No love for Daniel Thomas

[ohiofincane]

Wish he could stay healthy for a full season

[Fins1971]

Another in a long line of mediocre players Ireland has drafted.

Next please

And which running back was he supposed to draft?

As I have detailed in the Original post only 2 have done a whole lot more and they are on 2 of the better offensive teams.

The hate for Ireland on this forum is over the top. Not saying I'm happy with him but.

We lost our two main running backs (R&R), needed a back and got one that is performing like he should for where he was drafted.

But ireland failed becuase he isn't the next Emmit Smith.

I suppose all those other GM's are just as bad since they didn't do any better in the 2011 finding a great running back in the draft.

[Birdmond]

I can't believe I'm reading a thread defending an injury prone, soft, fumbler who Jeff Ireland TRADED UP to get!

[Fins1971]

I can't believe I'm reading a thread defending an injury prone, soft, fumbler who Jeff Ireland TRADED UP to get!

You lost all credibilty with me when you said soft.
DT is anything but soft. He runs into a wall without hesitation.

Injury prone and fumbler maybe, but he's one tough dude.

[MRojas4]

DT just got a bad batch thrown on his plate.

Think about it, most of the hate for DT is a result of what?

1. We traded up and drafted him instead of Murray who has had a break out season. (Doesn't mean DT sucks)
2. Most if not all of his fumbles have come at crucial moments in games.
3. Injuries, Injuries, Injuries
4. Called a "soft player", all those injuries make him think twice about sizing up a LB.

Mix all those together and you have the result of why people think DT sucks.

Hopefully he can put that all behind him and start fresh next season.

[Birdmond]

You lost all credibilty with me when you said soft.
DT is anything but soft. He runs into a wall without hesitation.

Injury prone and fumbler maybe, but he's one tough dude.

He's a former QB who doesn't run with authority. He's a puss.

[Fins1971]

Unfortunately for a team like ours compared to those other teams, OUR fumbles are MAGNIFIED! We cannot afford any T/O! Also for a "power back" I have yet to see the power!

The 2 fumbles lost by DT this year were NOT magnified.

The 1st came when we were getting our but kicked by Houston and Dt was actuially knocked out on the play.
The 2nd came against the Jets in the 1st game. The D stopped the Jets and the fumble had no effect on the game.

Big Deal.

[Fins1971]

2. Most if not all of his fumbles have come at crucial moments in games.

The 1st came when we were getting our butts kicked by Houston and Dt was actuially knocked out on the play.
The 2nd came against the Jets in the 1st game. The D stopped the Jets and the fumble had no effect on the game.
The 3rd was recovered by the Dolphins.

What season did you guys watch?

---------- Post added at 04:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:27 PM ----------

He's a former QB who doesn't run with authority. He's a puss.

If anyone runs like a puss on the team its Reggie Bush. Dancing around if there is any contact in the hole.
DT runs into it. He rarely breaks out the other side but he runs into the wall like a man.

[Birdmond]

The 1st came when we were getting our butts kicked by Houston and Dt was actuially knocked out on the play.
The 2nd came against the Jets in the 1st game. The D stopped the Jets and the fumble had no effect on the game.
The 3rd was recovered by the Dolphins.

What season did you guys watch?

---------- Post added at 04:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:27 PM ----------



If anyone runs like a puss on the team its Reggie Bush. Dancing around if there is any contact in the hole.
DT runs into it. He rarely breaks out the other side but he runs into the wall like a man.

I agree. Bush and Thomas run like *******. I want them both gone.

[ckparrothead]

Reggie Bush in 2011 & 2012 took 14 carries for 64 yards on 3rd/4th & 1-2 yards to go. He took 18 carries for 26 yards inside the opponent's 10 yard line. Together that's 32 carries for 90 yards (2.8 YPC). Exclude those and he gained 1982 yards on 411 carries (4.8 YPC).

Lamar Miller in 2012 took 1 carry for 1 yard in these situations, which means excluding them he ran 50 times for 249 yards (5.0 YPC).

Daniel Thomas in 2011 & 2012 took 42 carries for 50 yards (1.2 YPC) in these situations. Excluding them he ran 214 times for 856 yards (4.0 YPC).

So really the point remains that Daniel Thomas did SIGNIFICANTLY worse than both Reggie Bush and Lamar Miller behind the same offensive line.

I happen to know because I've done this exercise before across the league that a number of 5.0 yards per carry is a respectable number when you exclude 3rd/4th & Short, and Tight Red carries. Most backs around the league hover around that mark. A mark of 4.0 yards per carry in that measure is exceptionally low.

And the other thing to note is his lack of success ON those short yardage plays. Reggie Bush gained over 3 yards per carry in those short yardage situations. Daniel Thomas gained 1 yard. How many Daniel Thomas goal line plays have we seen where he was stuffed without the touchdown? How many short yardage plays stuffed without the 1st down? This is supposed to be his specialty, and he's not very good at it.

I happen to do a lot of statistical work on short yardage and Goal to Go situations. It's one of the few stats that actually matter to me a little bit. If you're getting a carry in Goal to Go, how often do you convert that to a touchdown? Because it's one of the few stats that matters to me I have a really good idea of what percentages are "good", what percentages are downright "ridiculous", what are "average" and what is "bad".

Daniel Thomas in his young career has taken 25 carries inside the 10 yard line on Goal to Go type situations and he's converted 4 touchdowns (16%). That's bad. Last year when he took 10 carries in Goal to Go and didn't score a single touchdown, that was the first time I'd ever seen that. I'd seen tailbacks fail to convert touchdowns in the tight red area but never seen them take as many as 10 carries in there in a season and fail to convert even a single one of them.

You add onto these issues the fact that he's fumble prone (deny it all you like, a fumble for every 50 carries is on the bad side of the spectrum, any more often than that and guys lose their jobs and get shoved out of the league), and then the fact he can't stay healthy and his own teammates have accused him of not taking care of his body...and maybe you don't know why people like me criticize Daniel Thomas, but I sure as hell don't know why anyone is really defending the guy, either.

The Dolphins have Lamar Miller, they're thinking of re-signing Reggie Bush, and they're doing vetting work on tailbacks (this I know). Even before he got injured (again) this year, Daniel Thomas had all of 3 touches in the San Francisco and Jacksonville games while Reggie Bush and Lamar Miller combined for 51 touches.

Read the writing on the wall. It ain't good.

---------- Post added at 04:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:33 PM ----------

You lost all credibilty with me when you said soft.
DT is anything but soft. He runs into a wall without hesitation.

Injury prone and fumbler maybe, but he's one tough dude.

Toughness is not in question. Ability to stay on his feet through contact is most definitely in question and has been since college.