Peter King's MMQB (Adalius Thomas Story)

by norcaldevilasu on Mar 5, 2007 8:10 AM PST

From Peter King's Monday Morning QB Article.

Here's the answer as to why Adalius Thomas chose New England over San Francisco.

The only other serious contender for Thomas' services was San Francisco. Everything about the 49ers interested Thomas, except the locale. "If it was all about money,'' San Francisco coach Mike Nolan told me Saturday, "I don't think we would have been outbid. But in the process of interviewing him Friday and him talking to me, I could see that some of the things I wanted to see happen weren't going to happen. I think geography had something to do with it.''

It was clear what he meant. If the 49ers were going to pay Thomas $8 or $9 million a year -- which the 49ers may have been willing to do if, like Clements, Thomas was willing to move lock, stock and barrel to the Bay Area -- it shouldn't be too much to ask that the player becomes a member of the community. Nolan likes his players to be in the area for the 14-week offseason strength and conditioning program, beginning March 19. He can't make it mandatory, but if a free agent tells him it's a problem, that's going to be a factor.

Thomas couldn't lie to Nolan, his former Baltimore defensive coordinator. He didn't want to move West, nor did he want to leave his family 3,000 miles away for four months. Thomas, from rural Mississippi, has grown to love the energy of the East, as has his family, and Foxboro was infinitely more preferable than Santa Clara.

"There was a good bit of interest from us,'' Nolan said, "but at the end of the day, New England's a better fit for him. What he wanted -- lifestyle, family concerns, a winning franchise -- he got in New England.''

Said Thomas: "I'm definitely a southern guy. I adapted to being an Eastern guy, and I like it. To adapt to the West, it would have been difficult, for a lot of reasons.''

Kings Thought's on the Ashley Lelie signing

g. Not a big fan of the Ashley Lelie signing. Mike Nolan and the Niners will be disappointed in his toughness, or lack thereof

Peter King's MMQB

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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Imagine...

... how Nolan must have felt after his "inteview" with Thomas. He must have felt all kinds of disappointment and possibly even frustration. But Nolan does run a tight shift, and he has everything about the team set up the way it is for a reason.

You'd like to reel in all the big fish, but sometimes there are just some that won't bite no matter what.

by sfgfan on Mar 5, 2007 10:11 AM PST reply actions

hard to blame Thomas

that's an understandable reason not to come out here. My guess is that he also saw the housing prices out here and figured he'd barely be able to afford it.

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Mar 5, 2007 10:22 AM PST reply actions

agree

Perfectly reasonable of him. Hopefully it works out for him when the Patriots are losing to us in the Super Bowl!

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by David Fucillo on Mar 5, 2007 10:24 AM PST up reply actions

Good for Thomas

In an age where so many people, not just athletes, are motivated by the almighty dollar, it's nice to see Thomas put his family ahead of his bank account. It's not like he's going to struggle to put food on the table playing in New England, unlike Latrell Spreewell's comments a few years back. While I truly miss the loyalty in sports where a guy plays his whole career for the same team, thinking of your family first is a nice change of pace from dirtball types like Pacman Jones and others.

by gatling on Mar 5, 2007 12:02 PM PST reply actions