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November 19, 2007

Talking points: Adalius returns

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – During New England’s win in Indianapolis, Adalius Thomas became a football version of “Where’s Waldo?,” as the high-priced free agent linebacker wasn’t spotted too often on the RCA Dome turf.

Was he injured? In the dog house? A rare bust for Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli?

The answers: who knows, who knows, and probably not.

Last night, as New England played a high number of snaps in a 4-3 defense rather than its base 3-4, Thomas got to see a lot of time at outside linebacker, and got to fill out the stat sheet as a result: three tackles for 2 ½ sacks, four quarterback hits and one pass defensed.

"I was just really working," Thomas said of his ability to pressure J.P. Losman. "Anytime you can get a sack early in the game it sets the tone, especially on a long third down, it
gives you some momentum and it gives you a chance to get your offense back
on the field."

After Buffalo picked up 16 yards on its first play of the game, Thomas broke through the line completely unabated and dropped Losman for a nine-yard loss. One play later, on second-and-19, Losman dropped back again, and though he got off the pass, he probably would have preferred another up-close meeting with Thomas: his pass attempt was picked off by Randall Gay, setting up the Pats’ first touchdown.

“He’s a pretty versatile guy,” Bill Belichick said of Thomas. “He’s played inside and outside (linebacker). He does a great job for us. He’s able to do a lot of different things, which helps give our defense some flexibility.”

In all, the Patriots’ defense had four sacks on Losman, with one from Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi getting a half-sack as well.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:53 AM to Adalius Thomas | Permalink