Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 JETS' LB THOMAS KNOWS HE'S FIGHTING FOR JOB By MARK CANNIZZARO, NY POST May 30, 2008 -- Bryan ThomasBryan Thomas didn't need to be told he had a poor season last year. He didn't need the coaches, media or fans to point out his lack of production. He, too, insisted after yesterday's Organized Team Activities (OTA) practice that he didn't need the JetsNew York Jets ' signing of Calvin Pace or drafting of Vernon Gholston to know he's on the clock in 2008. All Thomas, the team's outside linebacker, had to do was look at the tapes of his practices to see why he was perhaps the most invisible, biggest disappointment on the team in 2007. In perhaps his most candid, revealing interview as a pro, Thomas said he had better return to the form he displayed in 2006, when he had 81/2 sacks and 77 tackles and was a force in the pass rush, or "my (butt) will be out of here." "I feel like I slacked off," said Thomas, who had just 21/2 sacks and 47 tackles last year and was nonexistent in the pass rush. "Going into the first year of this defense, I felt pretty good. Last year, I felt like I slacked off a lot. There were a lot of things I didn't do that I was supposed to do as far as the pass-rush, the running game . . . "Maybe I got too complacent," Thomas said. "In this league you can't do that. You've got to stay on your toes all the time . . . and now (I've) got competition here, so I definitely can't do it now. You have to work hard every day. If I don't, I'll have my (butt) on the sideline watching it with you all (reporters), and I don't want that to happen." Thomas said he didn't take the free agent signing of Pace for $42 million over six years ($22 million guaranteed) or the drafting of Gholston in the first round "as a slap in the face," though they both play his position. "I just look at it as competition," he said. "My job is to go out there and not let anyone else outwork me. Yeah, I feel like my numbers slacked off. . . . My practice habits weren't good last year and those things carried over to Sundays." Thomas said the five-year, $25 million contract he received after the 2006 career season did not affect his play in 2007. "Money has nothing to do with anything," he said. "I started playing for the love of the game and that's what it is now." Thomas said he believes it's all about practice. Position coaches began telling him he was not doing the same things last year as he did the previous year. "The position coaches are going to let you know your practice habits are off," he said. mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Jets' Miller on comeback trail from knee injury By Dennis Waszak Jr., AP Sports Writer HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 May 29, 2008 Throw it away Chad Pennington did not have a great day Wednesday working with the second team. His day Thursday working with the first team wasn't much better. But Kellen Clemens didn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 May 30, 2008 Jets' Thomas believes he "slacked off" last year BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com May 30, 2008 Based on last season, Bryan Thomas said he would have tried to fill his position, too. "As far as the number of sacks last year, including myself, why wouldn't they bring in somebody else?" the Jets linebacker said yesterday. "The numbers were down." The Jets, in their first season playing the 3-4 defense in 2006, ranked 15th in the league in sacks with 35. Not great, but it was better than last year, when the Jets ranked 25th with 29 sacks. The Jets' lack of a pass rush last season played one of the bigger roles in their 4-12 record and was targeted as the team's top offseason need. Part of the reason was the ineffectual Thomas, who went from 8 1/2 sacks in 2006 to 2 1/2 last season. Thomas also had 30 fewer tackles in 2007 (47) than he did in 2006 (77). The drop-off came after Thomas, the Jets' first-round pick in 2002, signed a five-year, $25-million extension after the 2006 season. "I feel like I slacked off," Thomas said. "Going into the first year in this defense, I did pretty good, but last year I felt like I slacked off on a lot of things. A lot of things I didn't do what I was supposed to as far as the pass rush and the running game." Thomas said "complacency" mainly took the form of not working as hard during and, just as important, after practice, which, as he put it, "carried over to Sundays." "I think I got into my head where I felt I could just go out here and do it anyway without putting in the extra work," he said. "Now I see I can't do that. I'm not that type of person who can just turn it on on Sundays." The Jets decided to find some people who could, signing the Cardinals' Calvin Pace (6 1/2 