Broderick Thomas thinks he can walk the walk,
too Broderick Thomas thinks he can walk the walk,
tooAUSTIN - Broderick Thomas has always been as one of the more brash players
in the NFL.
In fact, from the viewpoint of some around the NFL, he's done more good
talking than good playing in his seven years in the NFL.
But Thomas, signed by the Cowboys as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason,
doesn't see it like that.
"I still think I'm one of the better linebackers in the league,"
he said after Friday morning's practice at training camp. "I've just
been in spots with little talent. I chose to come to a place where there's
talent at every position."
Thomas might very well be on to something.
Drafted in the first round of the 1989 draft by Tampa Bay, Thomas spent
five fairly undistinguished seasons with the Buccaneers. Oh, there was 1991
when he recorded 174 tackles, 11 sacks and was named second-team All-Pro.
But after that season his career has been on somewhat of a downward spiral.
He left the Bucs after the 1993 season and signed with Detroit. He posted
a team-high seven sacks that season, one of which forced a Troy Aikman fumble
in overtime in the Lions' upset win over Dallas in 1994.
The Lions, however, let him go after the season and he spent last year in
Minnesota where he compiled similar numbers to his Detroit statistics.
Like Detroit, Minnesota released Thomas after one year, and now he's caught
on with Dallas and will try to win the starting strongside linebacker spot
after Dixon Edwards signed with the Vikings.
But Thomas feels like he's in a totally different situation now.
"Since I was drafted in 1989, this game hasn't been any fun for me,"
Thomas said. "When you spend five years in Tampa Bay and you walk out
on the field and the stadium's half full, you think to yourself, 'We don't
have a chance of winning this game.' That takes all the fun out of the game."
But in Dallas, he expects to have fun, mainly because of the talent on the
club.
"I've played my cards everywhere I've been," he said, "and
other teams just had better decks. At Tampa Bay, I played my butt off, but
it was like I was out there by myself. In Minnesota, it was me, Jack Del
Rio and Randall McDaniel. How you gonna beat 11 with three?"
It's that kind of brash talk that has earned Thomas a reputation as a mouthy
player; one that still hasn't lived up to his potential.
"I would have, though, if the talent on the teams I played for had
been better," he said. "There have always been holes on the teams
I've played for. And those teams have always had to play way over their
heads just to stay in games against teams like Dallas.
"No matter who the player is, without a lot of talent, it wouldn't
work," Thomas said. "You've got to give the Dallas Cowboys a lot
of credit because they've loaded this team up with a lot of talent."
And Thomas believes that when the season ends, people will see him as one
of those talented players.
"I am a Pro Bowl-type player," he said. "I'm not really that
impressed with any of the outside linebackers in the game right now. They
can say the same about me, and that's fine. But when this season's over
- when the Super Bowl is over - let's see where we all stand."