Sooooooo.... What do we know about Thomas Howard? Drafted in 2nd round by the Oakland Raiders in 2006. Played for Texas at El Paso... In 2006.....had 110 tackles....88 solo... 2007 Howard's second season started off with an interception in each of his first 4 games, 2 of them which were returned for touchdowns. Since then he has also recorded a quarterback sack and 8 passes defensed. In only his second NFL season, Howard led the NFL in linebacker interceptions with 6 for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns. At the end of 2007, Howard had 95 tackles, 77 solo, 11 pass deflections, 6 interceptions, 1 sack, and 2 touchdowns 2008 Howard recorded his first career forced fumble during a week 2 victory against the division rival Kansas City Chiefs. He recorded a second during a week 16 victory against the Houston Texans. At the end of the 2008 season, Thomas Howard had 97 tackles, 80 solo, 5 pass deflections, 1 interception, 1 sack, and 2 forced fumbles. 2009 While tallying a career low 79 tackles, 72 of which were solo, Howard still came away with a career high 2 sacks. He finished the season with 79 tackles, 72 solo, 6 pass deflections, 2 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. 2010 The Oakland Raiders waived him. Cincinnati Bengals 2011 He signed a contract for 2 years worth 6.5 million dollars. Thomas Howard 2012 Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports the Bengals have placed linebacker Thomas Howard on injured reserve after he tore his ACL in practice on September 13, 2012.
Confusing, I know he missed playing for Coyle. I guess Misi is getting pushed out. Unsure who plays his position.
Fast coverage LB who originally played for OAK. Most recently with CIN if I am not mistaken. Needs big bodies in front of him as he was(still is?) on the light side in Oakland. Solid choice if a bargain is to be had with the league becoming passing oriented. Predominantly a 43 guy so he fits our scheme. With the beef we have up front, he could flourish.
No, but with Misi more built like a Rush Linebacker for a 34, T.Howard makes sense as the 3rd LB to cover TEs (cough Gronkowski+Hernandez), cover the flats/zone, and run around gang tackling with his friends. Edit: he also should not be over 30 yet. Played with Kirk Morrison in OAK and did quite well (both were drafted around the same time). Had one year from what I recall where he picked something like 4-5 balls and scored one or two TDs on the picks.
I don't mind this. In his position, Howard can't be asking for much money. The Dolphins were painfully thin at linebacker heading into free agency and all through last year. Painfully thin. It helped lose us games. The Fins grabbed Wheeler and Ellerbe but those were straight replacements for Dansby and Burnett. That means they were back to square one with the painfully thin depth.
Sounds alot like he can cover for sure..... [video=youtube;acGYQdM3IO0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acGYQdM3IO0[/video]
Hmmmm....... You know what I like. I like that this team isnt just looking at getting into the playoffs...they want the division. Im seeing linebackers that have Gronkowski and Hernandez in their eye sights. I could be wrong...but it looks like this team is gonna be built on speed up and down the roster.
There we go; ya at one time he was one of, if not the, fastest LBs in the league. From what I remember combine/draft wise he ran a sub 4.5 40 and went to a small school in Texas or OK ie not hyped up much. The game is always innovating; how do you stop a passing attack? Confuse the QB with a 34 defense/hide blitzes or get fast guys to fly around the field ala the Bucs/cover 2 type scheme.
[video=youtube;ka8AD5nR__g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka8AD5nR__g[/video] Damn...guy racks up the tackles....
Ireland mentioned tailoring the team towards the division in the off-season, and I think this would very much be an anti-Patriots move. Thomas Howard is a quality coverage linebacker, and having a guy like him around looks like an attempt to deal with the fundamental defensive package issues they try and force with a two-tight end based offense that can line up traditional or spread.
He'd have a good chance of starting, and with our other two new LBs it would be the fastest trio we've ever had IMO.
He was pretty good for Cincinnati in 2011, so he was there with Colye for one year. He played where Kevin Burnett played for Miami last year, and he was pretty good in coverage. He's somewhat surprising against the run. I didn't think he took many bad angles and he's a decent tackler, not a huge hitter by any means, but a solid player. I'd be very interested to see how he's recovered from the ACL. For a guy that's 6'3" 245lbs, he's a fine athlete. 99 tackles, 64 solo, 1 sack, 4 PBUs and 2 FF in 2011.
maybe he's just coming in to be depth. our depth at linebacker has been pretty non-existent the last few years. I hope and doubt they are not counting on a guy coming off a major injury only 7 months ago to replace one of our better LBs.
I like it a lot. I think in Ellerbe and Wheeler they are looking for a poor man's Willis and Bowman who are wrecking balls for the 49ers D. And, with Howard you would have 3 LBs on the field who could cover on 1st down and still wreak havoc in run support.
