That's what happens when you're the "new guy," the player full of hope and promise, the perceived panacea for a defense that needed more playmakers. But Thomas never wanted to stand out as the new guy. All the versatile linebacker wanted was to fit in. That's what the 30-year-old has done this year during camp, simply blend into the banal background.
"You're the new guy and everybody wants to see this and you have to prove this," said Thomas, who was third on the team in tackles last season with 82. "It's not like that now. This year, that's on someone else. You don't like that attention because all attention isn't good attention."
As the Patriots prepare to play tonight at Gillette Stadium against the Ravens, Thomas feels much more at home. It's the little things (knowing the names of teammates and team employees) and the big things (having a greater grasp of the team's complicated 3-4 defense) that have enabled him to settle in and settle down.
The result could be that Thomas resembles the player who was the Patriots' best defender in Super Bowl XLII, collecting five tackles, two sacks, two quarterback hits, and a forced fumble. That was the type of effort Patriots fans expected to see from the outset last season from Thomas, the player who led all linebackers in sacks from 2004-06 with 28.
But the expectations may have been unfair.
Yes, the Patriots and Ravens both employ 3-4 defenses, but saying they're the same would be like saying a Cadillac Escalade and a Chevy Corvette are identical because they're both automobiles. The Ravens tend to attack and blitz more out of their 3-4, while the Patriots are more read and react. The 6-foot-2-inch, 270-pound Thomas, who finished second to Vrabel on the team in sacks last season with 6 1/2, couldn't unleash his uncanny athleticism until he could wrap his mind around the Patriots' defense.
