Adalius Thomas,
 

Get him PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Any takers?

RE: Adalius Thomas,
 

Nope. He's a 3-4 LB and the 49ers have an interest in him. They'd be able to outbid any team if the Ravens don't tag him.

RE: Adalius Thomas,
 

Thomas can play any linebacker spot. Hell, the Ravens even lined him up as a corner sometimes. And we can match just about any offer for him, even if we re-sign all of our free agents. Remember, the Saints have $29 million to work with, and the cap hit of a signing bonus is distributed throughout the contract.

RE: Adalius Thomas,
 

And the 9ers have 42+M in cap space. We cannot win a bidding war for his services.

I agree with Brann here. We can't afford to get into a bidding war for a guy like Thomas because 3-4 teams are going to be going crazy for him. Remember, we need corner help, defensive line help, and receiver help. I think our primary concern in free agency should be a cornerback.

Also, about Thomas... yes, the guy is a very good player. But there, are some things that would, if I was GM, make me shy away from him. For one, he is a linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. That doesn't necessarily mean that he can't play a 4-3, but I think it does mean that he isn't a pure fit at a Mike, Sam, or Will backer position. We've got some good players already at the linebacker position, but we need that one guy in the middle who is a pure middle linebacker. I don't know if Thomas is that guy. Also, in terms of his production.... look at the guys around him on that Ravens defense. Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed, Chris McAllister, Haloti Ngata, Bart Scott. Whoa. That's one hell of a defense. That's one hell of a defense for an offensive coordinator to try and target just one guy. Basically what I'm saying is that he's been able to run free because a team can't just key on him because they've got all of those other guys to worry about. Am I saying that Thomas isn't a stud? No, not at all. What I'm saying is that I don't know if we know truly how good this guy is; if he can be the guy on a defense and deal with double teams and shedding blockers and etc etc. :saintsfan:

Deuce may have a point. Remember what happened to Pat Swilling after he left us to join the Raiders??? (insert cricket noises here)

But the Raiders tried to convert him to a DE if my memory serves me right. That is completely different.

My simple point is that the 49ers have been rumored to be drooling over Adalius Thomas since before the playoffs. They run a 3-4. They need a 3-4 OLB to help take some pressure off of Manny Lawson. They have the most cap space in the league. They're also a team that's clearly on the upswing. There is no way we can outbid for his services.

This cat can play. I went to Southern Miss when he played there. I watched him play for four years. His senior year, he was supposed to be a first round pick, but fell to the 7th(i believe) because the scouts said he was a tweener! Not enough weight for DE, but to much for LB. BS I tell u. The year he graduated, Southern had 7 or 9 people drafted. He was the last. A guy named Todd Pinkston was the first (BUST). A.T. can fly. Wherever he goes, he'll be a great addition

1. Lance Briggs Chicago
2. Adalius Thomas Baltimore
3. Cato June Indianapolis
4. Scott Shanle New Orleans
5. Tully Banta-Cain N.E. Patriots
6. Boss Bailey Detroit
7. Brandon Short N.Y. Giants
8. Al Singleton Dallas
9. Rocky Boiman Indianapolis
10. Shantee Orr Houston

Outside LB in this order

I honestly think Shanle would benefit greatly from playing with a stud MLB. He was a solid guy who did make some plays, and he'll be cheap. What's the word on Boss Bailey?

i wonder why no one thinks he will be franchised...

You guys forgot something. We were the #2 seed in the NFC and reached the Championship game. With defensive help our team will be stronger for a Superbowl run. Going to a winning franchise will be a factor for Adalius. SF has a couple of years before they are ready.

Can he be a dominant MLB? Are you serious? How could you possibly doubt that? He's the best overall LB the Ravens have. I don't think they'll tag him becuase they still have a great D and need help on O.

We can't win a straight up bidding war with SF, but we are a better team focusing on making the playoffs next year. Adalius is also from the South and is a known player now. I'd say if we want him and offer him a good contact he'll be here and he will be an animal at MLB.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have him here. I'm just not confident that the team will go after him or if he'll come to the Saints.

