ESPN: Mosley- Redskins' Zorn won't babysit Thomas

[IS guhn RAIN]

All the dude said was that getting the ball helps him get in the flow of the game....completly reasonable statment. The evil media will hang onto anything.

seriously....how many times do u hear a guy say he has butterflies until that first hit and then he is fine. All thomas said was that returning kicks gets him that first touch of the ball and first contact to get into the game.

NOT a big deal at all people come on

[cubanl81]

This is a non issue to me right now. Now if the season starts and we keep hearing stories like this. I might get more worried about it. But at the end of the day if he produces that's all that matters.

[Warhead36]

Bold prediction: by seasons end Marko Mitchell will have surpassed both Kelly and Thomas as our clear cut #2 WR of the future.

[Adam291]

If DT wants to be a diva, let him be a diva. I like how the Redskins are generally a classy team with guys who don't get themselves in much trouble, but a little swagger couldn't hurt. The problem is, DT's play isn't backing up the attitude. Until then, he should chill out a bit and step up on the field.

[MumboSauce]

I don't see the big deal with this one. It will all be forgotten in the coming weeks.

[21forlyfe]

I agree. Although I'm disappointed he hasn't stepped up as much as Kelly has and seems to be not as reliable from quotes read by both Zorn and Campbell, he simply said that he returning kicks helps him get in the flow sooner. He hasn't demanded or complained about anything. He simply answered a reporter's question.

Step up like Kelly?smh what did Kelly do so far?Look,the real reason people are high on Kelly is because he moved up to the #2 Wr,coming into camp i can recall fans ripping Kelly because he was the#3wr and Thomas was the #2..most Redskins fans are Game to game fans their opinions change game after game...comment after comment...What did Kelly do that was so amazing? he had 2 rec for 22 yards in two games combined.:doh: with that said i am happy with him being the #2 dont get me wrong,just saying he hasn't showed me much more than DT..I just don't understand why the fans have to make it one or the other..Why can't we just have two nice WR's...instead of who ever is the number 2 wr on the roster will get praise..and the third will get talked about..:mad:

[Thinking Skins]

I don't like to get this serious about football but... That sickens me. I guess he's just trying to make a buck but that's arrogant and weak. I wouldn't want his autograph for free. Then I'd probably have to throw out whatever he inks when he turns out to be a bust.

Get it going bud. I want to see you succeed and I hate to be a hater but come on man...

Well, some people's favorite Redskin #28 also had a similar attitude about autographs.

[Thinking Skins]

Kickoffs? What the hell is he talking about? Does he not realize there's a reason Rock is on the team? If there are weeks where Devin has to be inactive and Mitchell has to be active, that's perfectly fine with me. I don't care who was drafted where.

Dude, Thomas plays special teams, that alone will put him as more likely in being active than Mitchell. If you remember last year, Thomas was actually playing well on Special Teams. There was conversation about Thomas taking Thrash's role on special teams as the lead blocker for Rock.

Mitchell's still trying to learn where to line up on special teams. I don't think there's much of a chance that Mitchell gets active over Thomas.

[Spartacus87]

Too many people willing to jump all over DT for this.

First off, the whole story by Mosley is out of context and it's also not a big deal anyway- as others have said, a lot of guys just need to take their first hit or get the ball in their hands once before they feel comfortable in the rest of the game.

What a lot of people seem to be missing as well is that DT isn't the kind of WR that's just going to be bust out of the gate with a big career. He was ALWAYS a project, he had one standout year in college and was drafted due to his massive potential. Guys like that, that come over from Junior Colleges before seeing D1 time in their junior and senior years, take longer to develop at the next level.

Realistically, we probably won't really know what we have in DT until next year. Some people around here are just too impatient for that I guess though.

[GoodOnPaper]

I know its just an article, and I know its EXTREEEEEEEMEskins and all...but really, lets not jump to conclusions here. We havent even played a single down of football yet, the jury is not anywhere close to being out on Thomas, Kelly hasnt done anything more than him, and we have no idea who will step up this year. Could be Trent Shelton for all we know.

