Commentary: Zach is Still the Man | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Commentary: Zach is Still the Man

i think everyone gets into this hes not a prototypical LB for saban, blah blah... but every coach wants good players... drew brees isn't your prototype QB but plenty of teams would take him cause hes shown he can perform... barry sanders wasn't your prototypical RB but he could definately play for any team and they would have loved to have him...

point is saban wants those bigger kind of LBers because he feels those are the most successful, but if you have a guy who doesn't fit that mold but is still successful he'll be more than happy to keep him on board...
 
What people also forget is that Zach was injured a good bit of the year. He had something crazy like 50 more tackles than the next closest person before he went down with his injury. If you take his average tackles per game and add in what he would have averaged over those games, you get 178 tackles (he averaged 11 per game and missed 3 games) which is actually 22 better than his previous best in 2002 with 156. Also consider that last years high was 152, and you can see that had Zach played a full season he could have easily been the league leader in tackles by more than 20 tackles. I have no doubt in my mind that Zach would have been starting in his 6th pro bowl last year had he not gotten injured.
 
Finally some one else sees it my way. I was getting sick to my stomach that so many people had throw him to the side. I well written observation. yes hes gettting older but we all are one day at a time. I hope he can switch his workouts, get on Seau's and Play even longer and retire as a Dolphin.
 
inFINSible said:
I meant his entire playing career. PCOW, sorry. :D

NP, but what's PCOW? I'm a nerd, but I don't think I've come across that particular net-acronym.
 
dolphan98 said:
That's a good point to make Muck. I agree with the article. Zach has been and still is the most important player on the defensive side of the ball. The defence hasn't been the same when he has been forced to miss games. The Tenessee game a couple of years ago is a good example. The only thing I take issue with is saying Olindo Mare has been one of our best players year in and year out. To me that doesn't make any sense. The last couple of years his field goal kicking has gone significantly downhill and he has missed some key kicks. Other than that good article.



Dude, you stole my thunder on this one....I couldn't agree with you more or said this better myself. Olindo Mare is one of the highest paid Kickers in the league and he is just not worth it. He either takes a pay cut, gets traded or cut one of those three scenerios. As far as Zach goes he is still one of the best LB in the league, we should keep him. I would hate to see him go.
 
Actually... looking over the game logs to refresh my memory Zach was injured very early in the San Fran game (he had 0 tackles). If you want to strike that from his game log, he averaged 12 a game in 12 games... giving him an even more impressive total of 193 for the season (almost 40 tackles more than the second closest player... just about where he was before the injury).

Zach is not done. If he didn't prove last year that he could play without two big tackles funneling plays to him... well then there's no pleasing you people. Zach Thomas will flourish this year more so than he did last year. I don't care if he's 2 inches shorter and 10 pounds lighter than your every day "Saban" linebacker... he's got one thing that Saban has emphasized even more than measurables: heart, scrappyness, and overachieving.

Thomas is the poster boy for what Saban wants this defense to accomplish. He overachieves. He wasn't supposed to be big enough or fast enough.... but he overachieved and did what he wasn't supposed to be able to do. That is what Saban wants from our team, and what he will get from Zach. Guaranteed.
 
Hes over 30, hes got a huge contract, he cant stay healthy through a year as he wears down, and he doesnt fit the new system...If im not mistaken after this year he'll be the same age as when the Chargers let Seau go. IF Zach's willing to take a paycut after this year thats the only way i see him staying.
 
Everyone points to "number of tackles" to base their case for or against ZT. The number of tackles is only a small part of what is relative to ZT's on field performance.

ZT is a great effort player, a student of the game and a pro.... meaning he understands and makes the sacrifices to be the best player and pro he can be.

That said, he is a very limited player.... yes he makes a lot of tackles, many of which are 3-5 yards (or more) down field. He does not shed blocks, yes he uses his speed and smarts to get to the ball but to be a complete player you have to be able to shed blocks in the NFL. He is only adequate in coverage, yes he makes the tackle after the reception, he does not defend many passes.

He is not a dominate player. He can be "game planned" which we see every time the Jets come to town. He is a systems player, a damned good one but a limited systems player none the less.

He is a limited leader, he has not shown the ability to fuse the defense into one unit... for the most part it's been a bunch of talented individuals playing on the same field.

If you look at the big games through-out the years, games where it was all on the line, ZT was delegated to just being a player and not a force.

ZT is what he is... a systems player that has maximized his abilities to perform at a very high level on a consistant basis.... but he is not a difference maker

This is not meant to be a knock on ZT.... I guess the best compliment I can add is I would like my son to play with the effort and passion that ZT displays every time out.

I respect what he has done but really don't buy into the media and fan hype over ZT's abilities... but I certainly appreciate the way he plays and goes about his job.
 
stan marino said:
Hes over 30, hes got a huge contract, he cant stay healthy through a year as he wears down, and he doesnt fit the new system...If im not mistaken after this year he'll be the same age as when the Chargers let Seau go. IF Zach's willing to take a paycut after this year thats the only way i see him staying.

good debate amoung you guys, but bottom line, this year will give us more perspective on Zach's future, he's had a great run here in Miami, if anything, it will be more his age than anything that will dictate his future in Miami, along with his play this year. Zach has been a tackling monster since he's been here. His smart is second to none, he does overachieve and the pro bowls only punciate that. He's a player, reguardless of size, he's got heart.
 
