Tag: Zach Thomas

Cowboys legends DeMarcus Ware, Darren Woodson named Hall of Fame semifinalists

The two longtime Cowboys are among 28 semifinalists for Canton’s Class of 2023, along with Zach Thomas, who spent a year with the Cowboys. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Two longtime Cowboys icons are among the 28 modern-day semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023, it was announced this week.

Outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware and safety Darren Woodson advance to the next round, as does linebacker Zach Thomas, who spent his final NFL season in Dallas.

Ware makes the list of semifinalists for his second straight year. The Cowboys’ all-time sackmaster became eligible for enshrinement last year and made it all the way to the final vote. Despite being considered a shoo-in, he was denied the honor of being named a first-ballot Hall of Famer in a snub that shocked many fans.

After nine seasons in Dallas, seven straight pro Bowl appearances, and four first-team All-Pro nods, Ware signed with Denver. He played four more years as a Bronco and won a Super Bowl ring for the 2015 season.

Woodson knows this part of the journey to Canton quite well. He’s been a semifinalist six times but has never advanced to the next stage. This, despite being the franchise’s all-time leading tackler, a five-time Pro Bowler, a four-time first-team All-Pro, a three-time Super Bowl champion, and just the 21st member of the Cowboys’ prestigious Ring of Honor.

Thomas didn’t wear the star for long, but was well-known to Dallas fans after a stellar college career at Texas Tech. He was a mainstay for 13 seasons in Miami before joining the Cowboys for the 2008 campaign. It proved to be his finale, as he suffered a concussion in training camp with the Chiefs the following year and was released shortly thereafter.

Fifteen Hall of Fame finalists will be revealed in January.

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Former Dolphins LB Zach Thomas named semifinalist for 2023 Hall of Fame Class

Will this finally be the year for the Dolphins legend?

For the fifth consecutive year, former Miami Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas has been named a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

On Tuesday, the Hall of Fame announced their 28 modern-era semifinalists for the 2023 class. Thomas has been a finalist each of the last three years, so this shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

While Thomas is the only member of this year’s semifinalist list that spent time with the Dolphins, the class is full of great players like defensive end Dwight Freeney, wide receiver Andre Johnson and safety Rodney Harrison.

The linebacker joins defensive back Ronde Barber, wide receiver Torry Holt, wide receiver Hines Ward and defensive back Darren Woodson as players who have been on the list at least five times.

Thomas played 13 seasons in the NFL, 12 of them with the Dolphins. In his career, he totaled 1,734 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 17 interceptions, and 16 forced fumbles. He was named to seven Pro Bowls and was a First-Team All-Pro selection five times.

With such a talented group of individuals being named semifinalists along with him, there’s no guarantee that he gets in, but he has as good of a shot as any of the other 27.

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7 Dolphins nominated for 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class

129 nominees were announced on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame released their list of 129 Modern-Era nominees.

From there, the list will be cut down to 25 semifinalists in November and then to 15 finalists come January.

The Miami Dolphins had seven former players nominated for the class of 2023. Some donned the aqua and orange for longer than others, but all seven of them had some great careers.

These are the Dolphins’ Modern-Era nominees for next year’s class:

Hall of Fame LB advocates for Zach Thomas to be inducted

He’s been a finalist in each of the last three years.

Zach Thomas was one of the biggest, baddest linebackers of his generation, and he did most of his dominating in the aqua and orange.

In 12 seasons with the Miami Dolphins, Thomas recorded 1,640 tackles, 19.5 sacks, 17 interceptions, 16 forced fumbles and seven recovered fumbles. That level of production was good enough to earn him five First-team All-Pro selections, two Second-team All-Pro selections, seven Pro Bowl appearances and a spot on the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2000s.

Despite all of these achievements, Thomas finds himself outside of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, even though he’s been a finalist in each of the last three years.

Hall of Fame Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher thinks it’s time that Thomas gets recognized in Canton. On “The Pat McAfee Show” this week, Urlacher brought up Thomas’ absence and was clearly annoyed with it.

“I’m gonna give you one guy – Zach Thomas,” Urlacher said. “How the [expletive] is Zach Thomas not in the Hall of Fame. Put his stats up with mine, Ray [Lewis], any other linebacker who’s even close to the Hall of Fame or been in the Hall of Fame. He’s right there with us, if not better in every category… It pisses me off. Every year I advocate for him to get in, and he was a finalist a couple years, but they don’t put him in. I don’t understand.”

Urlacher then followed up with a tweet early Thursday morning, once again supporting Thomas’ case.

