AFlaccoSeagulls Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Hi all, I want to preface this by saying I am of the belief that Earl Thomas is the most overrated player in the NFL today. Living in the PNW, and by extension being around a lot of Seahawks fans/writers/analysts, I hear a lot about how Earl Thomas is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and how he's a for sure lock HOF player and maybe the greatest safety ever, or at least in the modern NFL. I want to see what FF thinks about this, and specifically I'm interested to see how FF compares Earl Thomas to recent greats like Brian Dawkins, Troy Polamalu, and Ed Reed. Frankly, I don't think Earl Thomas is on the same level as any of those guys. He doesn't impact the game the same way those guys did, and even when Ed Reed was relegated to being just a centerfield FS who couldn't tackle he put up ridiculous INT numbers and made a living of baiting QB's and scoring touchdowns off of it. Earl Thomas just doesn't have that effect, IMO. So, what do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter2_1 Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 He's below Reed, and I'd say Dawkins and Troy were quite different? I dunno. You certainly notice when Thomas isn't there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFlaccoSeagulls Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share Posted November 21, 2017 9 minutes ago, Hunter2_1 said: He's below Reed, and I'd say Dawkins and Troy were quite different? I dunno. You certainly notice when Thomas isn't there. Certainly all of them were different, and I think that's easy to see. Reed was relegated to more of Thomas' current role after his nerve impingement injury, but before that he was much more like Polamalu and Dawkins. And while you can notice when Thomas wasn't there, mainly because Steven Terrell was actually horrible in those few games, you also didn't notice when he wasn't there this season when Bradley McDougald filled in. However, it took one game for Richard Sherman's absence to already dwarf Thomas', and that's even with Sherman being replaced by 2 LOB members in Lane and Maxwell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamcanadian Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 I would rate him as a HOF Safety. Mayock, a former DB in the NFL himself, said he was the best he had seen as a prospect before he was drafted and he is rarely wrong on DB's. Thomas is the best cover Safety in the NFL today and one of the reasons the Seahawks are always a threat to get to the SB. When he is out of the lineup, it creates a huge void in Seattle's defense. He is a FS, so it is worthless to compare him to SS's like Polamalu. He is perfect for today's game, where passing dominates offenses, as he can cover anyone, one on one and take them right out of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFlaccoSeagulls Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 1 hour ago, Iamcanadian said: I would rate him as a HOF Safety. Mayock, a former DB in the NFL himself, said he was the best he had seen as a prospect before he was drafted and he is rarely wrong on DB's. Thomas is the best cover Safety in the NFL today and one of the reasons the Seahawks are always a threat to get to the SB. When he is out of the lineup, it creates a huge void in Seattle's defense. He is a FS, so it is worthless to compare him to SS's like Polamalu. He is perfect for today's game, where passing dominates offenses, as he can cover anyone, one on one and take them right out of the game. He's literally never been asked to do this, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter2_1 Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 7 hours ago, Darth Pees said: He's literally never been asked to do this, though. He was Gronk a lot in the superbowl, but it wasn't like he was asked to constantly shadow him. We schemed gronk into one-on-one situations (i.e TD) so you could tell he wasn't told to always blanket him (like Reid did earlier this year). That's about as close as I've seen it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom cody Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 He's been a good one during his career, not among the top 5 all time but I think he should be a Hall of Famer when his career is over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFlaccoSeagulls Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 6 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said: He was Gronk a lot in the superbowl, but it wasn't like he was asked to constantly shadow him. We schemed gronk into one-on-one situations (i.e TD) so you could tell he wasn't told to always blanket him (like Reid did earlier this year). That's about as close as I've seen it. IIRC, most of the coverage on Gronk in the Superbowl was delegated to Kam Chancellor and KJ Wright. I don't recall any situations where 5'10 Earl Thomas was asked to shadow Gronk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
showtime Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 21 hours ago, Darth Pees said: He doesn't impact the game the same way those guys did, and even when Ed Reed was relegated to being just a centerfield FS who couldn't tackle he put up ridiculous INT numbers and made a living of baiting QB's and scoring touchdowns off of it. Earl Thomas just doesn't have that effect, IMO. Via ESPN This was just last season: Without Thomas, the Seahawks had legitimately one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL. They ranked 30th in opposing YPA, 24th in opposing yards per dropback and 31st in opponents' passer rating. According to Football Outsiders, the Seahawks' defense ranked fifth in passing DVOA through the first 11 weeks of the season (Thomas started every game). From Week 12 to Week 17 -- a span in which Thomas played just one quarter -- the Seahawks ranked 30th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralBill Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Just going to do post 2000 safeties as those are the only ones I've watched. He's nowhere near Troy or Reed. Below Dawkins and Sharper as well. He's below contemporaries in Harrison Smith and Eric Berry. There's very few safeties who make the HoF. I'm going to say he doesn't make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danger Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 18 minutes ago, RuralBill said: Just going to do post 2000 safeties as those are the only ones I've watched. He's nowhere near Troy or Reed. Below Dawkins and Sharper as well. He's below contemporaries in Harrison Smith and Eric Berry. There's very few safeties who make the HoF. I'm going to say he doesn't make it. Dawkins is well above Sharper. I can't say for sure in regards to players currently active in the league, but the only 3 safeties of their time period that belong in the HoF are Reed, Polamalu, and Dawkins. Sean Taylor might have had a shot until... yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralBill Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 2 minutes ago, Danger said: Dawkins is well above Sharper. I can't say for sure in regards to players currently active in the league, but the only 3 safeties of their time period that belong in the HoF are Reed, Polamalu, and Dawkins. Sean Taylor might have had a shot until... yeah. I agree Dawkins was better than Sharper, never said otherwise though my wording may have implied such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoundrel Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Brian Dawkins career FF's number is insane. For a non pass rusher. Peanut has him beat for DB's but Peanut had the peanut punch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlaqOptic Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 I watched 3 GOATs play last decade... So you'll have to excuse me if I don't think that Earl Thomas matches up to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nex_Gen Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Timely thread as Thomas seems like he's lost a step and has struggled this season. I think he'll be a borderline HOF'er. He may or may not get in depending on a few factors. I don't think he's an all-time great but he was one of the best in an era where Safeties have diminished..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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