Does Zach Thomas belong in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame?

[TheJetsBlow]

I'm a huge Zach Thomas fan. However, to be honest I don't think his achievements were quite good enough to make the Hall of Fame.
He richly deserves his place in the Dolphin Ring of Honor but not quite Canton material. If anything, I would rate his brother in law, Jason Taylor as a better HOF candidate.

Spot on.

 

[tay0365]

The most overrated Dolphin in franchise history. Not a chance.

My fondest memory of Zach is him getting trucked on a 4th and 1 on a QB sneak by Daunte Culpepper in 2002. Miami could have clinched a playoff spot with a win in that game.

Point of the story? A hall of fame linebacker makes that play. Zach Thomas is NOT a hall of famer.

Then you have very little memory, because hightlights of what he did in his career are too long to pick, while lowlights are far fewer and hard to pick many.

 

[tay0365]

The difference between Ray Lewis and Zach Thomas is that Ray Lewis made game-changing plays, dominated games, and could will his team to win. Zach didn't do any of those things.

But what made Zach different then Ray is he was far more of a QB of the defense, he could see the O-play better then any any defense player, and because of that he always helped in putting his teammmates in the right position.

Peyton Manning was one quoted to say that the defensive player he most hated to go against was Zach because the guys seemed to always know what the play was going to be.

 

[Adam Strange]

Thomas definitely belongs in the Dolphins' Hall of Fame. And he is definitely a great player. But not every great player gets into the Hall of Fame. In fact, I don't think Miami's had any Hall of Famers in the post-Marino era although Thomas and Taylor come the closest.

 

[AFCMiamiEast]

The most overrated Dolphin in franchise history. Not a chance.

My fondest memory of Zach is him getting trucked on a 4th and 1 on a QB sneak by Daunte Culpepper in 2002. Miami could have clinched a playoff spot with a win in that game.

Point of the story? A hall of fame linebacker makes that play. Zach Thomas is NOT a hall of famer.

You base your whole decision off one play out of thousands in a 13 year career. Smh.

 

[SCall13]

I wish I could say yes. While he was a good, steady player, he was not that impactful. The vast majority of his tackles were made 3-5 yards down field. He rarely made big tackles in the backfield. And he wasn't big on pressuring the QB. In short, he was a stout player, but he rarely had any big impact on a game. Also, he wasn't really a leader. He didn't have players step up and follow him. Instead, he chose to be a bitch a lot of the time - complained way too much instead of being the guy who nipped bitching at the bud and get his team mates to rally around him. I hate to say that, but it is the truth. He just does NOT belong in the hall of fame.

 

[TheJetsBlow]

But what made Zach different then Ray is he was far more of a QB of the defense, he could see the O-play better then any any defense player, and because of that he always helped in putting his teammmates in the right position.

Peyton Manning was one quoted to say that the defensive player he most hated to go against was Zach because the guys seemed to always know what the play was going to be.

That's nice and all, but it doesn't make someone a HOF'er. The HOF is for SPECIAL players. GREAT players. Not good ones.

 

[TheJetsBlow]

You base your whole decision off one play out of thousands in a 13 year career. Smh.

The point is a lot more often than not, Zach didn't make the BIG play when the game was on the line. He isn't basing his opinion on 'one play' as you say.

 

[SCLSU Mud Dogs]

Never thought I'd hear people bashing Thomas on his tackling ability and playmaking. Christ guys, he's one of the best players in our franchise's history.

 

[Dolfan Dave]

The most overrated Dolphin in franchise history. Not a chance.

My fondest memory of Zach is him getting trucked on a 4th and 1 on a QB sneak by Daunte Culpepper in 2002. Miami could have clinched a playoff spot with a win in that game.

Point of the story? A hall of fame linebacker makes that play. Zach Thomas is NOT a hall of famer.

I feel bad for you if that is your fondest memory. Zach gave me a lot of great memories from plays he made.

 

[TheJetsBlow]

Never thought I'd hear people bashing Thomas on his tackling ability and playmaking. Christ guys, he's one of the best players in our franchise's history.

He's one of the best players in our FRANCHISE history. He isn't one of the best players in NFL history. There's a difference.

 

[mialuv13]

Loved this guy. Such a bulldog out there. Whether he makes the HOF or not the dude played his heart out. The guy made big play after big play for a large chunk of his career. He wasn't outspoken or loud; he just did his job the way it should be done. Would find and fill the hole perfectly, and could read both the run and the pass on par, if not better, with the best at his position. Few contemporary LB's did what he did out there.

5 time All-NFL 1st Team Defense. Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2000's second team. It's not like he wasn't noticed around the league, he just played for the Dolphins, which everyone knows is a death knell if you want to be noticed for your accolades. Ray Lewis might go down as the best to ever play the position, but when comparing Zach and Ray, Zach holds his own and played a different style than Lewis. Maybe a better comparison is whether Brian Urlacher will make it over Zach. Zach logged almost 400 more tackles than Urlacher in the same 13 year span. Urlacher was a much more flashy player being able to defend the pass and sack the QB at a pace double that of Zach's. The HOF ballot is usually a popularity contest, and Urlacher was much more popular during his 13 years. He also got to the QB a lot and everyone loves sacks.

A similar thread came up last season as a Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas HOF kind of thing. Zach very well may not make the HOF, but very few mlb's suited up in the late 90's and early 2000's and did what he did on a consistent basis. If he does make the HOF it will be a few years down the road. Saying that Zach will never make the HOF is a pretty bold blanket statement. The 2012 HOF class is a perfect example where the stand out player was Curtis Martin...a player who was consistent throughout his career and was usually a lock for a 1000 yards, but not overly flashy at his position. A few years down the road there will come a time where Zach will go up against his contemporaries in the early 2000's and at some point he may very well make it in. But I don't expect it in the next few HOF classes unfortunately.

Still always fun to watch this video: [video=youtube;zTQOPcJWC4A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTQOPcJWC4A[/video]

 

[Coach_Rob]

there is no doubt that he is a HOFer. he will not be a first ballot guy but will eventually get in. people bash him bc he wasn't flashy, but the guy got the job done, and we have had a huge hole in the middle since Zach left.

 

[Coach_Rob]

The most overrated Dolphin in franchise history. Not a chance.

My fondest memory of Zach is him getting trucked on a 4th and 1 on a QB sneak by Daunte Culpepper in 2002. Miami could have clinched a playoff spot with a win in that game.

Point of the story? A hall of fame linebacker makes that play. Zach Thomas is NOT a hall of famer.

dumbest post. the guy constantly made plays. sorry he wasn't a loud mouth jack ass. please for the love of god name one lb that has never been trucked. its cool that you don't think he is a hofer but your excuse is retarded as hell

 

[Valandui]

Probably, but he's a fringe candidate. He may be one of those guys that makes it in later in life but gets overlooked for a while.