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No love for Daniel Thomas

Fins1971

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I really don't understand the hate that Daniel Thomas receives from this sites posters.


The guy was a key part of us scoring TD's in the Red Zone over the last 2 years.
He gets critical yards on the goal-line when no blocking is there.

He was a late 2nd round pick that came to a team with offensive line problems.
What did you expect for him to lead the league in rushing?

I think he has done quite well considering the team he is playing on and the blocking he receives.

Lets compare his production to other backs taken early in the 2011 draft

Round, Pick, Player, Results

1, 28, Mark Ingram, 295 touches, 1151 yards from scrimage, 10 TD's
2, 38, Ryan Williams, 65 touches, 208 yards from scrimage, 0 TD's
2, 56, Shane Vareen, 85 touches, 457 yards from scrimage, 5 TD's
2, 57, Mikel LeShoure, 249 touches, 1012 yards from scrimage, 9 TD's
2, 62, Daniel Thomas, 283 touches, 1134 yards from scrimage, 5 TD's
3, 71, Demarco Murray, 385 touches, 1990 yards from scrimage, 6 TD's
3, 93, Stevan Ridley, 386 touches, 1768 yards from scrimage, 13 TD's
3, 96, Alex Green, 157 touches, 606 yards from scrimage, 0 TD's
4, 105, Roy Helo, 209 touches, 1066 yards from scrimage, 3 TD's
4, 115, Kendall Hunter, 209 touches, 1099 yeard from scrimage, 4 TD's

So, Thomas being the 5th back taken in the draft has the 4th most yards, and 5th most TD's playing on a team with bad blocking.
And we have him under contract for the next 2 years on the cheap.

He is part of the solution for the next few years and not the problem. He is not going anywhere so get used to him being a Fin.



 
No hate here but concussion issues already and I think I remember him putting a couple of balls on the ground as well. He had a few good games and he's shown some ability picking up some tough yards but I'm not expecting much.
 
One word: Fumbles.

Also, nothing ever stands out about DT. He isn't terrible, but he isn't a great back either...he's just, there. When Lamar Miller was in the game this past season, I could feel a certain potential electricity for a big play. With DT, I've never felt that way in two years... I would be perfectly fine with Miller as a starter in the upcoming season. I can't say I would feel that way if DT was starting.
 
One word: Fumbles

Daniel Thomas had 5 fumbles
Ridley has 5 fumbles.
Murray has 4 fumbles.
LeShoure has 3 fumbles.
Hunter has 2 fumbles
Ingram has 2 fumbles.

DT is right there with all the other back on fumbles. 1 fumble every 57 touches.

A couple of those fumbles were on hits that causes a fumble no matter who is carrying.
He was knocked out on one of them.
 
Daniel Thomas had 5 fumbles
Ridley has 5 fumbles.
Murray has 4 fumbles.
LeShoure has 3 fumbles.
Hunter has 2 fumbles
Ingram has 2 fumbles.

DT is right there with all the other back on fumbles. 1 fumble every 57 touches.

A couple of those fumbles were on hits that causes a fumble no matter who is carrying.
He was knocked out on one of them.

Unfortunately for a team like ours compared to those other teams, OUR fumbles are MAGNIFIED! We cannot afford any T/O! Also for a "power back" I have yet to see the power!
 
I think most peoples gripe with DT is that Ireland moved up to get him and he isn't setting the league on fire...

I agree with Phinzfan21, no problem here... I also agree with MarionEqualsGod, DT really doesn't stand out, however sometimes a battling ram running back put in on goal line and short yardage aren't always supposed to stand out unless they have a ridiculous amount of TD's for the fantasy football heads out there.

all that said, he does have 2 years left on his rookie contract, he should stay just based on that alone. But I really don't see him in any bigger role then he already has.
 
You say he's done well on a team with bad blocking but in two seasons he has 256 carries for 906 yards (3.5 ypc) and 4 rushing TDs. Behind that same line Reggie Bush (who everyone said couldn't run between the tackles...myself included) has 443 carries for 2072 yards (4.7 ypc) and 12 rushing TDs. Lamar Miller in his rookie season 51 carries for 250 yards (4.9 ypc) and 1 rushing TD. So if the blocking is bad how is it that two other running backs behind the same line can average more than a full yard per carry better than Thomas? 3.5 ypc is awful, the NFL league average is 4.1 ypc.
 
Thomas has done nothing special thus far. I wouldn't call it hate, just the realization that he struggles to do the things well that he was praised for coming out of college.
 
You say he's done well on a team with bad blocking but in two seasons he has 256 carries for 906 yards (3.5 ypc) and 4 rushing TDs. Behind that same line Reggie Bush (who everyone said couldn't run between the tackles...myself included) has 443 carries for 2072 yards (4.7 ypc) and 12 rushing TDs. Lamar Miller in his rookie season 51 carries for 250 yards (4.9 ypc) and 1 rushing TD. So if the blocking is bad how is it that two other running backs behind the same line can average more than a full yard per carry better than Thomas? 3.5 ypc is awful, the NFL league average is 4.1 ypc.

And THAT, is DA TRUTH!!!
 
You say he's done well on a team with bad blocking but in two seasons he has 256 carries for 906 yards (3.5 ypc) and 4 rushing TDs. Behind that same line Reggie Bush (who everyone said couldn't run between the tackles...myself included) has 443 carries for 2072 yards (4.7 ypc) and 12 rushing TDs. Lamar Miller in his rookie season 51 carries for 250 yards (4.9 ypc) and 1 rushing TD. So if the blocking is bad how is it that two other running backs behind the same line can average more than a full yard per carry better than Thomas? 3.5 ypc is awful, the NFL league average is 4.1 ypc.

That is not very good logic, When you are getting most of your carries when its 3rd and 1 or on the goal line you are not going to gain a high yard per carry.
 
That is not very good logic, When you are getting most of your carries when its 3rd and 1 or on the goal line you are not going to gain a high yard per carry.


Show your proof that DT got most of his carries when it was those two scenarios. Calling a little BS on that one, sorry.
 
That is not very good logic, When you are getting most of your carries when its 3rd and 1 or on the goal line you are not going to gain a high yard per carry.

That's exactly my problem though. I don't want a short yardage back to be my primary starter. He has had a few opportunities to be the featured back due to injury or other reasons and he hasn't 'wowed' many people. He's a decent back, but not someone I would want to carry the load. As another poster said, let him finish his contract out. If he doesn't make improvements in the next two years, part ways with him...
 
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