How could i doubt that? Hmmmm.... let's see. He's never had more than 86 tackles, in 7 seasons. He's never been "the man" on defense, he's always had better players on his teams for opposing offensive coordinators to worry about; thus effectively taking the spotlight off of him. If you don't agree with this, then you apparently haven't been watching football, because the Ravens have had 3 Defensive MVP's in those 7 years Thomas has been on the team, and those guys are still there. Ray Lewis, for years, has been considered the best linebacker of his generation. Ed Reed is a playmaker plain and simple. Then you've got guys like Terrell Suggs, Chirs McAllister, Bart Scott, Haloti Ngata, and others and that's a lot of guys to worry about. If you were an offensive coordinator over the last seven years and you had to play the Ravens, who would you double team? Ray Lewis or Adalius Thomas? Everyone with a brain knows it's Ray Lewis; HOF Ray Lewis.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Thomas isn't a very good player, because I do think he is. And yes, I'd like to see him as a Saint, but there are other guys from this FA season that I'd rather see us go after like Nate Clements. Perhaps Adalius Thomas' greatest assets is his versatility. He can line up all over the field as a DE, OLB, and occassionally a MLB. But he's not a MLB. He's an edge rusher. In case you haven't noticed, the Ravens do have that HOF MLB: Ray Lewis. Versatility is nice, but it isn't what we need. We need a guy for the middle of that defense, a true MLB, and Thomas ain't it. We've got Fujita and Shanle on the outside, both who are good players. Also, in case you haven't noticed, Thomas plays in a 46 defense which allows him to be primarily an edge rusher. The 46 relies heavily on defensive tackles collapsing the middle of the line in order to free up the rushing linebackers. We don't run that kind of defense. It's basically a 3-4 on steroids (but with an extra DT), but the Ravens can afford to run it because half of their secondary is All-World. Anyways, I like Thomas, I think he's a playmaker, but I also think, to some extent, he's a product of the system and the players around him.

Are you actually serious or did you fall and hit your head on something? Adalius plays all over becuase he is the best Ravens' LB and doesn't play the middle (excpet when Lewis is injured) becuase Ray can't play like Thomas.

excellent post... agree totally

Don't forget his roots. He was born in Bama and played ball at the greatest school of all, Southern Miss. He might want to play close to home

Alot of good posts on Thomas. I agree he would be a welcome versatile option, but we have bigger needs for the kind of money it would take to get him. If he fell in our laps somehow I would not be upset, but we cannot afford to be a bidder in a game for him.

Wow, that's one of the most ludicrous things I've heard in a while on this board. The best LB on the Ravens is Adalius Thomas? Really? How do you figure? Because he had 20 less tackles than Ray Lewis AND Bart Scott? Because he had fewer interceptions than Ray Lewis AND Bart Scott? Because he had less pass deflections than Ray Lewis AND Bart Scott? Because he didn't have any forced fumbles, but Lewis did? Oh I guess I see why... because he had 11.5 sacks. Is that why he's "the best" linebacker on the team? Sure, 11.5 sacks is extremely impressive (fyi, it was 2nd best on the team), but I think that has more to do with the position that he plays than truly how "great" he is. Like I explained in my previous post, the 46 defense that Baltimore runs allows these OLBs to rush off the edge because they've got big uglies in the middle collapsing the middle of the line and 2 DEs who are also bringing pressure. They can't block everybody, so guys like Thomas are going to have oppportunities to get to the QB. That's the reason why Bart Scott (another LB, who happened to have 20 more tackles, more interceptions, more TFL, and more pass deflections) only had 1.5 sacks less than Thomas (9.5). Hell I could make a point that Bart Scott is better than Thomas, but I don't necessarily believe that it would be completely correct (even though statistically he had a much better year). But you seem to have been missing the points of my posts in their entirety. Don't just look at the part where I talk about him being a product of his teammates and the system he plays in... look at the other stuff I'm saying. I'm saying he's a very good player. He's probably the most versatile player in the NFL. I'm saying I'd like to see him in black and gold. But what you apparently don't get is that we have bigger needs (CB for one), and it's also my humble opinion that if we're going to go out and get a linebacker, why not get one who addresses a need? Do we need a guy who can play OLB, DE, MLB, Safety, CB, waterboy, popcorn guy, and mascot? No!!!!! Here' my point!!!!! We have Fujita and Shanle who are two very solid OLBs. We don't have a very good MLB. Thomas is not a MLB. Plain and simple. If you want to argue, you're wasting your time and perhaps more importantly, my time, because you're just plain wrong. The guy is an outside LB, a rushing linebacker, and a very good one, but he doesn't belong at the LB, and the Ravens know this. That's why they have Ray Lewis there, in case you haven't noticed.

Oh and by the way... you're right, I guess Ray Lewis STARTS AT MIDDLE LINEBACKER because he's WORSE than Adlius Thomas. That makes a lot of sense. If Adalius Thomas is the best MLB on the team, I'm sure Rex Ryan sits there and thinks "Hmmmm.... I've got an idea, let's move our best MLB (Adalius Thomas) all over the field to unnatural positions because Ray Lewis is worse than him. I think I'd rather have a worse MLB play there." I think the reason Ray plays MLB is because he's the best MLB on that squad. You can try and argue that, but I'll trust Rex Ryan because that's where he says Ray Lewis should play and he's the one with a top 5 defense year in and year out.

