Patriots Cut Adalius Thomas

The only surprise here is that it took the Patriots this long to do it, but I guess they wanted to wait until after the draft (even though they really didn't do much to fill shit spot. Thomas was a major bust for the Patriots, even being benched at one point. Belichick was obviously sick of his "game" and attitude, so it was time for them to part ways.

In a lot of ways this sucks, because I still think this guy can play I just think he didn't fit into the Patriots system. I just wonder how they are going to fill out their linebacking core, and if I see Seau near this team I will climb to a top of a building and start picking off people.

Adalius Thomas To Be Cut This Offseason

"Amidst all the controversy of Tom Brady calling his teammates out earlier this week, as well as LateGate on Wednesday, the future of Adalius Thomas as a member of the New England Patriots fell somewhat by the wayside. Thomas is not having very much fun this season. Asked during a short meeting with reporters on Thursday how frustrating this season has been, he responded, "Real frustrating. But it is what it is. One thing about being a professional, there are good things and bad things. So you know there are a lot of things you can say or whatever. It's just not a good time."

Thomas was de-activated earlier this season, and some have speculated that there is still bad blood between Thomas and coach Bill Belichick. Don't be surprised if the Pats release the frustrated LB this offseason (ESPN)."

When I saw that 4 guys were sent home yesterday for being late and Thomas was on that list I knew him time in New England was coming to an end (even though it probably was anyways). He was already deactivated earlier this season. He has never been the impact player the Patriots thought they were getting, and we all know he rubs Belichick the wrong way.

4 Patriots Players Late Then Sent Home

"A report from the Providence Journal's Shalise Manza Young this morning indicated that four players -- Gary Guyton, Adalius Thomas, Randy Moss and Derrick Burgess -- were sent home after arriving for the team's 8 a.m. meeting. Bill Belichick just addressed the report at his press conference, saying "Anything that happens with discipline on the team will stay between me and the players."

Asked if the four would practice today, he reiterated, "Whatever it is, it will be between me and the players, like it always is (Boston.com)."

Usually I love this kind of stuff, but it was snowing today, so I wonder how late they were and if that had anything to do with it. Brady has been questioning the team's effort, and this seems to be falling in line with that.

This is not a good thing for a guy like Adaluis Thomas, who has already been in the dog house with Belichick this season getting benched 1 game. I don't think much will come of this, and hopefully it will be used as a wake up call for this struggling team.

Belichick Not Happy With Thomas

"The New England Patriots already have one relatively useless veteran on their roster in Joey Galloway, who was signed this offseason to be the team's No. 3 wideout, but was ineffective in action before being a healthy scratch the past three weeks. But on Sunday, Adalius Thomas was also listed as an inactive in spite of being healthy. This has prompted Shalise Manza Young of the Providence Journal to reason that perhaps Pats coach Bill Belichick is not happy with the production he's getting out of Thomas. On the other hand, in his post-game comments, Belichick addressed the Thomas scratch as just a shift in strategy: "We just went with the players we thought would have a bigger role in the game (ESPN)."

Thomas has been a huge disappointment for the Patriots, but I don't think his time in New England is over yet. The Patriots had to of known they were going to win easily over the lowly Titans, and maybe this was Belichick's way of trying to fire him up. Then again, this is the Patriots, so the fuck knows...

Mayo Out 6-8 Weeks

Not good news coming from the Patriots today....

"Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo has a Grade III sprained MCL and the timetable for his return remains uncertain, CBSports.com has confirmed. The minimum amount of time he will likely miss is between 6-8 weeks, and a source close to Mayo admitted that he appears to have a long recovery ahead of him. A Grade III sprain represents a complete tear of the MCL as opposed to Grade I and Grade II, which are incomplete tears (Sportsline)."

This is a huge blow to the Patriots. Mayo is one of the best young LBs in the game, and now the Patriots have a huge hole to fill in the middle of that defense. Guyton took over for him when he got hurt, but I was not impressed with his play (you might also see Adalius Thomas play a lot more MLB). If I was the Patriots the first call I would be making would be to Derrick Brooks, since I believe he can at least help fill the hole. Look for the Patriots to use a lot more 4-3 while Mayo is out.

Adalius Thomas Put On IR

The Patriots have finally given up hope that Adalius Thomas will be able to play again this season. The hope was that Thomas could come back for the playoffs (if they made it), but his broken forearm is just too much to overcome. Obviously, the Patriots would be much better off with him on the field, but now they have to turn to guys like Woods, Vrabel, Seau (he will play mostly MLB), and Colvin to pick up the slack. I really don't know if any of those guys can fill the void, but at least they have some options...

-BMack

Thomas Is Gone...Now What?

Earlier in the week the Patriots found out that they lost Adalius Thomas for the season, because of a broken arm. The question is what will they do now to fill his void?

1. Nothing - right now it looks like they will just move Pierre Woods to the starting lineup, and go on as usual. He won't fill the void completely, but the Patriots seem to have a good amount of faith in him. The problem is that the Patriots no longer have any depth, and it sounds like if they have another injury at the OLB position, they will convert to a 4-3 defense (which is what I think they should do anyways). Looks like they do not want to play players like Crable or Redd.

2. Sign someone - Colvin is still a free agent, and he knows the system, but according to team officials there has been no contact so far by the Patriots. I really like Colvin, but if no one has signed him yet, then there is probably a reason for it. Seau I guess could be another option, but the Patriots used him more as an MLB, and I think they would rather go to a 4-3 then move Mayo to OLB.

Basically, the Patriots are not going to make any moves. They have overcome so many injuries this year, and they seemed poised to do it once again. I really doubt they will go out and sign anyone, or make any significant moves. Unless it is moving to a 4-3 defense.

-BMack

LB Adalius Thomas Done For Season

Linebacker Adalius Thomas, who has started all nine games for the Patriots and is tied for the team lead with five sacks, suffered a broken left forearm in the first half of the Patriots 20-10 win, according to sources. The sources believe the injury is likely season ending. ESPN

This sucks for the Patriots because their defense is their rock. Yesterday they absolutely demolished the Bills and the main reason was from their defense. To lose a player like Thomas weakens every aspect of the defense from the pass rush to the secondary. Thomas had 34 tackles this year and was tied for a team high 5 sacks before the injury. Personally, I think that Thomas hasn't been the player I thought he would be when the Pats signed him, but this still hurts. The Patriots have had a lot of injuries this year including Tom Brady, Rodney Harrison, Laurence Maroney and now Thomas is icing on the cake.