Will signing Zach Thomas help make the Dallas Cowboys a Super Bowl favorite for the 2008 season?

Yes

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The Dallas Cowboys enjoyed an outstanding season in 2007, with only the New York Giants' late season hot streak getting in the way of a possible Super Bowl appearance. For the upcoming 2008 season, the core of that team will be back, though a few new faces can only strengthen an already strong team. With that in mind, the signing of former Miami Pro Bowler Zach Thomas can only ad a dimension of leadership and talent that would be welcomed by any NFL team.

So who is Zach Thomas? To those who perhaps have not followed the game for the past decade, Thomas is the undersized, former Dolphins linebacker, with the huge heart and the non-stop motor who will be going back to his Texas roots, courtesy of the Dallas Cowboys, who have signed him to a one year deal potentially worth $3 million dollars. Thomas, would have been in his final year with Miami, and would have been due over $5 million dollars by Miami if they had chosen to keep him. Instead, he is set to pack his bags for the Lone Star state, and as both a Cowboy fan and a Zach Thomas fan, I could not be happier.

For his part, Thomas who spent part of the 2007 season injured, is said to be excited about signing on with the Cowboys. To hear his agent Drew Rsenhaus, "this will be a dream come true for Thomas," who hails from Pampa, Texas, and who went to college at Texas Tech University. In fact, to sign on with America's team, the former Pro Bowler turned down offers from the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints. Of course money also had a bit to do with the signing, as it is said that the offer from the Patriots was not competitive, and the Saints though a bit more competitive did not present the Super Bowl opportunity that Dallas does.

In the NFL for over a decade now, Thomas enjoyed a brilliant three-year career at Texas Tech, recording 390 tackles for the school, and picking up a nomination for the Butkus Award, as well as a Southwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year Award. Drafted by the Dolphins in the 5th round of the 1996 NFL Draft, Thomas was an instant hit with the team winning the AFC Rookie of the Year Award by season's end. Since then this heralded star has gone on to represent the team in seven Pro Bowls, racking up an impressive amount of tackles along the way. In fact, so impressive is Thomas' lifetime totals for tackles that he has more tackles than any other linebacker in the Hall of Fame.

Though his recent history of injuries, and his age, should be of concern to any NFL team signing him, there are few Cowboy fans who would not welcome a player of Thomas' statue to the team. To me he is reminiscent of another undersized Dallas Cowboys linebacker from a Texas school, Dat Nguyen. Nguyen who like Thomas, stood all of 5-11, and hailed from Texas A&M had the same non-stop motor and heart that Zach Thomas brings to the table.

Yet where best to play Thomas within the 3-4 scheme that coach Wade Phillip prefers might still offer some challenges. Right now the conventional thinking is that he will wind up playing weak-side linebacker, where Thomas would be freed from would be blockers and can roam the field with greater efficiency. The signing might mean that Dallas ends up cutting one of its other linebackers, and some folks down in Dallas seem to think that the most likely candidate for that cut will be Bobby Carpenter.

Regardless of where he is played, Thomas will be a welcomed addition to this team. With few NFC teams blessed with the Cowboys mix of talent, the signing of Zach Thomas can only serve to bring this team closer to the Super Bowl, so pencil Dallas as the NFC odds on favorite for the 2008 season.

Sources:

"Dallas Cowboys sign Zach Thomas to one-year deal," www.Dallasnews.com
"Zach Thomas," www.wikipedia.org
"Why Zach Thomas would be good for the Cowboys," www.bloggingtheboys. com

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