Thomas vs. Belichick

In a surprise, Adalius Thomas named himself captain of the revolution.

Omitting the capital “r” was intentional, as the veteran linebacker won’t be joining the New England soccer team.

Thomas and four other players returned to practice a day after being sent home for being late for an 8 AM meeting. Head coach Bill Belichick’s decision to send them home was interpreted as sending a message. Maybe it was to the four involved, or maybe it was intended for the team. Whichever the case, Thomas wasn’t havin’ that. He fired back about the motivational ploy through the media on Thursday:

 "Motivation is for kindergartners. I'm not a kindergartner. Sending somebody home, that's like, 'You're expelled until you come back and make good grades.' Get that (bleep) out of here. It's ridiculous." 

So what happens next? At this point it’s fair to say that Belichick lost Thomas. It will be a question of when, not if, Thomas is released. Does Belichick show the team he runs the team by telling Thomas to go home for good or will Bill keep him through the end of the season?

If Thomas isn’t shown the door, he will be professional and do his job. But it sounds like he no longer respects the authority. If Thomas continues to stew visibly, something has to be done.

It no surprise that Thomas isn’t backing down. He was signed as a free agent out of Baltimore. Raven defenders carry themselves with a lot of confidence and will fight back when challenged. The question is does the struggle stay personal or will it spread to other players? If it’s the latter, Belichick must protect the locker room and remove Thomas if Adalius develops a bad attitude and infects the team.

If Thomas is off the team, how will the Patriots fill the void? Probably it won’t be that hard replacing the statistical production. Thomas has 28 tackles and three sacks, disappointing numbers for the 10-year vet.

But letting the team down on the field is just half of the disappointment. With the retirements of LB Tedy Bruschi and S Rodney Harrision, along with the trades of DE Richard Seymour and LB Mike Vrabel, there was a void of leadership that Thomas could had stepped into for a defense that became a lot younger very quickly.

Thomas’ credibility took a hit when he was left off the game day roster against Tennessee. Thomas took the high road afterwards, but he seemed irked. After being sent home Wednesday, Thomas is now fed up.

If he’s true to his word, Thomas will continue to do what he’s told. He’s on the team, but no longer a teammate. He has too much pride to mail it in and not play hard. Thomas also has too much self-respect to accept being treated the way Belichick has treated him this season.

This situation will be watched very closely for however long it lasts. It will either go to the end of the season, into the playoffs, or when Thomas is dismissed.