Nice! Wish I could get the link to load on my iPhone but it won't work. If Thomas turns out to be good at the NFL level I'll be thrilled. Too bad I bought a Ronnie Brown jersey last season.
Daniel Thomas, right now, is a huge key to our season, if things break right he is 40% or more of the offense.
Just for people to see again. [video=youtube;wOFL3FwAhpg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOFL3FwAhpg[/video] [video=youtube;_zJcQnti68s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zJcQnti68s[/video]
God, his blockers were dreadful at K-State, or the O was telegraphing run plays. Hopefully this team can do better by him.
He's pretty reckless the way he holds the ball. But he doesn't take many false steps, and he has very good vision.
I wouldn't go as far as Padre does. RB's are such an interchangeable piece these days that I wouldn't be surprised if it was Lex or one of the undrafted who came up and played well.
What I like about Thomas is his slashing ability, that will serve him really well when the games matter. As for Lexxy, who knows? Sparano maybe doesn't like his game, maybe he does, do think you want him out on the edge of the defense and not between the tackles.
Yep, that is a part of the slashing ability, what he needs to learn is when to drop his shoulder when he is about to engage contact, that can be taught but the fluid hips and change of direction is noticeable.
Ireland likes Lexxy so I think we will see quite a bit of him in the preseason at least. I find it strange though that the only time in 3 seasons this team threw the ball to a back was when Lexxy was on the field.
the super cynicism is funny at first, but it's starting to take away from reading other people's posts. We had an awful Oline (interior) and old RBs. Our Oline is better, our RBs are younger, and IMO will have a good season.
Well I like his game, but -0- carries in 2010 when R+R were not producing means something you know? I hope we keep him as to me he showed well in 09 and he plays ST.
If Thomas really is 40% of our Offense this season, then yeah. Because even if he does exceptionally well, we will only have 60% of our Offense in the last 3-4 games when the rookie hits the wall. It's the problem with putting all your eggs in a rookie's basket. And Bush? Well, we know how durable Bush is; he's likely to be on IR long before then. Then what? Street free agent in the last quarter of the season? Smartest guys in the NFL, these guys.
Agree Wish they got Bradshaw but I guess two OL for depth tingles their toes...... They'd be nuts to not resign Ronnie but then I'd probably be more shock if they did...... You know I want to think they have some kind of plan thats going to surprise us and give us some weapons to score and realize it's just wishful thinking and has no substance in reality..but way down deep still have a spark of hope more like a flicker which in another few days will be gone with the rest of the few talented FA who could actually put some point's on the board...... Why do they not want one or two top shelf playmakers on offense? For the life of me I can't figure it out... Wouldn't be surprised to see this team unravel early like the end of last year.....
This all reminds me of the Pat White fiasco, when a lot of the same people defending this meathead offseason were defending that meathead move, saying that they knew something the rest of us didn't.
I guess I need to watch more of him then. Most of the footage I have seen is him leaning into a tackle, not lowering his pads. I just worry about injuries with his running style. It reminds me of Eddie George, not saying that's entirely bad, but I would like to see more than five to six years out of the man. I guess I should clarify a bit. When I say lowering his pads, to me that means trying to put a hit on the defender, not just trying to absorb a tackle.
Did anybody else see the title of this thread and think of Zach, or wish it was Earl, or was relieved it wasn't Donald?
Agree 100%. I'm pretty surprised how many seem to actually support going into the season with the rook and Reggie Bush as our only legitimate backs...... and Thomas can hardly be considered legitimate as he's yet to put on NFL pads yet. LOL. We absolutely have to and I believe we will bring in a vet back. I think they are taking their time as there is a glut of RB's on the market and the teams in desire of one are slowly diminishing. I think we'll be able to easily sign Ricky Williams back yet I'd rather have R. Brown come to his senses from a lack of interest and come back to us at a significant discount. Bush is still an option I would think and Cedric Benson is still out there. I just cannot believe they are crazy enough to go into the season with this thin of a backfield especially considering they preach a run first mentality. Oh and for those of you out there that will respond that "I guess we should just go out and sign the entire All Pro team" I'll state that not one vet RB mentioned is an All Pro, just a solid vet.
Well we headed into 05 with a similar situation, only RW was coming back from his pot fueled spiritual journey to Tibet, and Ronnie B coming in as a rook. Only real difference is Saban still had the "halo" of being poached from the NCAA.
Benson signed a deal with Cincy, so he's not an option. Cadillac Williams is an option, but he also has a history of injuries.
With all due respect Pad's this post doesn't even give a legitimate response. 2005 was similar because we had a rookie coming in but not similar in that we did have the presence of a talented vet to pair with him. R. Williams regardless of his past soul searching did in fact come back and fill a rotation with the rookie Ronnie Brown. We are missing that right now which is the concern. So no..... the situation isn't similar at all. Not yet anyway.
Come on, objectively RW coming off of a yr long MJ binge around the globe figured to be primed to have a good season? And with Gus Frerotte at Qb?
I like Clinton Portis Conu, think he does the things we need from a Vet back, limit negative plays, blitz pickups, things such as that are what I had in mind anyway.
this thread title is pretty misleading, i thought he was tearing it up in practice after i read that, we already knew the rest besides maybe that regie bush was his idol in HS
Thanks bro. Great job on those vids. In the first vid, he really doesn't show a lot of power, which is a bit worrisome and as others have said, he doesn't lower his pads and drop his shoulder much. He does take good angles and is a decisive runner and does manage to break a lot of arm tackles, etc. That OL was bad. His versatility is obvious, which is probably a big reason for why they drafted him. I think he showed a lot more power in the second vid. You could see him push the pile at times and drive through some tackles. He also appears to have really good, natural receiving abilities. That one screen or check-down pass when he broke it big was sweet. I think he can be a good, versatile back. It's just with him being a 230lb RB, I wish he'd show bit more power. We know he's versatile, but we're going to need some power as well. Maybe we'll go serious RB by committee and throw some Lexy in there.
Just remember that this will be his 3rd year as a running back. He has some good innate qualities like the fact he starts on the right foot and his vision is better than you'd think. But, he doesn't naturally shift that ball over, and as you said his body lean can leave a little to be desired, but he does have some talent. The body lean IMO comes from him not truly being used to running low. Personally, I like the fact that he is quick in the backfield, he doesn't take long to slide his frame, which given his length is a big plus. To me he's quicker behind the line than Ronnie ever was.
Much of the difference you saw may have been due to opponent. Nebraska in the 1st and UCLA in the 2nd.
As I mentioned before I think his lower body has gotten significantly stronger in Miami. He didn't have a true RB build.