Saints cornerback wants to get back
Posted By: Presto253 | Apr 7 2005, 12:58 PM

NEW ORLEANS -- When the New Orleans Saints signed Fred Thomas as a free agent back in 2000, they thought they were getting a solid nickel cornerback and a good backup player.

Then Thomas got a taste of starting and he and the Saints both liked him in that role.

Now Thomas is determined to show that the starting spot is still his.

"I feel like I shortchanged this team and my teammates last year," Thomas said on Tuesday. "It's one of those season's you have to bounce back from. One of those years you want to show isn't typical for you."

Thomas only played in 15 games last season and started seven. The year before he had 14 starts and played in every game. He also had a career-high 99 tackles and a team-leading four interceptions in 2003, compared to 52 tackles and no interceptions last season.

"Anybody who knows me knows that was not what you should expect from me," Thomas said.

Personal problems, that Thomas still wants to keep personal, plagued him all of last season.

He also had some nagging injuries that he downplayed during the season. The worst was an injured right foot that was a problem from the second game of the preseason. The injury, to his toes, the ball of the foot and his ankle, left him hobbled all year.

"There were certain times I was limping during games," Thomas said. "And I play on my toes, so it hurt me when I set or cut. I tried to compensate for it, but sometimes it put me in bad positions."

Opposing players were able to take advantage of him at times, Thomas admits.

"Receivers would get a step on me and I couldn't open up the way I wanted on them," he said.

That's why Thomas greets the dawn at Saints camp these days. He's heavily involved in the offseason conditioning program and in rehabilitating his injured foot.

"I haven't missed a day, haven't missed a single work out," Thomas said. "Being a 10-year veteran you'd think I don't have to prove anything. But I know that's not the case. I know I have to prove everything all over again this year."

By 9:30 every morning Thomas has gone through the workout the Saints designed for him, running, lifting weights, and concentrating on his injury.

Thomas' foot and ankle have not completely recovered, but he believes they will before the season. Everyday he does a series of drills aimed at returning the foot and ankle to health.

"I stretch the muscles, pick up things with my toes, things to make it stronger and more flexible," Thomas said.

Optimism this time of year is easy to come by, Thomas acknowledged. You have to have it to play football, he said. It makes the struggle to recover, to rebuild your body and your team worthwhile.

"If you didn't come in with the idea you were going to the Super Bowl you'd never get through the work," Thomas said. "You sure wouldn't be able to be a contender if you didn't have that faith."

Thomas also believes he is hedging his bets with his offseason work.

"I think this year, you'll see a very, very improved Fred Thomas," he said. "I'm sure of that."