Fans, some teammates lament Zach Thomas' absence at Dolphins' mini-camp

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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/06/07/0608finsnotes.html

Fans, some teammates lament Zach Thomas' absence at Dolphins' mini-camp

By EDGAR THOMPSON
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, June 07, 2008

DAVIE — Middle linebacker Zach Thomas is gone, but in no way has the Thomas Era ended in South Florida.

Fans like Fort Lauderdale's Steve Voeller will make sure of it, even as the Dolphins look to the future and Thomas looks to win a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys.

Invited to watch two-a-days on Saturday with a group of prospective season-ticket holders, Voeller didn't leave home without his American Express - or his replica No. 54 jersey that Thomas wore with Miami.

"This is my Dolphins jersey," Voeller said. "I'll be keeping it."

Voeller can afford to be sentimental about his favorite Dolphin.

Voeller, 42, has been a fan of the team since he was about the age of his 9-year-old son, Stephen, who also sported a Thomas jersey on Saturday.

But the new Bill Parcells-led regime couldn't let emotion get in the way of its off-season decisions.

The choice to release Thomas on Feb. 14 was sure to be unpopular with fans. However, the move also allowed the Dolphins to clear millions in salary-cap space tied up in a 12-year veteran who missed 11 games last season with head and neck injuries.

"Business is business, I understand," Voeller said. "But it's frustrating. If I could change it, I would."

Thomas' former teammates have mixed reactions.

Some notice Thomas isn't around each day, while others haven't given it a thought.

"It's weird," linebacker Channing Crowder said, "not having him out there, not seeing him, not having his locker in there and fooling with him."

Thomas, 34, is Crowder's close friend and mentor.

Whenever Crowder, a fourth-year pro, had a question about playing linebacke rin the NFL, all he had to do was turn to the locker next to him.

"He's such a great student of the game," Crowder, 24, said. "He'll tell you stuff you couldn't think anyone could figure out by watching film."

Crowder said he still calls Thomas every couple of days to check in and maybe pick up a linebacking tip.

But many of Thomas' ex-teammates have moved on, looking to put a 1-15 season behind them.

"Without me disrespecting Zach at all, I haven't thought about him," said cornerback André Goodman, who joined the team in 2006. "I honestly have not paid attention to Zach not being here whatsoever, because the group of guys that we have working on the inside right now, I'm loving them."

It's also June.

Eventually someone is going to have to replace Thomas' leadership, experience and playmaking ability on Sundays.

Crowder is the leading candidate. He led the team with 78 tackles in 2007 despite missing five games with injuries.

While he waits for doctors to clear him for contact following season-ending knee surgery, Crowder - a la Thomas - has put in extra hours to learn the nuances of the Dolphins' new 3-4 defense.

"He's been in that office quite a bit with the coaches trying to learn the intricacies of what we're doing and small details of getting these guys lined up," coach Tony Sparano said.

But it's going to take a group effort to replace Thomas, a seven-time Pro Bowler who has more tackles than anyone in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Newcomer Akin Ayodele is expected to line up at the inside spot next to Crowder in the 3-4 scheme, while Reggie Torbor, a free-agent signee who started the final nine games for Super Bowl champion New York, is next in line at inside linebacker.

Ayodele (AY-dell) is especially eager for his chance.

In a twist of fate, Ayodele, who was traded by the Cowboys to the Dolphins on April 25, became expendable in Dallas soon after Thomas arrived. The move reunited Ayodele with his former linebackers coach and new Dolphins defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni.

"It is a little ironic," Ayodele, a five-year starter in the NFL, said. "But it has nothing to do with me and Zach. This game is more than one individual."

Try telling that to fans like Voeller.

Ayodele, Crowder and Torbor might be younger, bigger and healthier than Thomas.

But no one will ever replace him.

"They should let him come back and retire as Dolphin, if he will," Voeller said. "I would."