Daniel Thomas won’t be getting night off vs. Cowboys | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Daniel Thomas won’t be getting night off vs. Cowboys

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Last year, coach Tony Sparano was so disappointed with his first-team offense after three pre-season games that he had them play deep into the first half in the final tuneup game at Dallas. He came to regret that decision when tackle Jake Long was forced out of the game with a knee injury that bothered him the rest of the year.

This year, Sparano has indicated most of his starters won’t play in tonight’s pre-season finale against Dallas at Sun Life Stadium. But he will be keeping a close eye on the production of one potential first-teamer who has struggled in the early weeks of camp: rookie running back Daniel Thomas.

Thomas got nothing going in the opener at Atlanta, totaling 4 yards on five carries. In the Carolina game he had a team-high 52 yards on 12 carries, but Sparano pulled him and then dressed him down on the sidelines for running tentatively in a goal-line situation. Last week against Tampa Bay he played only two snaps in the first half and finished with 16 yards on seven carries.

After watching Miami use Reggie Bush in a one-back set for most of the meaningful plays in the game, it was easy to conclude that Thomas had become an afterthought in the offensive scheme. But just as he insists his team will get back to its tried-and-true staple of ground-and-pound, Sparano sounded an optimistic note regarding Thomas in the two days of practice this week.

“He’s been good the last couple of weeks,” Sparano said after the short practice week wrapped up Tuesday. “He ran the ball good today. We did some things that way, tried to get him and Larry (Johnson) and some of these guys a few more turns, so whenever he gets the ball a bunch he starts to get into a bit more lather. We had a full-contact practice and it worked out pretty good.”

Sparano said learning how to pass block, which is something he didn’t do at Kansas State, has been a gradual process for Thomas.
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http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/thed...-thomas-wont-be-getting-night-off-vs-cowboys/
 
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I think it's a great idea to give him a heavy work load tonight. I have been disapointed with him so far. Tonight against back ups and third stringers, he should shine.
 
i sure hope sparanos undressing this oline on the sidelines for not creating anything for thomas to run thru less the panthers game like he's undressing this kid...if it wasn't for d thomas feet in the bucs game he wouldn't have had any yards...the blocking was horrendous

stop trying to make this kid the scapegoat for your craptastic hand picked oline
 
No pass blocking mean he won't see the field much. I noticed in the last game he ran with slightly better pad level. He was getting low when defenders were coming to tackle him. That was one thing that Ronnie Brown was darn good at...right along with getting injured every year.
 
d thomas does fine in pass pro at least from what i've seen...sparanos just lookin for a scapegoat to his awful oline...yeah the kid was tentative on 2 goalline runs but look at those 2 plays...there's no where to go with the ball...the olines blown off the ball in short yardage and goalline every time pretty much...dumb to try and jump the pile from the 5 yard line...absolutely but that should be used as a learning tool...its one damn carry

next time sparano wants to blame someone start by taking a look in the mirror
 
Even if he does get significant minutes tonight, how do you accurately assess that against Dallas' second and third teamers? Is it just an effort thing Sparano's looking for?
 
phinphan4life said:
Even if he does get significant minutes tonight, how do you accurately assess that against Dallas' second and third teamers? Is it just an effort thing Sparano's looking for?
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I think it more of looking for consistency, technique and proper form. Seeing how well he knows the plays and how well he blocks in pass protection because even though the Cowboys will rest their starters they're still gonna blitz and come after the QB. These guys playing tonight are on the bubble, they're gonna leave it all on the field tonight.
 
Looks like Thomas will get to inflate his average some more against 2nd stringers.

He needs to step up and be better. I don't care if he is raw and this is only his 3rd year at a true tailback position, he was drafted to contribue a lot this year and he's not showing the ability to do that.

He's only got a 3.2 yards per carry average this preseason but even that's inflated by his work against 2nd string defenses. He's carried 9 times for 21 yards against 1st string defenses, and 14 times for 52 yards against 2nd and 3rd string defenses. Reggie Bush has run 13 times for 47 yards against the same 1st string defenses. Not good, but still better.

I haven't been very impressed by what I've seen of Thomas. I think Sparano's comments are on the mark, about tip-toeing through the hole and playing too upright. He was drafted to be a power back but he's not really running hard or with much power. He's not creating yards that aren't there with his vision, speed or power like I see other backs doing out there. He's just taking the yards that are out there, whereas other guys create more yards than were out there to be had. I've seen some other backs out there, including young ones and rookies, that look a lot better and regularly show a lot more ability to create their own yards. That includes the likes of Mark Ingram, Kendall Hunter, Stevan Ridley, Jamie Harper, Delone Carter, Roy Helu and DuJuan Harris. Some of those are not guys that I liked, but they're doing really well nonetheless.

EDIT: Almost forgot Dion Lewis. He's looked really good.
 
I don't understand why anybody thought Daniel Thomas was a power back. He is not big, he doesn't run hard, and he runs with no leverage. How do those equal power back? The only thing he has in common with most power backs is he is slow.
 
Swantoon said:
I don't understand why anybody thought Daniel Thomas was a power back. He is not big, he doesn't run hard, and he runs with no leverage. How do those equal power back? The only thing he has in common with most power backs is he is slow.
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6'1" and 228 lbs is not big?
 
ckparrothead said:
Looks like Thomas will get to inflate his average some more against 2nd stringers.

He needs to step up and be better. I don't care if he is raw and this is only his 3rd year at a true tailback position, he was drafted to contribue a lot this year and he's not showing the ability to do that.

He's only got a 3.2 yards per carry average this preseason but even that's inflated by his work against 2nd string defenses. He's carried 9 times for 21 yards against 1st string defenses, and 14 times for 52 yards against 2nd and 3rd string defenses. Reggie Bush has run 13 times for 47 yards against the same 1st string defenses. Not good, but still better.

I haven't been very impressed by what I've seen of Thomas. I think Sparano's comments are on the mark, about tip-toeing through the hole and playing too upright. He was drafted to be a power back but he's not really running hard or with much power. He's not creating yards that aren't there with his vision, speed or power like I see other backs doing out there. He's just taking the yards that are out there, whereas other guys create more yards than were out there to be had. I've seen some other backs out there, including young ones and rookies, that look a lot better and regularly show a lot more ability to create their own yards. That includes the likes of Mark Ingram, Kendall Hunter, Stevan Ridley, Jamie Harper, Delone Carter, Roy Helu and DuJuan Harris. Some of those are not guys that I liked, but they're doing really well nonetheless.

EDIT: Almost forgot Dion Lewis. He's looked really good.
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Question. Are Thomas' problems coachable, or are they instinctual?
 
72PhinFan said:
Question. Are Thomas' problems coachable, or are they instinctual?
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Coaches will try and teach a guy to run harder and lower his pads, but with varying degrees of success. Some (Troy Stratford for instance) don't believe pad level can be improved at all. I saw enough improvement in Daniel Thomas' running style between 2009 and 2010 that makes me think he COULD eventually improve...because he's learned a lot in a relatively quick amount of time. But, it's not a bet I would have taken in the 2nd round.
 
As I said when he was drafted, one problem we are going to have is pass blocking in the NFL.

So far D Thomas has missed more blocks then he has tried to make.

And R Bush does not block at all.

Chad Henne is going to get killed.

It would be a shame if we have to keep Larry Johnson in on passing downs or even keep Larry Johnson.
 
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