What in the hell is wrong with him, former first round pick, benched through career behind John Abraham, which wasnt his fault, John was already established. And he never got a full season under his belt, how do you know he can't be something good.
I always enjoy reading incoherent posts. I know someone is either more drunk, or just more stupid than I am.
How do we know he cant be something good? Are you kidding? With all the injuries Abe has had in the past, Thomas has had plenty of chances to show his worth, no excuses. You play your way into the line up, he played his way out. Besides, the only reason he ever played is because of an injury to Abe or Ellis. He cant rush the passer, and is only an average run stopper at best. Did you catch any Jets games the past few years? IMHO he's a bust, a first round blunder and will never be an elite player in this league. But since I have said this, he will be cut by the Jets, will go to N.E. and become an instant super star with BB. LOL
im pretty sure vilmafan is 13 years old... he posted that he plays pop werner in one of his other threads... don't tear the kid's head off.
He Has Potential Ever since the John Abraham trade, fans in general are afraid for our lack of talent at Defensive End/Outside Linebacker. With the loss of The Predator, the Jets lose one of the best pass rushers in the league and a playmaker. His success was eminent and I wish him well in his new endeavor in Atlanta. His success here will hopefully be continued through our current players. *********************************************************************** (Watch out Jerome) Bryan "Head Hunter" Thomas (nickname from High School) Position: Defensive End/Outside Linebacker College: Alabama-Birmingham Height: 6-4 Weight: 266 Hometown: Birmingham, Ala. I want to dispel the notion that the NY Jets have lost its only pass rusher. The infamous Bryan Thomas, though raw, will adequately replace John Abraham at the Right Defensive End position. More commonly known as ?the bastard who we picked instead of Ed Reed,? Thomas has amazing athletic ability. He was stronger, faster, taller, and heavier coming out at 2002 than John Abraham was coming out at 2000. In fact, he is faster and stronger presently than he ever has been. As stated above Bryan Thomas has all the measureables you look for in the prototypical defensive end. He is around 6?4? and now 275 lbs. (the stats above are his combine numbers). He ran a 4.47 second Forty Yard Dash, defeating Abraham?s previous time of 4.52 seconds. He also lifted 225 lbs. a whopping 33 times!!! Just for the people who do not understand these numbers, that is two repetitions less than Mario Williams and equivalent to Vernon Davis?s numbers. Hell, let me just give you his combine numbers so you believe me. AGILITY TESTS 4.47 in the 40-yard dash ? 2.61 in the 20-yard dash ? 1.6 in the 10-yard dash ? 4.01 in the 20-yard shuttle ? 34.5-inch vertical jump ? Bench presses 225 pounds 33 times ? 550-pound squat ? 33 ?-inch arm length ? 9-inch hands. If that isn?t a specimen I don?t know what is. Anyway to continue with my analysis, Bryan Thomas is a prototype. He is exactly what you want from a pass rusher. The picture above is not helpful enough but think Jason Taylor physique. Now to the analysis of his game type play I evaluate Defensive End/Rush Line Backers with the following in mind *No particular order, it is very hard to judge a DE/OLB trait importance. You need to be complete 1. Burst (Acceleration) 2. Agility (Cut Back Inside) 3. Strength (Ability to Keep Offensive Lineman away from chest, Ability to Bull Rush, Shedding) 4. Tackling 5. Read/Recognition 6. Gain Leverage (Run Game) 7. Size (Measureables) 8. Pursuit 1. Bryan Thomas is the perfect burst player. He shows a tremendous first step quickly getting outside or inside depending on his gap responsibility. He ran his 20 yard dash in 2.61 seconds which is fast enough for a WR. He closes to the QB moving into him which crunching force. 2. He has a very good shuttle time (4.01 seconds) but he does have trouble moving inside after the initial outside step due to shedding. He also has good lateral movement to the flats during his short time at OLB at UAB. If in open space, he can probably defeat any offensive lineman with ease. 3. He has great arm strength with long arms, keeping offensive lineman away from his chest. He also can bull rush with his amazing core strength in his quads and back. He gets leverage often in pass situations due to this burst, pushing offensive lineman back and creating more room to move to the gap and reach the Quarterback. His main problem with strength is shedding. He has a torrid time trying to get away from Offensive Lineman who grabs his chest. If he is locked out, he will not get the Quarterback, it?s that simple. The corresponding problem is that he is so aware of his weakness that he wastes time protecting it. He has to learn to use his monster arms better. In the NFL, OT?s will lock on with much more ease than in college and they are athletic enough to move with him. 4. He has great crunching force on the QB, causing fumbles and injuries but he has terrible form tackling. He tackles with his arms rather than body. He also arm tackles the thighs going too low to get a proper grip of the player. He has slipped of many running backs where he could make impact plays. 5. He is TERRIBLE in this portion of the game. He has terrible recognition of pass or run and will also move incorrectly taking himself out of the play. If he ever wants to play OLB, he better improve on this aspect of the game. Known to take bite on play fakes and play action. Once he knows what is happening he can get back into position quite quickly but his mistakes are so large that it is very difficult to get him self back into the play. 6. He has very good leverage in the run game as running games are usually aiming to run through gaps rather than lineman but he has troubles similar to Abraham where he cannot gain leverage straight through on running situations directed right at him (In running situations, OT?s go forward easily reaching their target while on passing situations DE have creativity to get to the QB). He is surprisingly good against runs to the outside which is interesting considering that he has trouble shedding. It shows he has all the ability but lacks instinct. Another