Donald Thomas

As I'm sure everybody is aware, Donald Thomas has been placed on the IR and is lost for the season. This is a really horrible loss for the Dolphins, and we have to really hope that he rehabs well and gets back to form next year. The "Godsend" was a vital part of this young offensive line, a surprise last piece, completing the puzzle of finding the offensive line of the future. Now, however, it looks like Ike Ndukwe will be stepping into the starting lineup.

This loss hurts for a lot of reasons. First of all, Thomas looked like one of the strongest linemen in a Dolphins uniform for a long time. Jason Ferguson said he plays "heavy," probably one of the highest forms of praise from a nose tackle. Tony Sparano, the former offensive line coach, loved his fellow New Haven native. All this from a rookie 6th round pick, but even though he looked like a stud, what can we honestly expect from such a surprise next year if he never even got a chance to play his rookie season. Forget the Dolphins, you've got to hope that Donald Thomas returns for form for Donald Thomas' sake. Add to all of this that we just learned that Thomas is so tough that he played three quarters of his first NFL game on one leg, and you have to really pray that he can be back and even better next year - this is the type of player who you want on your team.

Until then though, we will plug Ndukwe or somebody else into his spot and hope the rest of the line's jelling is not stunted too much because of this loss. This really seems like the type of news that belongs in 2004 or 2007 the more I think about it, but right now we just have to hope that somebody can step up and surprise you and that Sparano and this team can turn things around starting right here in week two.