If one of the best linebackers of the generation is saying that Thomas was just as good if not better than any of the other guys that are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he should probably get in.

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One thing to love about each of the Bears’ 11 draft picks

From Kyler Gordon’s lockdown coverage to Velus Jones Jr.’s speed, here’s one thing to love about each of the Bears’ 2022 draft picks.

While the Chicago Bears lacked a first0round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, they were still able to add multiple players that could be instant impact makers.

General manager Ryan Poles addressed some big needs on the roster, including the secondary with top selections Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker, as well as a speedy playmaker in wideout Velus Jones Jr. and four offensive linemen.

Whether they were selected in the second round or seventh round, the Bears see something in each of their selections from last weekend. Let’s get to know the newest Bears a little better and discuss what there is to love about each of them. 

Updated look at Bears offensive line depth after 2022 NFL draft

With the four offensive linemen additions in the NFL draft, here’s a look at where the Bears’ offensive line depth stands.

The Chicago Bears selected four offensive linemen in the 2022 NFL draft, an indication that general manager Ryan Poles is looking to shore up what was one of the offense’s biggest weaknesses last year.

Chicago added all four offensive linemen — mostly interior guys — on Day 3 of the draft: Southern Utah’s Braxton Jones, San Diego State’s Zach Thomas, Illinois’ Doug Kramer and Southern’s Ja’Tyre Carter.

While most are developmental prospects at this point, there was an obvious focus on building the offensive line in the draft, which makes sense given that quarterback Justin Fields was among the most-sacked quarterbacks last season.

Following the addition of four offensive linemen during the draft, here’s a look at the Bears’ offensive line depth:

Closer look at the Bears’ 2022 draft picks

We’re taking a closer look at the Bears’ draft class, including breakdowns, player profiles and scouting reports on the new rookies.

The Chicago Bears selected 11 players during the 2022 NFL Draft, including a pair of starting defensive backs in Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker in the second round, as well as four offensive linemen, a wide receiver, an edge rusher, a running back and even a punter.

Now that Chicago has its 2022 draft class in place, it’s time dive in and take a look at what the Bears have in their new rookies.

We’re taking a closer look at the Bears’ draft class, including breakdowns, player profiles, scouting reports from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and comments from the Bears on all 11 selections.

Grading every Bears pick in the 2022 NFL draft

Here’s a round-up of all of our grades for each of the Bears’ 11 picks in the 2022 NFL draft.

The Chicago Bears welcomed 11 new players to their roster this weekend during the 2022 NFL draft, including two players who project to serve as immediate starters in cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker.

While it’s far too early to start evaluating general manager Ryan Poles’ first draft class before they’ve even hit the field, we’re taking an early look at this 2022 draft class, which includes four offensive linemen, three defensive backs, one wide receiver, one edge rusher, one running back and one punter.

Here’s a round-up of all of our grades for each of the Bears’ 11 selections in the 2022 NFL draft.

2022 NFL draft: Experts hand out grades for Bears

Here’s a collection of all of the grades for the Bears’ 2022 draft class, where experts wondered why they didn’t do more for Justin Fields.

The 2021 NFL draft is officially in the books, and the Chicago Bears came out of it with some promising prospects.

General manager Ryan Poles targeted the secondary with his first two selections in Round 2 in Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon and Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker. Chicago also took a chance on speedy Tennessee wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. in the third round.

But it was on Day 3 when Poles turned three selections into eight picks through several trades, where he added some great value picks that could turn into steals down the line.

Here’s a collection of all of the grades for the Bears’ draft class from various sports outlets, where most experts were left wondering why Chicago didn’t do more to help Justin Fields.

Grading the Bears’ selection of OT Zach Thomas

The Bears added depth to the offensive line with the selection of Zach Thomas in the sixth round. Here’s how we graded the pick.

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The Chicago Bears continued an effort to build their offensive line with the selection of San Diego State offensive tackle Zach Thomas. Thomas can play both offensive tackle spots, alongside playing offensive guard.

The versatility Thomas brings is exciting, due to his ability to play three positions. He played 17 games at right tackle, 14 at left tackle, and two games at right guard.

Thomas fires off the ball and helps the running game with his skillset. Some weaknesses scouts saw was him over-extend as a pass blocker. That can be worked on over the next few seasons, though.

Many scouts expect Thomas to be a depth offensive lineman/special teams player, and he projects to serve as a guard at the NFL level.

His versatility will be his benefit throughout his Bears career. While he’ll likely make the transition to guard, it certainly doesn’t hurt having extensive experience at the tackle position.

Grade: C+

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