Lewis starts at the middle because he doesn't have the ability to play DE, DT or go wide in coverage like Thomas can. They are both excellent players. Thomas plays all over becuase Rex Ryan understands that Lewis can't perform well at those other positions. Moving a player to different positions with different assignments will not rack stats.

A MLB needs to have awareness, discipline, athleticism, speed, be able to shed blocks, tackle well, rush, cover, pursue, and understand the offensive formations. Thomas has all of these abilities. He's 270 pounds and has the speed to cover TE's, RB's, and receivers. He can move sideline to sideline. He can rush. He can tackle. He can clog running lanes. He can take on and shed blockers. What more is a MLB supposed to be able to do? Scream a lot and do funky dances?

You don't really believe that Thomas was unblocked on all of his sacks because of the D the Ravens run do you?

I also agree that we need a CB more than we need a MLB. We have the monies available to sign Nate and Adalius as well as bringing back Grant, Stinchomb, Hollis, Shanle, and the others. The window is only open for a few seasons so the time is ripe.

Yeah, and probably that little fact that Ray Lewis is the greatest MLB of his generation...

Sure he does. He can also walk on water and turn water to wine. Your argument is ridiculous; you basically just said the guy can do everything without providing any reasons. Listen, he's not a MLB. He's an OLB that is a good fit for a 3-4 or a 46 defense, not a 4-3. He doesn't play MLB because he's not as good as Ray Lewis, FACT.

This is from Scouts, Inc.:
No I don't, that would be dumb if I did. But I do think that he was certainly aided by the defense, and he wouldn't have nearly that amount of sacks if he played in say, the Saints defense. The guy's a player, there's no doubt about it, but if you can't realize the beneficial results of having Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Bart Scott, Terrell Suggs, Trevor Pryce (13 sacks), Chris McAllister, Haloti Ngata, Samari Rolle, and Kelly Gregg on his defense, then you're blind.

:lolup:

Yeah, and while we're at it, why don't we just sign Dwight Freeney, Lance Briggs, and Asante Samuel. $29 million isn't going to get us the #1 CB and the #1 OLB, a DE looking for a big paycheck, our starting RT, our starting DT, our starting OLB, and "others".

I know they will do their best to make the team better, I just can't wait until FA and the draft.

There is more about how well he can perform at MLB in there than there is about edge rushing. You conveniently forgot to highlight all of this info.


You trapped yourself on that one. The Ravens can afford signing/paying all of these players plus Thomas, McNair, and J. Lewis. Smith, Grant and McKenzie are the big 3 on our D. We have a low amount of FA this season and substantial monies to sign these players.

Urlacher wasn't a MLB and I'm sure there were plenty of "analysts" with "stats" that tried to make themselves appear on the surface to know what they're talking about as you have. He seems to have transitioned just fine into the MLB role.

O really? Where does it say ".... and all of these things would make him a great MLB."? O yeah, it doesn't.

I don't really think I did. Do you think all of those guys have huge contracts? No. Also, the Ravens have neglected their offense for years. They aren't paying two Pro Bowl calibur running backs. Their QB isn't making $10 mil a season. I could go on. The point is, there are limits to how many of these guys we will be able to sign. We are just going to have to be smart about it.

I know Brian Urlacher, and Adalius Thomas my friend, is no Brian Urlacher.

You really have to look at one of Deuce's points.

In a perfect world you would have a complete and balanced offense and defense. However, most teams will focus in on oneside of the ball with most of their money. For us, the offense; the Ravens their defense.

Guys, I really think this is where having great coaches comes into play. Lets say we get a mediocre MLB, but the coach knows the guy has potential. His knowledge and working with the guy will make him better. Look at our defense at the begining of the year. Everyone, EVERYONE laughed and said their was no way this defense could stop anyone. Did they give up big plays????? Sure they did. How many games did we make big plays???? A butt ton. Yes, we need a CB. I love Fred and all but he just can't keep up. I really think we maybe a little too hard on Fred at times. Remeber, his hand was broke most of the season and still did a good job. If his had wasn't broke during Dallas, we have an INT and T.O. doesn't catch the TD.

Money right now is the problem. We don't have it.

By the way if our Defense is so screwed up, I don't think we would be NFC South Champs, beat the #2 Offense and would not have played in the NFC Championship game; by the way just in case some of you don't remember, was our first time to do that.

JMO

May the bashing begin.....