sacks last year) to a six-year, $42-million free-agent contract and making Vernon Gholston, whom the Jets plan to convert to an outside linebacker, the draft's No. 6 overall pick. Toward the end of last year, when his snaps began to decrease, Thomas believed he had been put on notice. "That was an eye-opener right there," he said. "I don't want people to say, 'OK, you did good one year in the defense [but] you were a one-year person," Thomas said. "I don't want to be analyzed like that. This year I have to go out here and work harder on the practice field." Notes & quotes: Jets coach Eric Mangini will help conduct the seventh annual Football Fundamentals Mini-Camp at Bulkeley High, Mangini's alma mater, tomorrow in Hartford. More than 3,000 kids have attended the camp since 2002. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 New venues put city on notice for keeping Rams By Bill Coats ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 05/30/2008 May 20, 2008--Lucas Oil Stadium, the new $700 million retractable-roof stadium, which is scheduled to open in August, is pictured in Indianapolis. (Darron Cummings/AP) If St. Louis intends to meet its lease agreement by providing the Rams with a venue that ranks in the top 25 percent of the NFL by 2015, the city Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Jets' Bryan Thomas rips self BY RICH CIMINI DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Thursday, May 29th 2008, 10:02 PM Humphrey/AP Bryan Thomas questions his 2007 performance. It's an all-too-familiar story: Player receives big contract, seemingly shifts into cruise control and his production suffers. It happened last season to the Jets' Bryan Thomas. That's not speculation - it's fact, according to Thomas, who openly questioned his 2007 commitment. Admitting that "maybe I got too complacent," an unusually candid Thomas delivered a stinging self-evaluation Thursday at Hofstra. The seventh-year outside linebacker doesn't believe money was the root of his decline - he received a lucrative contract extension near the end of the 2006 season - but he conceded that he "slacked off on a lot of things." The affable Thomas didn't say he dogged it, but he came close. "I got it in my head to where I felt I could go out and do it without putting in extra work," Thomas said after the team's ninth spring practice. "Now I realize I can't do that. I'm not the type of person who can just turn it on on Sunday. "My practice habits weren't as good last year and it carried over to Sundays," he continued. "I can't allow myself to do it again or the next place I'll be is somewhere else, and that's what I don't want." Thomas, a first-round pick in 2002, was nearly a bust until 2006, when he flourished in Eric Mangini's 3-4 scheme and recorded a career-high 8-1/2 sacks. He was eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2007, but the Jets kept him off the market by locking him up with a five-year, $20 million extension, including a $9 million signing bonus. The deal didn't pay immediate dividends, as Thomas' sack total dwindled to 2-1/2. Around midseason, he was replaced in the nickel package by David Bowens. The loss of playing time was "an eye opener," Thomas said. But he didn't question the move. "You could look at my numbers and see my play was down," he said. The Jets made their feelings known with two huge investments at outside linebacker, signing free agent Calvin Pace (six years, $42 million) and selecting Vernon Gholston with the sixth pick in April's draft. Gholston, too, will receive a contract in excess of $40 million. The Jets couldn't have made a louder statement about Thomas if they had purchased a billboard in Times Square. "Why wouldn't they bring in somebody else?" Thomas said. "My numbers were down." Mangini refused to criticize Thomas' performance, saying he did "some things" well and is "continuing to evolve" as an outside linebacker. But the coaching staff didn't mince its words last season, according to Thomas. "Those things were brought to my attention," he said, referring to his complacent approach. "I could see it myself. When I watched the practice film, I looked at myself and said, 'Why am I not running to the ball on that play? Why am I not taking the extra step on that play?' I could see it." Thomas vowed to ratchet up his intensity this season, calling it "a matter of pride." This is a make-or-break season. "If I don't do it this year," he said, "they'll definitely sit my (butt) on the bench." BACKING OUT: WR Brad Smith (back) continues to sit out the spring practices....Mangini is expecting about 800 participants at his annual one-day youth football camp in Hartford, his hometown. The objective is to provide positive opportunities for kids. "We have to find a way to