Needs more EXXXXTTTREEEEEEEEME.

But yes, I agree. I think its a little overboard on the reactionary side but thats OK.

Sometimes players motivate themselves in different ways. He's got a "me" attitude, and while I find it generally annoying, sometimes those players can be great. Or sometimes they end up like Brandon Lloyd.

[NoCalMike]

When we drafted Thomas & Kelly was it Thomas that was said to be more "NFL-ready" but Kelly had more upside......or was it the other way around?

[Thinking Skins]

Yeah, uh, this is waaaay overblown. I think any kick returner who plays another position would say that returning kicks helps them to get into the game. They're not saying that they wouldn't be in the game otherwise. They just get pumped by additional action.

Non-story.

Correct. In fact, this is exactly what Santana Moss said last year in terms of returning punts. What happened? We let him return some punts and he won some games for us. Nobody's calling him a diva for it.

[Thinking Skins]

Bold prediction: by seasons end Marko Mitchell will have surpassed both Kelly and Thomas as our clear cut #2 WR of the future.

Even Bolder Prediction: By the end of the year, Mitchell will become either the new Colt Brennan, the new Darnerian McCants, or the new Anthony Mix.

[SirClintonPortis]

When we drafted Thomas & Kelly was it Thomas that was said to be more "NFL-ready" but Kelly had more upside......or was it the other way around?

Kelly was the one that was said to be more NFL-ready.

[Thinking Skins]

When we drafted Thomas & Kelly was it Thomas that was said to be more "NFL-ready" but Kelly had more upside......or was it the other way around?

Nah, you've got it backwards. Thomas was said to be the project and Kelly was more NFL ready. Kelly was a starter for (I think) 3 years. Thomas only for 1.

[Santana_89]

This particular story is a non-issue for me. I had already seen the interview so while it isn't what Mosely is making it out to be. I do have concern over Devin Thomas' play. Coming out of training camp and OTA's he was on track and focused. I was predicting Devin would have the breakout year. Then in the pre season games Malcolm shows up making the plays. I hope Devin gets his act togethe,or I fear he will Brandon Lloyd himself on out of D.C. Marko Mitchell is steadily trying to improve himself. To my knowledge Keith Eloi hasn't signed with anybody. He impressed me in the preseason.

Get it together Devin

[Spartacus87]

Even Bolder Prediction: By the end of the year, Mitchell will become either the new Colt Brennan, the new Darnerian McCants, or the new Anthony Mix.

People are jumping on the Marko Mitchell bandwagon way too quickly at the moment.

Let's see him do things in real games outside of being the great hope of the preseason. Kelly, as long as he stays healthy, is still a more go to guy than Mitchell.

When we drafted Thomas & Kelly was it Thomas that was said to be more "NFL-ready" but Kelly had more upside......or was it the other way around?

Thomas was mostly used at Michigan State on go routes, screens, hitches, real quick routes that he excelled in because of his athleticism more than anything else.

Kelly ran the entire route tree at Oklahoma and saw a lot more D1 action than Thomas.

[angel2]

I don't really see a problem with what DT said about kickoff returning but Zorn is obviously quite informed on the overall situation with Thomas and doesn't seem too pleased. I hope this is no big deal and tommorrow night we are talking about a DT touchdown, but I don't see that happening.

I think you and WP are reading far too much into this. Thomas is not a problem at all. The WP is just trying to get copy for next week by suggesting that Devin is immature and does not take playing professional football seriously.

[E-Dog Night]

I remember saying, and hearing a lot of people concur, that in all likelihood both of the WR's that the Redskins drafted in 2008 wouldn't pan out. One of them would emerge and the other would fade quickly.

Of course it is way too early to either hand the keys to Kelly or to give up on Thomas. But if the early returns are an indication, it seems Kelly is the one who "gets it". There are plenty of incredibly athletic guys out there who could have made it, but never really do make their mark in the NFL because of the nonsense going on in between their ears.

