...happy. Apparently.
Piece by Abramson.
Your thoughts - has he been better than expected?
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he has been pretty good so far, hope it carries over to the regular season.
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If he can somehow become an effective player for us it will be quite a turnaround. Last season it looked like a miracle couldn't save this guy, but he is certainly making me a believer. We'll see once it truly matters.
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PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member
Ya it would appear the young man has improved. Not gonna call for a pro-bowl or anything, but moderate to good improvement is all we can ask.
It's just so hard to get over what McCoy did to him last year... -
MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member
He now appears to be a serviceable left guard, and if he is just left alone and not continually moved around we should be good enough there with him.
unluckyluciano and Da 'Fins like this. -
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Dallas Thomas should have been good. Was probably the best player on that Tennessee line and had/has the tools needed to be a good player. For whatever reason, they never coalesced into even a serviceable NFL player. Maybe he turns out to be a poor, and I mean destitute, man's Mike Webster who took a while to really become that good player.
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Well, in the past we've cut players like Evan Mathis, Wade Smith, and Donald Thomas... all of which turned out to be very good players elsewhere a little later in their careers with some patience.
Hopefully the same situation is playing out with Dallas Thomas... -
Generally speaking, offensive linemen get a raw deal. They do. I mean, they could have 9 plays where they block their guy fairly well, where they "win." Yet it's that one play where you drop your head and the defender goes around you like you're standing still... he then sacks the qb and that leads to a turnover and that's all that most fans remember. I'm not saying Dallas Thomas is turning the corner for us just yet. But why can't we be happy with him from tonight's game? Why can't we be happy if he progresses from here into a fine starter?
Puka-head and Clark Kent like this. -
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PhinFan1968 To 2020, and BEYOND! Club Member
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No OL is perfect, aside from Anthony Munoz in his prime, they will get beaten.
My issue with Thomas is he plays confused and out of balance to often, he is as big as a house if he could ever learn to set his *** DOWN and play over his feet and be aggressive he can play much much better
Will Bill the Dolphins 20k for this advice LOL2socks, Bpk and dolfndav34 like this. -
I am really pulling for him, and he has taken some strides in his game, but I hope he is talking this way after game 3 against the Bills.
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk -
He seems to have taken the exact opposite mental approach to what we saw with Martin....if nothing else, that's a great sign. He hears the noise and he's fighting to be better because he understands (correctly) that good play is the only win-win scenario for him, his coaches, his team and its fans.
Personally, I don't think Thomas was entirely bad last year. I said that before. He was inconsistent, which in terms of O-linemen is read as "bad" by fans who take the cynical view and only notice the negatives. Fact is, he played relatively well in the game against Denver in which the team scored 35. He can be a good player and everyone should realize that. As others have said, the flashes are there and he's got the physical potential in him. It's no different than any young player. He's got to be more consistent and I credit the coaches with understanding that position stability is going to be a big part of that.
So far this year, Dallas Thomas has been a lot better than people feared he might be. He's looked, dare I say, solid. That doesn't mean he's elite, but he's not the pure liability he's been painted as and he may not have ever been that in fairness. If he continues to develop, the team will have won a very big battle and will have found a diamond in the rough. -
OL's deadliest "sin" is to allow instant pressure, Thomas was the master of doing exactly that DGreg.
When an offensive lineman is not even a speed bump, they should be replacedBpk likes this. -
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Look. The player I have seen this preseason based solely on results is far better than what he has been in the past. Lets be honest, the guy has sucked hard the last two years. Thus far in the preseason at least he has been good enough where I am not as worried about him at left guard. He was even serviceable last night at left tackle.
I hope it is not a mirage and he really is improving as much as it seems. -
MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member
Mike Webster was behind a very good veteran center his first two seasons. Beginning in his 3rd season he took over as the starter and stayed there for well over 200 games. Different situation than Thomas now. -
I thought he played alright. I was expecting disaster, like last season when he started at RT. Overall, it wasn't too shabby of a performance, albeit against a rookie Vic Beasly.