get these kids to pick up books instead of guns," Mangini said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Jets' Thomas admits he was lax last year Friday, May 30, 2008 BY DAVE HUTCHINSON Star-Ledger Staff HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Speaking for the first time since the Jets signed free-agent linebacker Calvin Pace to a $42 million contract that included $22 million guaranteed and drafted linebacker Vernon Gholston with the sixth overall pick, incumbent outside linebacker Bryan Thomas gave a stunning mea culpa yesterday. Thomas, who signed a five-year, $25 million deal in 2006 that included $9 million guaranteed en route to a career year (77 tackles and 8 1/2 sacks), fell off miserably last season. He finished with 43 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks. "It's not hard to realize my numbers were off," Thomas said yesterday following an OTA (organized team activity) session at Hofstra. "My practice habits weren't good last year and those things carried over to Sunday. "Maybe I got too complacent. In this league, you can't do that. You have to stay on your toes all the time. And now you have competition in here, so you know you can't do it. You have to go out and work hard every day. If not, I'll have my (butt) on the sidelines watching and I don't want that to happen." After four disappointing seasons, Thomas, a first-round pick in 2002 (22nd overall), had a breakout year in 2006 and was rewarded with a new deal before he entered free agency. He was thought to be the perfect playmaker in the Jets' 3-4 scheme. "That hurt me, seeing that my numbers were down," Thomas said. "I don't want (people to say), 'Okay, you did good one year.' I don't want to be analyzed as that." Thomas said he couldn't believe his eyes as he watched film from last season. He wasn't running to the ball. He wasn't staying after practice. The very things that led to his career year in 2006. "It's a matter of pride," he said. "I can't let my numbers be like that again. We have too many good players on this defense to let one guy be the weak link." Pace said it wasn't the money -- or the helicopter ride from Long Island to the team's new training complex in Florham Park during his recruiting visit -- that made him chose the Jets over the Dolphins. "It's the little things," said Pace, who spent his first five seasons in Arizona. "You don't need valet service. You just want people to show you it's all about trying to win. (The Jets) laid things out as far as yoga classes, the Pilates, training staff. Those are things I've never seen before in the NFL. "Things like lunch and breakfast before you work out. I've never had that. (In Arizona), you had to eat before you came and it was your job to eat when you left." QB Kellen Clemens outplayed veteran Chad Pennington for the second straight day, even though he was working with the second team and much of the practice was devoted to situational work -- hurry-up offense, goal-line offense, red zone offense, etc. Yes, it's only May, and Clemens has yet to face a pass rush with bad intentions. But his improvement is evident. Pro Bowl KR Justin Miller, who missed nearly all last season with a knee injury, said he rooted hard for his replacement and good friend, Leon Washington, last season. Miller voted repeatedly on his home computer for Washington to earn a Pro Bowl berth. Miller, who averaged 28.3 yards and returned two kickoffs for TDs in 2006, watched as Washington averaged 27.5 yards and scored three TDs last season and just missed a Pro Bowl invitation. WR Chansi Stuckey was shaken up when hit by rookie S Nate Lyles during a pass breakup in an 11-on-11 drill but walked off the field under his own power and appeared fine.... WR Brad Smith (back) remains limited. Surprisingly, the tight-lipped Mangini revealed the injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/articles/show/2217-thursday-player-interviews http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/articles/show/2216-situation-brings-out-the-battler-in-b-t- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/articles/show/2218-coach-s-thursday-news-conference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 THOMAS PLANS TO ANSWER DOUBTERS JETS LB FACES COMPETITION AFTER DOWN YEAR Post Staff Report After making 77 tackles in a breakout 2006 season, Bryan ThomasBryan Thomas made 47 in 2007. May 29, 2008 -- The numbers show it, the JetsNew York Jets certainly felt it, and Bryan Thomas admits it. After getting a $25 million contract at the end of the 2006 season, Thomas' play definitely dropped in 2007. "I feel like I slacked off," Thomas said today during the Jets' organized team activities. "Going into the first year of this defense, I felt pretty good. Last year, I