Question: is this smart drafting? Let's say the current trajectory continues as is. Knowing full well that WR is a difficult position to draft because so many don't turn out they ways teams' hoped, could Cerrato actually have purposely drafted 2 WR's, being resigned to the probability that only one would become a legit NFL threat, and that would be better than taking a chance on one guy?

[Warhead36]

People are jumping on the Marko Mitchell bandwagon way too quickly at the moment.

Let's see him do things in real games outside of being the great hope of the preseason. Kelly, as long as he stays healthy, is still a more go to guy than Mitchell.

I don't see how Kelly is a more go to guy. Kelly did nothing of note last year and, while he showed flashes in preseason, Mitchell DOMINATED against lesser competition. Kelly(and Thomas for that matter as well)also played against preseason scrubs for stretches and weren't nearly as good as Mitchell.

I'm not saying Mitchell is the next Art Monk or anything, I just think up to this point he has shown more than Kelly and Thomas. I can understand Kelly being the #2 WR right now but it wouldn't shock me if Mitchell eventually takes that role. Ideally all three of our young pup receivers will develop, making Randle El obsolete and setting us up for the future when Moss begins to decline.

[Vicious]

Malcolm Kelly is going to be our #1 receiver if Santana Moss goes down. Think about that people. Devin Thomas is a manchild, this is known. As another poster pointed out, he will most likely grow out of it as he gets older.

edit: Or he will be Brandon Lloyd 2.0

[MattFancy]

I think Zorn took it a little out of context. Of course returning kicks will get him into the flow sooner. I don't think its a big deal

[playboy1972]

Normally, I would be all over this dude. But after watching him returns kickoffs like a mad man in the preseason, I think he has a point. If you are going to keep him, put his ass in the game. He is young and needs to be involved. Good teams do that with their young talent. Eagles-DeSean Jackson, Saints-Marques Colston, Steelers-Santonio Holmes, Broncos-Brandon Marshall, etc..... If a guy has talent, you get his ass on the field.

If all he can do is run a fly pattern, than let him run that. This mess about he doesn't know the system is garbage. The "system" was crap last year. Thomas said last year that he was told to run patterns that come up short of the first down. If we need 8 and the pass call for a 6 yard route....RUN IT. Maybe its the system and the personnel. I bet you one thing, let his ass go and he will be the next headache we face. I guarantee that.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Absolutely a non-story and non-issue.

Nothing about DT's statement deserves scrutiny (even Mosely says he thinks that as well). And it definitely is NOT him being a "diva".

If DT's comment were taken by itself, without Zorn's comment attached, nobody on this site would have been bothered with what he said. If Thomas had said he likes taking kick offs and that one side effect is that it helps him get into the flow of the game quicker, this thread would be filled with comments like "We need to put DT back there and utilize his speed!"..."Let's have DT do kickoff returns instead of Rock, he's more of a homerun threat!"..."Put the young man in, Zorn!"..."Why did we keep Rock? We should have just used DT back there!"...

But add in Zorn's comments (which are being misunderstood completely here), and it's "What a diva!"..."You haven't done anything yet, Thomas!"..."Just shut up and play! Stop trying to dictate where you play!"...

Is it really THAT easy to manipulate your perceptions?

As someone else already mentioned, watch Zorn's interview on Redskins.com...Zorn's reaction is NOT towards what DT said, it's triggered by the actual question that was asked by a reporter. The reporter basically asks Zorn if, based on DT's comment, he should be thinking about putting DT in as kick off returner in order to help him gain focus. Zorn's response is to the reporter's idea that a player should be used differently in order to get him to "gain focus"...NOT to Devin's actual comment. Zorn agrees with DT that getting hit in the flow of the game gets the adrenaline going and helps put all players in a better game mindset quicker. But the idea that a player can't gain focus almost immediately just by coming off the bench is faulty, and that the type of player the reporter describes would "hold the team hostage". Zorn is finding logic flaws with the questioner's premise, NOT with Thomas' statement.

The whole "smaking DT upside the head on the sideline" comment was said in an almost laughing manner, but still in response to the questioner's premise.

[corrupt3d]

I aint giving up on the guy but I do hope he gets his head in the game.