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Expecting that a young player coming into the NFL--one that is attempting to changing positions--isn't going to make mistakes is just not reasonable. It's intellectually dishonest to hold those kinds of standards and to call for 1-year starters to be replaced with expensive free agents on the basis that they looked immature. You could build an O-line of first rounders and it will still look like a bunch of young guys at times--because that's what it would be. Well, Dallas Thomas--at times--has looked like a young player out there, sometimes allowing immediate pressure. But to say that was always who he was, even during last season, is a flat out lie. It's a fan-driven agenda which is sustained for the sake of saving face and which was originally enacted to in hopes of selling the argument that certain FAs should be signed or particular college players drafted.
But that's the problem with forums. With nothing else to complain about, fans type over and over and over and over how they don't like certain guys. If you express the same things time and time again, sooner or later even the person saying them will take them as gospel. After months of that, the player's image is so beaten down, no one dares stand up to defend him and say, 'hey, this guy is developing, give him a chance.'
It's not a good look for Dolphins fans that they so consistently belittle so many of the young, developing guys on the roster. Fans are going to have to learn a little patience. There are 3 first round picks on this O-line...it's perfect natural that someone like Dallas Thomas is working to be one of the mid-rounders that fills it out.
Thomas is not there yet. But neither is Tannehill. This is a team that's trying to grow into something. We give Tannehill all the chances in the world and make excuses about how he plays in the tough AFC East and how Luck plays in the easy AFC South. Okay...why aren't we extending those same excuses to Dallas Thomas who has to face pretty brutal AFC East defensive linemen?
That's BS.
Do no rely on fans in a forum to give you a fair analysis of players--even ones on the very team that root for. They will celebrate some and torch others because it's tradition.gunn34 and Piston Honda like this. -
Piston Honda likes this.
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[video=twitter;638004339513163776]https://twitter.com/NFLFilmStudy/status/638004339513163776[/video]
[video=twitter;638005262130003968]https://twitter.com/NFLFilmStudy/status/638005262130003968[/video]
[video=twitter;638005790419324928]https://twitter.com/NFLFilmStudy/status/638005790419324928[/video]
[video=twitter;638006374002225152]https://twitter.com/NFLFilmStudy/status/638006374002225152[/video]
He also had a false start on the second series which resulted in having to punt.Clark Kent, Bpk, MikeHoncho and 1 other person like this. -
See, this is what irks me. Taking two plays from an entire half, blowing them up to breathe life into a dying narrative. Jawaun James was smoked and nearly got Moore killed on the final drive in the first half. Where's the GIF of rhat? Where's the GIF of Thomas doing an expert job pulling out and nailing his defender twice on the same play?
This Wharton guy is a clown. Trolling a young Dolphin to get a few cheap hits for himself. Thomas was playing LT for the first time since preseason game one in his rookie season, yeah he had a couple bad plays. Surprise surprise. Fact remains a lot of blowhards were talking about benching Tannehill bc Thomas was at LT. Was Tannehill even touched once in that game? Meanwhile Matt Ryan had to be yanked early bc Miami's DL was about ready to take his head off. But yeah, let's zoom in on Dallas Thomas.
What passes for journalism these days is a joke.gunn34 likes this. -
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Dallas Thomas is trash. Can't move his damn feet in pass protect, and can't move a shopping cart in run blocking.
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**** you, man.
lol.
See? Not negative at all! -
Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member
I think Thomas has improved. He still gets burned. But, he's better than he was. Seems to be improving.
I think a big factor going forward will be his having some good games and improving confidence. The more confident he becomes the better he will play.
He had a bad play last night (but he was at LT). Overall, I thought he performed well.
It will be interesting to see if they think he is the next best LT out there and if they will play him there the first couple of games over Fox. I'd really prefer for him to play OG.
The deeper concern is Turner. U-G-L-Y ... -
MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member
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IMO Thomas has been good at G. I would say he was still a below average LT (which is a huge improvement from the train wreck he was at RT last year). I think Tannehill covered up how weak our OL was last night. I'm comfortable with him at LG going forward.
Tin Indian, gunn34, Bpk and 1 other person like this.
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