Donald Thomas put 355-pound Paul Soliai on his back | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Donald Thomas put 355-pound Paul Soliai on his back

Donald Thomas is a naughty boy. And I bet he's a tad cranky about practice time as well.
 
I am happy for Thomas getting healthy but what gets me just as excited is seeing a Murphy or a Andrew Gardner producing and getting it done in the backup positions so that they can step up in case of injury.
Those 3 projected starters on the interior of our offensive line have had a history of not lasting an entire season due to injuries.
Its real important that we have some good/great backups that can step in.
We have a lot more depth at all positions this year but if we are going to be a playoff caliber team we are going to have not only good/great players at the starter positions but just as importantly healthy good great backup players at all positions.
 
dlockz said:
I think in terms of raw ability he is the best of the bunch and was impressed he earned a spot last year.
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How did he last until the 6th rd last yr?
Everything I've read about him last yr and so far this yr suggests that he has the potential to be a special player. Very similar to Dwight Stephenson.
He seems to have very good strength and uncanny leverage, which is the key to being a dominant lineman.
 
jlfin said:
How did he last until the 6th rd last yr?
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He's very, very raw. Teams don't invest early picks in players who are relatively new to the game and were somewhat inconsistent in college. That said, when this kid really comes on in a couple years it's going to be exciting watching him work. The Fins could easily wind up with the best offensive line in the league.
 
ckparrothead said:
Let's not drop names like Dwight Stephenson yet. We don't even know if he's a Rex Hadnot.
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I'm referring to the early impressions of both players, not the balance of his (Stephenson) career.
Stephenson surprised people because of his exceptional strength and leverage his rookie season.
Thomas, by all accounts was raw coming out of college, but he appears to have exceptional physical ability and has displayed the ability to dominate despite his lack of experience.
 
MDFINFAN said:
I wasn't implying that Murphy wouldn't get the chance to developed, I was thinking more that if Thomas gets fully healthy, and regains his form, that he would be playing the most, and murphy probaly be a breather subsitution..I think that 4th invested in Murphy will keep him around..but if Thomas is that much ahead, you have to think he's being developed just as much or more..
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Maybe we can get his old man to suit up. He was a badass back in the day.
 
I'm impressed. Not by him doing well, but by him taking ownership of his shortcomings thus far. It seems like not only does he want to do well, but he wants to dominate and dominate all the time. You may hear an offensive lineman admit to a mistake that lead to a sack, but how often do you hear someone say they don't even want to get a holding penalty. That, my friend is manning up. The popular line of thinking is that it's better to get a holding penalty than to give up a sack. Donald Thomas doesn't seem to be willing to concede either. I love it.
 
jlfin said:
How did he last until the 6th rd last yr?
Everything I've read about him last yr and so far this yr suggests that he has the potential to be a special player. Very similar to Dwight Stephenson.
He seems to have very good strength and uncanny leverage, which is the key to being a dominant lineman.
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His lack of experience and he had not been elite in college.
 
Man i hope this guy can stay healthy because last year in preseason and the first game he was awesome...just so strong at the point of attack. He was my favorite new player last year.

I love the way he's critical of himself...it shows he has a great desire to be better.
 
phinphan4life said:
I'm impressed. Not by him doing well, but by him taking ownership of his shortcomings thus far. It seems like not only does he want to do well, but he wants to dominate and dominate all the time. You may hear an offensive lineman admit to a mistake that lead to a sack, but how often do you hear someone say they don't even want to get a holding penalty. That, my friend is manning up. The popular line of thinking is that it's better to get a holding penalty than to give up a sack. Donald Thomas doesn't seem to be willing to concede either. I love it.
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i couldnt have said it better myself :up:
 
ChambersWI said:
Thomas was, and is, still very raw at football. Since he walked on at UCONN after never really playing football, and was a TE/Wedge buster his first couple of years. So growth for him is still probable
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Isn't that a scary proposition for opposing D Linemen? I can still remember him flattening guys in preseason last year and blocking two guys in one play.

You do remember how dominant our run game was in preseason right? They were killing people. But, everyone wrote it off as preseason.

I was watching Thomas and Long a lot. I knew it was more than just preseason. Let's hope Thomas can stay on the field.

This could be a very fun year regardless of the schedule.
 
Don't be so quick to discount Murphy, he had a ridiculous amount of pancakes in college. That is why we drafted him in the 4th. I still think Thomas is the guy but I really think Murphy is much better now than most on this board are giving him credit for. He is good enough that he is still getting a lot of reps with the 1st team out there, not stuck back with the scrubs.
 
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