Two undersized speedy receivers, both drafted in the 4th round.  What's interesting about Mike Thomas is that after having among the best hands in the league his rookie season, his hands got progressively worse the rest of his career.  He went from catching most of his passes to eventually catching less than half of the attempts in 2011.  Ace Sanders came into the draft with a reputation of never dropping anything, but has obviously his share of drops already this season.  Mike Thomas was somewhat quick his rookie year before he became horrible, but never as quick as Sanders.  Mike Thomas is also slightly bigger.  I'm thinking he was around 190 his rookie year, vs 178 lb Sanders.  Thomas had a decent first two seasons, before he got worse, got paid, and continued to get worse.  As of now, stat wise, they are pretty close. 

 

So who has the better career? 

 

Usually, you have to wait until the 2nd year to get a good feel for a player (eg. Cecil Shorts), so it's possible his production increases significantly his second year as Thomas' did.  You also have to take into account he'll likely have a better QB throwing to him than Thomas ever had.   Most of Thomas' success came with David Garrard, and if our future QB isn't better than Garrard we've got some problems.   On the flip side, all of Ace Sander's production so far comes from quarterbacks clearly worse than Garrard.

 

Mike Thomas 2009: 48/63 receptions, 453 yards, 9.1 avg, 1 TD

Ace Sanders 2013: 16/31 receptions, 182 yards, 11.0 avg, 0 TD

 

1st rounder comparisons:

Percy Harvin 2009: 60/91 receptions, 790 yards, 13.2 avg, 6 TD

Tavon Austin 2013: 31/49 receptions, 207 yards, 6.7 avg, 2 TD

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To early to tell.

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I think Bridgewater at 3 is better value than Mack at 3, yes.

 

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LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. Clown.
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Good question, OP.  

 

I hope Sanders has a better career, and I think he will if he can stay healthy.  I think he'll have a big punt return before the season's over but he may not see the field much as a receiver with the emergence of Mike Brown. 

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Good question, OP.  

 

I hope Sanders has a better career, and I think he will if he can stay healthy.  I think he'll have a big punt return before the season's over but he may not see the field much as a receiver with the emergence of Mike Brown. 

 

Yea, that's a good thing to factor in too. He'll have better receivers around him than Mike Thomas had, which could still be good for him if he can get on the field.

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good question op.  at this point, you have to go with mike thomas.  you can't forget the miracle TD he caught to win the game against the texans.  ace hasn't even scored a td yet.

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.....& In other polls, whats more valuable a penny or a wooden nickel?

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Anyone thinks they know how good Ace Sanders will be is dumb. Even after next year will be too early to tell, let alone 4 games with Hebbert as QB.

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Anyone thinks they know how good Ace Sanders will be is dumb. Even after next year will be too early to tell, let alone 4 games with Hebbert as QB.

 

We don't do that wait and see thing around here.

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Anyone thinks they know how good Ace Sanders will be is dumb. Even after next year will be too early to tell, let alone 4 games with Hebbert as QB.

 

How many games has Mike Brown played with "Hebbert"...? Ooops. 

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Ace isn't a lazy bum.. and since Thomas had no talent, that alone will give Sanders the edge. 

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How many games has Mike Brown played with "Hebbert"...? Ooops.

Whats ur point? We dont know if Brown will be good or not either. I know you love jumping to conclusions after 3-4 games, but thats not how u evaluate players.

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Ace has way more raw talent than Thomas though, so if I had to guess Ace will be better by a mile, not really that hard considering thomas is out of the league now.

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Ace is naturally a better athlete and seems like a hardworking guy, so I think with that alone he'll stick around in the league and have a better career than Mike Thomas. He's already shown more than Thomas as a punt returner IMO.

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Ace is flat out much faster.  You can't coach speed.  His threat at kick/punt returning combined with his ability with the ball is a good combination.  Waiting until we get a real QB before judging any of these receivers.

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Ace is flat out much faster.  You can't coach speed.  His threat at kick/punt returning combined with his ability with the ball is a good combination.  Waiting until we get a real QB before judging any of these receivers.

I don't know if he is faster, but he is quicker and more elusive.

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Two undersized speedy receivers, both drafted in the 4th round.  What's interesting about Mike Thomas is that after having among the best hands in the league his rookie season, his hands got progressively worse the rest of his career.  He went from catching most of his passes to eventually catching less than half of the attempts in 2011.  Ace Sanders came into the draft with a reputation of never dropping anything, but has obviously his share of drops already this season.  Mike Thomas was somewhat quick his rookie year before he became horrible, but never as quick as Sanders.  Mike Thomas is also slightly bigger.  I'm thinking he was around 190 his rookie year, vs 178 lb Sanders.  Thomas had a decent first two seasons, before he got worse, got paid, and continued to get worse.  As of now, stat wise, they are pretty close. 

 

So who has the better career? 

 

Usually, you have to wait until the 2nd year to get a good feel for a player (eg. Cecil Shorts), so it's possible his production increases significantly his second year as Thomas' did.  You also have to take into account he'll likely have a better QB throwing to him than Thomas ever had.   Most of Thomas' success came with David Garrard, and if our future QB isn't better than Garrard we've got some problems.   On the flip side, all of Ace Sander's production so far comes from quarterbacks clearly worse than Garrard.

 

Mike Thomas 2009: 48/63 receptions, 453 yards, 9.1 avg, 1 TD

Ace Sanders 2013: 16/31 receptions, 182 yards, 11.0 avg, 0 TD

 

1st rounder comparisons:

Percy Harvin 2009: 60/91 receptions, 790 yards, 13.2 avg, 6 TD

Tavon Austin 2013: 31/49 receptions, 207 yards, 6.7 avg, 2 TD

 

Yeah, his production is very rookie-esque.  I'm somewhat surprised by the 11 yd average.  Definately something to build on.  Ace Sanders is the type of draft pick where good coaching an possibly help fine tune the raw talent into something franchise worthy.  I'm hoping we see him improve significantly over the next couple years.

 

.....& In other polls, whats more valuable a penny or a wooden nickel?

 

A penny has actual monetary value, duh!  What do I win?

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.....& In other polls, whats more valuable a penny or a wooden nickel?

I remember these kind of comments from you about Shorts not long ago......

 

Not to mention you flip flopping more than a go-go dancer on the guy you nicknamed "eggo"

 

...........

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What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.







 

I keep seeing Thomas' name pop up on the weekly 'off the street' tryouts team have each week. I wonder if he regrets giving up so soon. I bet its hard to act like you don't care when you are trying out against of bunch of nobody's for a slim chance at making a roster each week.

 

That being said, really a tossup at this point between the two. Ace has more potential / athleticism, but Thomas did have a decent run those first 3 years. 

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Both seem to be pretty equal in every aspect. I could see their careers being the same as well. Just because we all like Ace doesn't mean he will work out. Happens all the time. I think he will play much better next year, but I could see him on another team later on as well. I voted for Ace simply because it's too late for Thomas and I want to see Ace succeed

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"Expect for the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes."

 

I for one had really high hopes for Ace this season.  My expectations were clearly way to high.  I hope next season he can develop more as a receiver and be what I hoped he could be this season.  

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Gene's Myth