Former Golden Eagle Football Standout Adalius Thomas Making His Mark With the Ravens
The hybrid is always on the prowl, hunting for fresh game.

Unsuspecting quarterbacks stay in Adalius Thomas' sight. His style of football has always been simple enough: straightforward pursuit.

Thomas would attack, attack and attack again until the final whistle blew.

Only now the Baltimore Ravens' new starting outside linebacker is evolving into a more advanced hunter.

He stands tall now most of the time, rarely putting his hand down as a defensive end in a three-point stance. Before the Ravens' shift to a 3-4 defensive alignment, Thomas was involved on practically every play in the fight at the line of scrimmage.

Now, Thomas has to learn all over again to retreat and give ground in order to turn and burn with agile tight ends and running backs.

"It's not totally brand new to me," said Thomas, the AFC Defensive Player of the Week last season for his eight tackles, two forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks while knocking down two passes against the Colts. "I have a concept of what a hook is, of what a curl route or a seam flat looks like. It's not totally new. We just have to re-polish the tools a little bit. I have to prove myself because I'm in a new position."

This situation is similar to the way the physically gifted Equality, Ala., native was used at Southern Mississippi, where he was twice named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year with a school-record 34.5 career sacks. He also blocked seven kicks.

In Hattiesburg, Miss., he was even athletic enough to play for the Golden Eagles' basketball team, scoring 14 points against UNC-Charlotte.

Ideally, Thomas will be able to cover well enough to not be exploited in pass coverage while pressing an obvious advantage of size and strength when blitzing as an edge pass rusher.

Thomas represents the new breed of outside linebacker because of his size and speed. At 6-foot-2 and 270 pounds, although he has lost weight and reduced his body-fat percentage, Thomas has covered 40 yards in 4.5 seconds.

"Adalius can run so fast, he's big and he's very smart," inside linebacker Edgerton Hartwell said. "I don't think he's going to have much trouble out there at all. He's a football player. Where you put him doesn't matter, because he'll make plays from anywhere.

"I'm not worried about him. Offenses should be worried about Adalius."

How often the Ravens use the 3-4, which has been downplayed by the club as something they'll use only 30 percent of the time, depends heavily on Thomas' development. Last season, Thomas collected 39 tackles and 3.5 sacks, tied for the team lead with three forced fumbles, tied for the team lead in special teams tackles with 18 and deflected eight passes.

Pass coverage is the No. 1 obstacle to this experiment going awry.

"Right now, that's the biggest thing I'm working on," Thomas said. "I have to learn to study the game a different way. I'm not just rushing the passer now. I have to do more. I have to study tight ends, formations and routes. That's a part of my game I have to really step up."

Thomas' play last season helped ease the Ravens' pain at losing defensive ends Michael McCrary and Rob Burnett to injuries.

After the Colts' game, an eye-opener in NFL circles as Thomas was only in his second season, the compliments flowed like a waterfall in his direction.

"He's unbelievable," All-Pro middle linebacker Ray Lewis said. "He is the same guy that runs down on kickoffs and blows up the wedge a couple of times. That guy is a freak on the football field."

Said Ravens coach Brian Billick: "He's coming into his own as a player. To have a good, bright-eyed, young player like that is a real plus for us."

Heady praise for a sixth-round pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, especially considering Thomas was mostly a basketball prospect out of high school. Southern Miss was the only school to offer him a football scholarship.

Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Nolan likes what he has seen so far from Thomas, but is still reserving final judgment.

"He's certainly gotten better since the minicamps," Nolan said. "It's really hard to say right now because we've had so few practices, but he seems to be coming along pretty well."

Nolan envisions sending Thomas on the blitz fairly often with outside linebacker Peter Boulware, who led the AFC with 15 sacks last year, being the main pass rusher.

Thomas rushing one-on-one against a blocking back is a definite mismatch.

"Any time you get a chance to rush the quarterback that's the excitement," Thomas said. "Especially, after going against Jonathan Ogden for 20 snaps to rush against a back, that's an advantage for me."

As a rookie, Thomas led all NFL players with five sacks in preseason games, but he spent all but three games on the inactive list.

Since then, Thomas has achieved a different status as a starter with responsibilities that go beyond the norm. If he can retreat as adeptly as he presses forward, then the Ravens' depleted defensive unit will improve.

"It's different for me," Thomas said. "It's something that can be accomplished with hard work and training your eyes, hands and feet."

Reach staff writer Aaron Wilson at 410-751-5919 or sports@lcniofmd.com.