be a more veteran verison of Kavon Frazier as a box safety.

DAL needs more legit NFL bodies at Safety so I'd be all in for Iloka but I am not sure he starts over Jeff Heath. And I am not sure of Heath and Iloka could play together.

Earl is a different dude. He's declining but from the best overall safety you can decline good ways and still be the best safety on this team.
The only issue I have with Earl is I am not sure I want Dallas to be the team who "takes care of him financially" in his old age.For the next year or 2 he'd be about as good a fit as you can imagine. In 3 years Woods might well be better and I don't know I'd want to be paying Thomas 10M a year when that happens. BUT, that may well be the price of doing business and DAL is in position to take on one or two deals like that given all the clean up work they've done on the cap.

 

[Sydla]

I won't be mad if DAL grabs Iloka who is a legit NFL safety but he isn't a top 30 Safety, much less top 5.

Two things jump put from the "comparison" provided.
1. Age. I am shocked they are that close in age. Feels like Earl Thomas at Texas a decade ago and Iloka was being studied for the draft a couple years back.
2. Iloka's size. He is one of the larger safeties in football. And DAL has not been leaning toward those guys. Iloka would basically be a more veteran verison of Kavon Frazier as a box safety.

DAL needs more legit NFL bodies at Safety so I'd be all in for Iloka but I am not sure he starts over Jeff Heath. And I am not sure of Heath and Iloka could play together.

Earl is a different dude. He's declining but from the best overall safety you can decline good ways and still be the best safety on this team.
The only issue I have with Earl is I am not sure I want Dallas to be the team who "takes care of him financially" in his old age.For the next year or 2 he'd be about as good a fit as you can imagine. In 3 years Woods might well be better and I don't know I'd want to be paying Thomas 10M a year when that happens. BUT, that may well be the price of doing business and DAL is in position to take on one or two deals like that given all the clean up work they've done on the cap.

People should stop pigeon holing Iloka in as just a box safety like Frazier. For the past few years he's played FS and Shawn Williams has been the SS in Cincy.

That's not to say Iloka is a really good FS. Just pointing out that I think people are looking at his size and just assuming he's a box safety that can't cover a lick.

 

[Avery]

If we really, really, really wanted ET, he would have been on this team three months ago.

Let him sit out this year and nab him as a UFA with zero payout to the Seahawks aside from a comp pick.

 

[jterrell]

People should stop pigeon holing Iloka in as just a box safety like Frazier. For the past few years he's played FS and Shawn Williams has been the SS in Cincy.

That's not to say Iloka is a really good FS. Just pointing out that I think people are looking at his size and just assuming he's a box safety that can't cover a lick.

In DAL Iloka would be a Box safety. He can not play free safety here.
He is a good man coverage guy but he is not a sideline to sideline guy in a cover 3.
He ran a 4.66 40 yard dash at the combine.
I was a box safety in college and ran a 4.65 btw.

Xavier Woods ran a 4.54 and Jeff Heath as run high 4.3s but officially listed at 4.48.

 

[Stash]

People should stop pigeon holing Iloka in as just a box safety like Frazier. For the past few years he's played FS and Shawn Williams has been the SS in Cincy.

That's not to say Iloka is a really good FS. Just pointing out that I think people are looking at his size and just assuming he's a box safety that can't cover a lick.

Yeah, that false assumption seems to be running rampant.

 

[beware_d-ware]

As others have said, I don't think there is any conflict between signing Iloka and signing Thomas.

Personally, I'd be very excited about Iloka because I feel like he's just about the perfect type of SS for this scheme. He is older but is amazingly durable (0 missed games in 5 years I think?), and box safeties tend to age well because there's not as much speed involved. I'd honestly consider signing him to a 2 or 3 year deal to be a starter for a couple years while we find an impact player.

ET is a pure FS, while Iloka is a pure SS, so there would be no competition between them for jobs. I still think the FO wants Earl Thomas here, and Earl Thomas wants to play for us, but Seattle's asking price seems to be the stopping point in negotiations. And to the FO's credit, they're playing hardball with Seattle and aren't willing to trade for ET at a price they don't think is fair. I think there's like a 70% chance that ET someday ends up wearing the Star, it's just a matter of when and what we give up for him.

