Earl Thomas is ready to go for training camp: Seahawks fans rejoice
By Lee Vowell
Earl Thomas of the Seahawks says he will be full-go for week one. This is a great thing.
12s all know the impact Thomas’s absence had on the Seahawks last year after he missed the final games with injury. These stats may not be accurate, but in my memory Seattle gave up three touchdowns and intercepted 21 passes before Thomas broke his leg in week 13. After that injury, Seattle did not intercept any passes and gave up 657 touchdown passes.
Do not look those statistics up; they are not true. They simply feel real.
The Seahawks are not the same team without Earl Thomas. He not only makes the defense immensely better, he makes Seattle a team with a home-field playoff advantage. Take 2016, for instance. Without Thomas in five of the last six games, Seattle was 2-3. With Thomas the rest of the season, the Seahawks were 8-2-1.
Seattle would have won at least one more game in those late-year contests Thomas missed. That would have been enough, as it turned out, to help Seattle host the Atlanta Falcons in the playoffs and possibly beyond. But Thomas was not there to help and the Seahawks suffered.
The return of the king
Thomas was “80 percent” in June during the Seahawks’ mini-camp. This was better than expected. Head coach Pete Carroll said, “If this is 80 percent, he’s going to be flying when he comes back to camp.” Seattle needs Thomas to be his normal “flying” self in 2017.
Seahawks fans are excited about Thomas’ return, of course, but so is Thomas himself, it seems.
That last #BlueFriday before @Seahawks camp starts feeling... pic.twitter.com/2wrvfYvZGP
— Earl Thomas (@Earl_Thomas) July 28, 2017
With Earl Thomas, Seattle has hopes of making the Super Bowl. Without him, Seattle could struggle to win the NFC West. With Thomas, the Seahawks have one of the best, if not the best, defenses in the NFL. Without Thomas, Seattle can give up 38 points to the Green Bay Packers and 34 to the Arizona Cardinals (they did both those things in 2016).
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Thomas may not ever win an NFL MVP award. But one could argue he is the Seahawks most valuable player. He will have no limitations in training camp.
The world is a better place because of this.