interesting note is that ever since he has been a pro he has greatly improved in this aspect of his game. 7. Size See above. He has a prototype size?what else can you ask for? 8. He has a great motor and is always fired up. With respect on this team as a veteran he can greatly increase his leadership role. As we can see above he has all the potential in the world and is yet to put it into a complete package. His talent is very rare and if harnessed correctly he can really be a playmaker. He is a good kid who wants to get better. A Mangini type for sure. He should do well as the weak side (RDE) in the 4-3 system while being a great ?rush backer? in the 3-4 system. We have seen the flashes, all we need is consitency. Here are some interesting quotes?. ?He has natural pass rush ability, which is something that of all the ends in the draft, our coaches felt he was the most natural of the group,? (Terry Bradway) He has great speed,? said Dick Haley, the Jets? director of player personnel who will retire after this draft. ?And, he?s naturally strong, and he?s quick and has good rush moves. He?s got the tools and he uses them. He?s a dedicated player. Everything was positive coming out. He ran a blazing time at Indianapolis (NFL Combine). He strained a muscle, but came back and was able to work out for us after that. Any time you run 4.5 or under at Indianapolis, you?re one of the fast guys there.? (Dick Haley) ?Might be a Steelers Rush Linebacker? (Pro Football Weekly) Thoughts? :feedback: For Further Information: Pro Football Weekly Analysis NYJ Website Article PFW Article NFL Sports XChange Prospect Profile
potential? A word to describe the underachiever. Bottom line on Thomas is this--Herm and Dumbway were shocked at his first jet practice when reserve greybeard Jumbo Ellliot threw him around like a rag doll. Only Dumbway would have picked this guy over Reed. Dumbway realized his error and then filled the "need" at safety with his next pick in the same draft--Jon McGraw. He worked out good too.
Bryan Thomas is garbage. he's had his chance, he'll never amount to anything, with Abe injured a lot Thomas could have stepped in and shown what he could do. Instead he showed nothing, I hope he doesnt see the field much next year.
He was never recognized in practice.....He is the type of player you have to live with coming out of the draft. You have to go through the pains and give him special recognition in practice....Playing behind Abraham and Ellis leads me to believe that Thomas was never taught much in his first few years.... JMO
I think he can develop into a good Pass rushing DE when Kimo retires. He had 58 tackles and 1 sack in 03. in 04 he had 41 tackles and 1.5 sacks. in 05 he had 40 tackles and 3.5 sacks i think he will play RE in 4-3 and he will sit out in 3-4 plays. 4-3: Thomas, Kimo, Robertson, Ellis 3-4: Kimo, Robertson, Ellis
every single pro-thomas post on this thread has had the word 'can'. The fact is he is not longer a rookie or a second year player. At this point in most players career they are considered Vets. Of Course Thomas can become a good player, if he didnt have potential he wouldnt have been drafted in the first round, but the fact is, he hasnt done anything in his career and thats what we have to base our evaluation of him on.
He has had more tackles than kimo in the last past 3 years. and he had the same amount of sacks as kimo did last year.
They played in different systems though, Kimo's system in the 3-4 didnt allow for him to get sacks and rack up tackles, he had to be more of a clog on the line. In the 4-3 if your a good d-end you'll get your sacks. thomas didnt get them and he never will, as soon as his contract is up he will probably leave.
There have been occasions where he has looked good and now that Abe has gone (for good and not injury) this is his chance to be a starter. The times when he hasn't looked seem to reflect in his own confidence in his abilty. I wish him good luck for next season because I believe he will come good given a run of games and change of formation
Its this year or never for Bryan, he needs to shine with Mangini or in my opinion, he'll be history. The shame of it is though, I think he does have potential.
What bugs me about people's opinion of Bt is the fact that absolutely no one would have anything bad to say about him if he wasn't taken in the 1st round. Is he a superstar? Absolutely not and he most likely will never be one. But has he contributed within the fact that when he's been called upon he has not been a liability on the field? Absolutely. He's truthfully a very good run defender at the end position, and although he's not the speed rusher/playmaker we thought he'd be, he does do a very good job of collapsing the pocket for others to penetrate. I'm not making any excuses for the prior regime. BT was a horrible 1st round pick. Our team had a ton of other needs and their were far better players on the board at the time. BT's failure to become a playmaker furthers that notion. But I'm from the school of thought that you can't look back and dwell on past draft day blunders when trying to form roles for player's on a roster. BT brings aot of positive things to the table and has been a very good back-up. Be happy that we have/have had a player w/ alot of athleticism to back-up our 2 elite ends for the past 3-4 seasons. Now, what we have is a player that could potentially bring alot of wonderful things to the table as an OLB in the 3-4. BT has tremendous size and speed for the position, and what held him back as a pass rushing end(lack of initial quickness) will not be an issue at OLB as he will no longer be in a 3-point stance and can concentrate on using his speed to rush up field rather than trying to explode out of his stance which is a weakness of his. I recall 2 seasons ago when DH was experimenting w/ the 3-4 during the preseason, when BT was put at the OLB position. He was making plays all over the field. I recall others raving about him during that same preseason, from what he was doing at that spot in mini-camp. Furthermore,Mangini comes from the school of thought that is meant to use schemes that implement player's strengths. Let's wait and see what he does w/ BT's size, speed and athleticism. We could really be looking at a diamond in the rough here...and I think BT is gonna surprise a few people.
