biloxi-indian

WALTER THOMAS TREADS TOWARD TURD TERRITORY

Much has been written over the past week or so about Walter Thomas, a 370-pound defensive tackle who can run the 40 in 4.9 seconds and do a backflip. (But not while running the 40 in 4.9 seasons.)

But much has also been ignored (or, more accurately, glossed over), especially in the post-Pacman era.

Thomas has a pending charge of conspiracy to commit robbery. In Mississippi, that's a felony. Per the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the indictment is still on file but no court date has been set.

The incident, which a league source tells us involved ski masks in the parking lot of a Sonic restaurant, got him kicked off of a junior college team for which he was playing because he had flunked out of Oklahoma State.

By the way, flunking out of Oklahoma State is pretty hard to do, given that Dexter Manley maintained academic eligibility there -- and couldn't read.

Then there's the apparent Walter Thomas MySpace page, which is troubling to the point of amusing. As a couple of readers have pointed out to us, one of the messages posted on the page reads as follows: "I heard you entered the draft. Is that right? Well its a good thing I got you to sign a whole bunch of sh-t so I can say 'yea, I used to get high with him and eat 5 cheeseburgers every wednesday!'"

So what the hell are the Saints thinking?

"It's a look-see," Saints coach Sean Payton told the T-P. "Normally, a player who's only played in two junior college football games would never come close to having an opportunity. To say he's got an uphill battle would be correct. Because of some of those characteristics, though, you take a look at him in a rookie camp and see where he's at."

As to the pending criminal charges, G.M. Mickey Loomis said: "We're aware of the incident and talked to a lot of people about it. What we understand is that it's going to get resolved. We're just going to give him a look and see for ourselves."

The message, then, is that character only counts when a team doesn't want a guy, and when the team is looking for a reason not to take him. If the team is intrigued, the team is more inclined to look the other way.

And that's the attitude that most teams seem to be applying. If the organization decides that they like the guy as a player, the team will talk its way around the character issues. If the organization decides that it doesn't like the guy as a player, then it's easy to point to the character issues as one of the reasons for taking a pass.

We predict that NFL franchises will continue to approach character issues in this manner until the Commish smacks one of them hard for harboring a guy whom they should have known had the potential to cause embarrassment to the team and the league by getting busted. Only then will teams attempt to make real assessments about whether a guy is going to be a problem, and not come up with lame-ass excuses like Sean Salisbury's explanation of safety Brandon Meriweather's history of head stomping and gun shooting. On Saturday, Salisbury called the Meriweather events "both one-time incidents."

Finally, the fact that the Saints signed Thomas while a felony charge was pending against him earns the franchise six points in the Turd Watch game.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over, over, and over again...and expecting a different outcome!

lumm0x

Doesn't really concern me in the least. When Payton stated he has an obligation to this team to bring the correct chemistry of players to this dressing room, he refers to the final roster. We did not use a draft pick on this man. We have absolutely nothing invested in him that cannot be dropped and forgotten over a coffee in the morning. I am assuming that the coaching or scouting staff has met with Walter and that they felt there was enough there on a personal level to warrant him the opportunity to prove himself in a almost impossible situation regardless of his talent or background.

Like they are saying...his chance of making this team is hindered by his previous personal issues, lack of any real experience, possible conditioning concerns, and general intellegence. He will have to be the poster child for effort, attention, integrity and perseverence to even get on our practice squad. Is he a habitual problem? Possibly. But until he's on our final roster and in the dressing room for games he does not concern me. If he makes it to that point I am confident that our staff will not let him get there before making amends for his mistakes and being sure he is not that person at this stage in his career.

Euphoria

I mean give the kid an oppitunity. You have to allow this kid to work and earn money. You give him a chance and he blows it well then send him packing in a heart beat.
First thing they need to do is get him out of his enviorment and away from the thugs, surround him with some good players.

papz

5 cheeseburgers? That's it? No wonder why he's so ripped and toned.

Anyways, he's an UDFA. He's a low risk guy who we brought in to see if he could help. If he can't and will be a problem, he's gone... no biggy. The odds of him making the team were slim as it is... not many undrafted free agents make the roster. If we're that interested in him and like his potential, put him on the practice squad and coach him up.

WhoDat205

8 days until rookie camp....

Mr. Walt T, Who Dat Nation is pulling for you. don't let us down.

hagan714

Leave it to pft. The kid is not guilty yet. so pft gets an extra 6 pts on my turd watch. till he screws ups he is proven to have screwed up, he gets a chance. We all have a past. some off us have a few more years between then and now. I am sure the saints know what risks they are willing to take. I f he does screw up he will be cut ASAP as we all know.

SAINTSFAN834

Like someone said, it is simply a "tryout." I would love to see him make the team. However, I have my doubts as to whether he can put up with the rigors of the NFL and the discipline required to make it. I hope I am wrong, but I am doubting he even makes it to training camp in the summer.

biloxi-indian

Hell, I have been in the backseat of a FORD (fixed or repaired daily) with a bag over her face and a ski mask over mine just in case her bag came off! Conspiracy?

I hope the guy makes it to training camp. Beyond, who knows. I would have him rooming with either Brees or Jamal Brown...just to ensure a level playing field with his immaturity.

biloxi-indian

One other observation...if Walter was in the parking lot of a SONIC with a ski mask on, I sure hope the SONIC wasn't the target of the CONSPIRACY. If so, he does have a learning disability.

WhoDat205

Mr Walt T and Brees? That sounds like the plot of a bad 80's sitcom...or Of Mice and Men, one or the other.