I would expect to see something happen on the trade deadline - if Seattle's season goes down the tubes like a lot of pundits are saying, and you can bet that Thomas isn't going to resign with them, they will be looking to dump him on the cheap while they can still get something for him.

 

[northerncowboynation]

Position:
Thomas: Free Safety
Iloka: Strong Safety

Size:
Thomas: 5’10, 202
Iloka: 6’4” 225

2018 PFF rating:
Thomas: 90.2
Iloka: 71.4

2018 salary hit:
Thomas: $8.5 mil
Ikola: Unknown. Will be free agent. I project $2.5-3.5 mil

LongTerm Commitment to Aging Player:
Thomas more likely requires huge-dollar long-term deal.
Iloka might not require a long-term commitment. Could be one-year.

Age:
Thomas 29.2 yrs
Ikola: 28.1 yrs

Recent Durability:
Thomas: late 2016 broken leg
Ikola: Started Last 76 games

My personal preference, which counts for nothing, would be Iloka but I'm not an ET fan. I think we will also consider moving B Jones back to FS until Woods returns. I hope they look at IIloka at least and I'm in favor of leaving Jones right where he is at CB. I'll wait for management to touch base with me for my preferences

 

[jterrell]

Yeah, that false assumption seems to be running rampant.

Some people understand the scheme and others do not.
Those that do understand Iloka would be a box safety here.
This is no longer a cover 2 defense.

Put in other terms, under Richard, Xavier Woods is Earl Thomas and Iloka is Cam Chancellor.

 

[speedkilz88]

As others have said, I don't think there is any conflict between signing Iloka and signing Thomas.

Personally, I'd be very excited about Iloka because I feel like he's just about the perfect type of SS for this scheme. He is older but is amazingly durable (0 missed games in 5 years I think?), and box safeties tend to age well because there's not as much speed involved. I'd honestly consider signing him to a 2 or 3 year deal to be a starter for a couple years while we find an impact player.

ET is a pure FS, while Iloka is a pure SS, so there would be no competition between them for jobs. I still think the FO wants Earl Thomas here, and Earl Thomas wants to play for us, but Seattle's asking price seems to be the stopping point in negotiations. And to the FO's credit, they're playing hardball with Seattle and aren't willing to trade for ET at a price they don't think is fair. I think there's like a 70% chance that ET someday ends up wearing the Star, it's just a matter of when and what we give up for him.

I would expect to see something happen on the trade deadline - if Seattle's season goes down the tubes like a lot of pundits are saying, and you can bet that Thomas isn't going to resign with them, they will be looking to dump him on the cheap while they can still get something for him.

Despite his size and speed, Iloka has been a FS at Boise and with Bengals.

 

[jterrell]

My personal preference, which counts for nothing, would be Iloka but I'm not an ET fan. I think we will also consider moving B Jones back to SS until Woods returns. I hope they look at IIloka at least

DAL is very unlikely to move Byron Jones back to safety.
If they did he'd be a FS not a SS but they consider him a prototype Richard CB and he has looked the part.
With ABrown and Lewis having a harder time in this system moving Jones seems a very distant option.

 

[northerncowboynation]

DAL is very unlikely to move Byron Jones back to safety.
If they did he'd be a FS not a SS but they consider him a prototype Richard CB and he has looked the part.
With ABrown and Lewis having a harder time in this system moving Jones seems a very distant option.

I hope you're right. Jones should be left at 1 position but I have no control of those decisions, nor does any fan

 

[jterrell]

Despite his size and speed, Iloka has been a FS at Boise and with Bengals.

Yes but in Cover 2 schemes where a safety has 1 half the field or man coverage duties.
That's not what Richard does.

 

[jterrell]

I hope you're right. Jones should be left at 1 position but I have no control of those decisions, nor does any fan

I know but the guy that does is the one who took one look at BJones and said he is a CB then promoted him to starting outside CB after about 5 minutes.

 

[Stash]

Some people understand the scheme and others do not.
Those that do understand Iloka would be a box safety here.
This is no longer a cover 2 defense.

Put in other terms, under Richard, Xavier Woods is Earl Thomas and Iloka is Cam Chancellor.

I'm so glad that you feel that you're in position to speak for Kris Richard. Or what this team will do.

Some people think they know more than they do.