felt like I slacked off a lot. There were a lot of things I didn't do that I was supposed to do as far as the pass rush, the running game; in both of those areas I slacked. "My practice habits weren't good last year; there were other things that I didn't do that carried over to practice. Those things I can't allow myself to do again." Thomas reached career highs in starts (16), tackles (77) and sacks (8-1/2) in 2006, his first year in Eric Mangini's 3-4 defense. Last season, he made 14 starts, with 47 tackles and three sacks. "You could see by my numbers. My numbers were down," he said. "When I looked back on it I realized that some of the stuff I was doing last year (in 2006) I wasn't doing this year (in 2007). You could see by my numbers that my play was down. Some of my plays started to get taken away last year, and I could really see it. That was an eye-opener right there." So were the Jets' offseason acquisitions, including the signing of free agent Calvin Pace and the drafting of Vernon Gholston, both of whom are similar players to Thomas. "Whoever Eric and Mike (Tannenbaum) bring in, that's not concerned with me," Thomas said. "All I can do is roll with the flow and just continue to do what I need to do. "I have to worry about myself. I have to come in and play hard. There's competition, no doubt." Thomas, a first-round pick out of Alabama-Birmingham in 2002, seems ready to face it. "I'm going to go out there and do the best I can do," Thomas, 29 next week, said. "I'm going to go out there and work hard. Why not go out there and do the things I had done the previous season that were successful? I need to go back and do those things." Mangini said he has confidence Thomas will continue to produce. "I think he's continuing to evolve as a standup linebacker, get better in terms of coverage, pass* rush, things along those lines," the coach said. "He made some progress in some areas, and in some areas we're continuing to work on: change-*of-*pace rushes, things along those lines. "There's always a high draft pick at some position. There's always free agents at different positions. You've just got to go out and compete, establish your role and how you're going to contribute." Pace, who played the past five seasons for the Cardinals, said he felt no pressure to live up to his new $42 million deal. "Every man on this roster has some type of pressure, but I just have to go out there and do my job," Pace said. "I can't do more than what I can do. I can't try to do somebody else's job. I am going to go out and focus on what I can do. "I told some other guys if I don't get a sack in one game, but I help (someone else) get two, I think I did my job, especially if he gets a sack in a critical point in the game." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Mangini Talks About Stuckey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Link: The Football Scientist Experiments With Gang Green Posted on May 29th, 2008 by Mack Rosenberg This post was written by Mack Rosenberg with Brian Bassett contributing to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 May 28, 2008, 6:07 am Football Is Not War By Toni Monkovic Tags: Pat Tillman Should war and football ever be equated? Here are some words of wisdom from a reader named Kris, reacting to another reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slats Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 "I got it in my head to where I felt I could go out and do it without putting in extra work," Thomas said after the team's ninth spring practice. "Now I realize I can't do that. I'm not the type of person who can just turn it on on Sunday. "My practice habits weren't as good last year and it carried over to Sundays," he continued. "I can't allow myself to do it again or the next place I'll be is somewhere else, and that's what I don't want." I hope Thomas has his greatest year ever, and then winds up somewhere else. I thought the light came on for him two years ago, but it definitely looks now like it was a typical contract year performance. Even if he puts it back together this season, how can anyone have faith in him to be consistent? I just want to see him boost his trade value, and then have the Jets acquire whatever that trade value is for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#27TheDominator Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Link: The Football Scientist Experiments With Gang Green Posted on May 29th, 2008 by Mack Rosenberg Well duh, but this is something we at TJB have been giving Baker credit for since 2004. Looking at his DPAR as a pass-catcher (value adjusted over a backup-level TE) on Football Outsiders he Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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