Thomas was indeed a product of the system. He was not asked to cover very much... and his tackles being a few yards downfield were a result of the way the defense was designed. His being "game planned" for again was a product of the system... a "vanilla we're not changing anything about our gameplan because we don't think we have to" sort of attitude if you will. Zach dissapeared in big games because they usually came against a coach with half a brain. If you wanted to plan against Zach, all you had to do is watch film from game 1, 2, 3... wait you see that the entire defense does the same exact thing every snap the entire game the whole damn season. THAT is why Zach dissapeared in big games... all someone had to do was spend 5 minutes breaking down film and they'd know exactly where he'd be. Was that his fault, or the fault of the people asking him to be in the same spot every play for every game for every year?

The point is that Zach was a 5th rounder who was supposed to be too small and too slow to even be a "system linebacker". He was the underdog then and he's apparently the underdog now... but I expect similar results from him. He will flourish with proper schemeing and game planning. Perhaps he'll loose a bit on paper in terms of tackles, but I bet he makes up for them by being the "dominant force" and "difference maker" that everyone wants instead.
 
Yeah Zach has a bunch of years left, look at how long Junior has been around.
 
phinphanphrommi said:
Thomas was indeed a product of the system. He was not asked to cover very much... and his tackles being a few yards downfield were a result of the way the defense was designed. His being "game planned" for again was a product of the system... a "vanilla we're not changing anything about our gameplan because we don't think we have to" sort of attitude if you will. Zach dissapeared in big games because they usually came against a coach with half a brain. If you wanted to plan against Zach, all you had to do is watch film from game 1, 2, 3... wait you see that the entire defense does the same exact thing every snap the entire game the whole damn season. THAT is why Zach dissapeared in big games... all someone had to do was spend 5 minutes breaking down film and they'd know exactly where he'd be. Was that his fault, or the fault of the people asking him to be in the same spot every play for every game for every year?

The point is that Zach was a 5th rounder who was supposed to be too small and too slow to even be a "system linebacker". He was the underdog then and he's apparently the underdog now... but I expect similar results from him. He will flourish with proper schemeing and game planning. Perhaps he'll loose a bit on paper in terms of tackles, but I bet he makes up for them by being the "dominant force" and "difference maker" that everyone wants instead.
  • No defense is designed to make tackles 3-5 yards downfield for the LB position.
  • ZT is limited, he could not overcome the opponents game plan physically, not his fault but a fact just the same.
  • ZT the poster child for over-achievers, a good thing.
  • Not a difference maker but has the ability to make "some plays".
  • The fact that ZT was not a factor in big games is because of his limitations physically. Everyone game planned against the great LB's, the difference was the truely great LB's still made the difference.
 
inFINSible said:
That's a good point, just like last years' scheme inflated Zach's numbers compared to the rest of the league, this year's scheme will take tackles away from his totals, in theory.

What can change that theory is how other teams go about scheming against our defense. Are they going to make sure that Zach is accounted for every play? Are they going to worry about other players because Zach is no longer THE plug in spout at the end of the funnel? Could less focus on Zach increase his effectivenss, or will one blocker getting to him be enough to completely alter his game? Can an old dog learn new tricks?

Should be interesting but, far from a sure thing that Zach will play well enough to forever be linked to the Miami Dolphins.


A very good thought InFins...and as the rest of these posts indicate...ZT has been a player who took advantage of what was thrown at him...albeit more from hard work and being an overachiever, rather than physical ability. If he "learns these new tricks" that Saban installs and if other teams don't game plan for him like they have in the past...it could get very interesting...like a Tedy Bruschi type that is smaller and slower...
 
You know, I love how everyone keeps saying Zach can be game planned for and the Jets do it, and blah, blah, blah.
Yet he still dominates his position EVEN though they game plan for him. Because they are shifting protections against Zach they are unable to double up the DE positions and Jason Taylor then has big games. The fact that he is so dominant that teams HAVE to game plan for him says something. He is a constant force. His peers know it and that is why he goes to the Pro Bowl frequently. If it was as simple as just "Game Plan" for him then he would not have any success. Don't you think all the teams look at the Jets film and others and try to do the same? They just can't stop him.

As far as how he fits Saban's shceme, how the heck do any of you know what Saban's scheme will be, what Saban's idea of a prototypical LB is? You can't know.

I think the skills that make Zach what he is, intelligence, recognition, physical, great tackler, passion, are what you look for in any LB. And I think they will not change with the scheme nor will his effectiveness.

The point of my article is that before you "nay sayers" speculate that you know what Saban thinks and will do,and before you assume Zach won't be able to meet it, I say he deserves the full support of the fans to be given the chance to prove it before he is judged. Zach has beat the odds at every turn. I think he will do it again.
 
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