Preston Howley III Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Thomas aces exam for Jets Saturday, September 9, 2006 By J.P. PELZMAN STAFF WRITER HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- New coach Eric Mangini has come up with the NFL equivalent of an old standby from elementary school: Getting up in front of the rest of the class and showing them how much you've learned by answering a difficult question. His reasoning is simple. If a player can't handle this kind of pressure, how will he fare on any given Sunday? "At certain times you're going to have to perform and it could be in front of 60,000 people," Mangini said. So recently, after two players whiffed on a question during a team meeting, Mangini let the players choose the next contestant. They picked Bryan Thomas. The fifth-year pro "came up [and] nailed" the question, Mangini said, "nailed the front, nailed the secondary, nailed the adjustments. That's really what you're looking for from each player, not only what your job is, but how do you fit in the big picture?" Thomas has been cast in a different role this season. Not only is he moving from defensive end to an outside linebacker spot, but he will be starting on opening day for only the second time when the Jets visit Tennessee on Sunday. Thomas started the Jets' opener at Kansas City last season, but that was mainly because holdout John Abraham was working his way back into the rotation after missing training camp. This time, he's in the opening-day lineup after an excellent camp at a new position. In addition to his ability to grasp the new position and new system, Mangini said that the 6-foot-4, 266-pound Thomas has "got a very good combination of strength and pure speed." But while the affable and easy-going Thomas usually is in the middle of the locker-room banter, in some ways he's still the same soft-spoken person who addressed questioners as "sir" and "ma'am" in his news conference after signing with the team as a first-round draft pick from Alabama-Birmingham in the spring of 2002. So good luck getting him to brag about himself, or admit that this opener holds special significance. "You're always excited for the first game," Thomas said Friday. "Opening day is opening day. It's always going to be exciting." When asked about all the praise Mangini has given him, Thomas replied, "I don't know. We don't sit around and talk about that. You'd have to ask coach [Mangini] about that. I'm not sitting down one-on-one and asking him how he feels about that. If he does say something great about me, that's good." Thomas was fifth on the team in preseason tackles with nine, and he also had two quarterback pressures and one sack. "I like it," he said of the new defensive scheme, which replaced the 4-3 the Jets had used throughout Thomas' tenure with the team. "It's a little bit different, and I get to do a lot of stuff within the defense. I can get down, stand-up, do a lot of things within the defense that I like a lot." Thomas' speed on the outside could come into play Sunday, as it's expected that the Titans will use rookie Vince Young at quarterback at least some of the time. Some have compared Thomas' new role to the one that Willie McGinest filled when he was with the Patriots. "There's been so many different types of players to play a similar type of position," Mangini said, "but each guy needs to play to their strengths within the position. And Bryan is each day discovering strengths, weaknesses, how he fits, and that's been a good process." E-mail: pelzman@northjersey.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dickkotite Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 i hope he steps up as a LB. bitonti will have a huge hardon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachTsurfing Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 It would be nice to have one of our reaches in the first round pan out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smizzy Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 I hope he can make the transition smoothly and become a a monster out there. Good luck BT. I can't wait for kickoff!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slats Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Thomas does have rare athletic ability. Was he a workout wonder pick? Probably. But with good coaching, the potential is there for him to be a player. He hasn't got the sack numbers, but he's been one of the Jets better guys getting tackles behind the line of scrimmage. I like him as a LB, playing in space. And I like the fact that he's really absorbed in the classroom work. Contract year wonder... ? I hope to see big things from him. I think we could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phinsuck Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 The guy isn't a linebacker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#27TheDominator Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 The guy isn't a linebacker. Why? Because he wears #99? Physically, he's a linebacker. From what we've seen, he's not much of an end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.