Daniel Thomas: Rookie year was “very disappointing” | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Daniel Thomas: Rookie year was “very disappointing”

footsteps_falco said:
I get that the injuries, the lack of an offseason and training camp, the inconsistant play of the offensive line, and the poor coaching that we had, the even worse conditioning this team had, and the fact that reggie bush came on at the wrong time for D.Thomas are all serious factors in why his rookie year wasn't that exciting.

But the biggest one to me is that this kid played 2 years of runningback, thats it. he was a JUCO QB before that.

Now with all those excuses out there (that we already know), let's be honest. we all watched him play, there were a few good games but this kid didn't run tough enough for what he is. You can't teach toughness as they say. He has a lot to prove. The fact that he lead the AFC in rookie runningbacks for rushing means little to me. I can't believe how much he was outplayed by the likes Roy Helu and Demarco Murray. There were a lot of backs last year in that round 2-5 range and we didn't hit like the cowboys or skins seem to have. those players really impressed me. Ingram, Thomas, Leshoure ect ect I don't think are going to be anything seriously special in this league. just more dime a dozen comittee runningbacks who have a good run here or there to keep their jobs.

Miller need to get SERIOUS playing time this year, because you need to know what he can do in games ASAP. Reggie's contract will be up. you need to know what you have behind him incase you can't resign him. otherwise you lose control and draft need again
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Totally agree.
 
jlfin said:
Daniel Thomas when he was healthy played very well. Those who say otherwise are uninformed.
The problems with DT go back to Sparano and the training staff.
Because of the lockout there were no OTA's. Sparano did a VERY POOR job of conditioning the team during the short TC and that was evident on opening night. Several other players also fought through hamstring injuries during the early part of the year. Hamstring injuries are to some degree caused by poor conditioning.
When DT did play he would have a good game and then re aggravate the hamstring. It became a nagging problem most of the yr. This is NOT an unusual occurrence (Andre Johnson missed half the season with a nagging hamstring injury).
Sparano and the training staff did not manage DT's injury well. They continually rushed him back instead of giving him a few weeks off to fully heal. We haven't seen what DT can really do and I wish some of his critics would just shut up already and show some patience. It is evident that his harshest critics were against the Phins trading up for him and are now showing a bias against him. They will marginalize any of his successes and magnify his failures just to justify their narratives.
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The crap some fans blame the coaching staff for instead of the players.
 
Thomas gets a bye from me because of his injuries, a hamstring does not heal when being ran on.

I like that he has added several pounds. He is not a guy that puts his head down and smashes ahead but he showed good moves when he was healthy. I expect better things for him this season and he is our only running back that can pass block. L Miller will need a while before he is not a danger to our QB.
 
LikeUntoGod said:
Thomas gets a bye from me because of his injuries, a hamstring does not heal when being ran on.

I like that he has added several pounds. He is not a guy that puts his head down and smashes ahead but he showed good moves when he was healthy. I expect better things for him this season and he is our only running back that can pass block. L Miller will need a while before he is not a danger to our QB.
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It wasn't just the hamstring injury that bothered Thomas last year. Some of it was the "rookie wall."
In hindsight, Daniel Thomas admits his body wasn't physically ready for the grind the NFL puts tailbacks through.

Reggie Bush had to teach Thomas his workouts, body recovery and maintenance routine, but that didn't stop Thomas from running out of gas by November, after the Dolphins had already played what amounts to an entire college football season.

Thomas admitted that by the end of the season his legs could no longer drive through would-be tacklers, which explains why he gained 202 yards on his first 41 carries (4.9 carry average) in the season's first month, and then averaged 3.0 yards per carry the rest of the way.

Thomas said he's gotten bigger and strong during the Dolphins OTA sessions this summer, and is optimistic the offseason's work will make a difference.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...lphins-0610-20120607,0,305694.story?track=rss

one of the things Thomas mentioned that has me opportunistic about him this season is this
Thomas, who averaged 5.2 per carry in two years at Kansas State, is encouraged because “our offense is doing a lot more zone running, and we ran well last year when we zoned. That’s something I did in college a lot.”
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http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...as-gates-dolphins-heat-um-marlins-notes-.html

as for Thomas' pass blocking...
### Daniel Thomas opened with the first team in Bush's absence, but Steve Slaton got a lot of work. There weren't many holes for either. Paul Soliai completely swallowed up Slaton on one play. Asked about Thomas, Philbin said he likes his size but then suggested he needs to do a better job in blitz pickup. Thomas was responsible for at least one sack last year.
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http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolp...ami-heat-and-boston-celtics-practices-to.html
 
justdev7 said:
Best case scenario is that bush has another good season and we trade him for a 3rd round pick. Then Thomas gets healthy and Lamar miller becomes our #1 guy with Thomas as the #2. Lamar miller is without question the most talented back that we have.
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Not sure if serious...

Yeah, because if Bush has another good season it would be foolish to re-sign the hardest working guy on the team to a long term contract...
 
Geforce said:
It wasn't just the hamstring injury that bothered Thomas last year. Some of it was the "rookie wall."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...lphins-0610-20120607,0,305694.story?track=rss

one of the things Thomas mentioned that has me opportunistic about him this season is this
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...as-gates-dolphins-heat-um-marlins-notes-.html

as for Thomas' pass blocking...
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolp...ami-heat-and-boston-celtics-practices-to.html
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You are 100% correct of him hitting the "rookie wall", I forgot to mention it. And A) this is a think that happens for most rookies. B) He like most Dolphin were not in good shape when the season started.

I like at it like he only game up one sack last season. He is clearly the only back we have that can pass route.
 
jlfin said:
And the pervasive ignorance some of the more informed fans have to put up with in an open forum such as this.
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I really hope you don't consider yourself one of the more informed fans if you think any coach could get his players in game shape in the 15 days before the first preseason game.
 
I really liked what I saw out of him at times, especially the Texans game. Minus the fumble.
 
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