NFL Live: Dre Bly Rumors

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon

I thought Joe Thomas was the second coming of Orlando Pace - - - until I saw the Florida/Ohio State game.

Whenever I saw Thomas, he dominated Big Ten defenders - and I mean he dominated them in the games I saw. Then I saw Big Ten defenders and offensive lineman get clowned by Florida and it made me wonder if Joe Thomas had played against "the best" in terms of collegiate athletic competition.

In the NFL, athleticism is a given for DEs and OLBs. So, is Thomas up to handling all of that or does he look really good only because he played against second-tier defenders in terms of athletic ability? Before anyone jerks their knee out of joint telling me how great the Big Ten is, I don't see any of the Big Ten DEs up there as "can't miss/impact players from Day One" this year... So, just whom did Joe Thomas protect his QB from???

If Thomas really is as good as he looked, then whoever gets him will have another Orlando Pace. Don't tell me that the Skins don't need that; Pace is twice as good as any OT the Skins have had since Joe Jacoby and Jim Lachey hung up their jockstraps.

But if Thomas looks a whole lot better than he really is ...

Additionally, we don't know how much longer we are going to be able to rely on Jansen. I didn't think giving him a new deal was the smartest thing given the circumstances.

I'm not sure theres a team in the league whos line is so good that they would find Thomas riding the bench.