Ian Thomas hopes he’ll be Greg Olsen’s heir

[NAS]

 “But, yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for. . . . I think my first couple years were solid. I’m not really a person that likes to look into the future. But I’ll do my best to make sure I’m preparing for the next upcoming season as much as I can. Hopefully, that’s a good thing and that’s a great season ahead of me. But I like to live in the now.”

https://theathletic.com/1612676/2020/02/17/caught-off-guard-by-greg-olsens-release-panthers-te-ian-thomas-looking-forward-to-everything-thats-coming/

 

 

[The Huddler]

If any of you are in a Dynasty Fantasy Football League, go after him while you can.  He is going to shine with Joe Brady. 

[Pejorative Miscreant]

Recalling his backstory, I think he was relatively raw coming in but had huge upside and flashes of talent.   This is year 3 (I think) so he should emerge.  Not saying he will be all world but hopefully a fundamentally sound starter.  I think he is the kind of player the staff wants in terms of being able to develop and take his game to the next level.  Rooting for him. 

[JawnyBlaze]

I hope so too. He has the tools

[Waldo]

It's his time to prove it and I certainly hope he does. I still don't know where his ceiling is but I think he could be very productive if the new staff is half as good at developing players as advertised.

[MHS831]

27 minutes ago, Pejorative Miscreant said:

Recalling his backstory, I think he was relatively raw coming in but had huge upside and flashes of talent.   This is year 3 (I think) so he should emerge.  Not saying he will be all world but hopefully a fundamentally sound starter.  I think he is the kind of player the staff wants in terms of being able to develop and take his game to the next level.  Rooting for him. 

Let's face it, Olsen was getting the reps and we needed a blocking TE (Manhertz) because our OL was not right.

In addition--Ron "show me the veterans" Rivera threw him in his dog house early and often.  I think he missed a route or two in a game and Cam did not like it.

Finally, Olsen was a first rounder, a good player-elite talent and very smart.  Thomas is a student--learning as he goes---THE QUINTESSENTIAL PLAYER THAT NEEDS TO BE COACHED UP, BUT WAS NOT.---Expect good things. 

[Moo Daeng]

20 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

Let's face it, Olsen was getting the reps and we needed a blocking TE (Manhertz) because our OL was not right.

In addition--Ron "show me the veterans" Rivera threw him in his dog house early and often.  I think he missed a route or two in a game and Cam did not like it.

Finally, Olsen was a first rounder, a good player-elite talent and very smart.  Thomas is a student--learning as he goes---THE QUINTESSENTIAL PLAYER THAT NEEDS TO BE COACHED UP, BUT WAS NOT.---Expect good things. 

Where do you get that he was not coached up? You havent sniffed a practice to have any idea what goes on.

[Towelboy]

I said it in the article and I'll say it here...I like Thomas, but reading this and watching the Amazon "All or Nothing" series leaves me wanting more. His aloofness makes me wonder if he loves the game or just plays because he has raw talent. I wouldn't be surprised to see the team move in another direction in the draft or Free Agency.

[bigpoppa]

You can be Greg Olsen's heir, but you can never be Greg Olsen's hair

[Snake]

We def will be running a simpler system this year so I hope he balls out. 

[Carl Spackler]

Stands to reason he'll be competing with a draft pick for that title.

[MHS831]

49 minutes ago, Moo Daeng said:

Where do you get that he was not coached up? You havent sniffed a practice to have any idea what goes on.

Fair enough--let's play.

There were other reasons in the media, and interviews that revealed speculation that Thomas was in RR's dog house, but this is what I meant more than anything else:  Have you ever been the third string player?  During the season, do you know how much attention a #3 gets?  On an individual basis, a very small percentage.  Yes, you attend skull sessions and hear group directives- you run through the drills and the coach might give you a tip, but most of the help you get is from other players or on your own---you watch film by yourself, work on the jugs machine after practice, and you study the play book.  You do not get to go against the #1s much, and you get about 20% of the reps the #1 gets in practice. Heck, a lot of the time the position coach is talking to the #1 when the #3s are getting their scattered reps.  To assume a #3 in RR's doghouse was getting coached up is simply not real world.  Olsen was--Manhertz was--Thomas?  again, gets about a fifth of the attention.

I watched OTAs every year for a decade.  I noticed that the longshots were not given a lot of attention.  Even after making the roster, the week-to-week is focused on game planning with the players that will be in the game.

So that is what I meant.  

[bababoey]

Greg Olsen hair?  He use to have more of it.

[top dawg]

Solid hands will be key, as is his ability to block.