Over the years, as Zach Thomas was racking up 100-tackle season after 100-tackle season, Pro Bowl trip after Pro Bowl trip, I'd get a smile out of hearing Zach discuss his motivations.
From time to time, be it in interviews with Miami media or someone else, he'd drop a phrase that served as a burr under his saddle all through his career.
"They said I had pedestrian speed," Zach said in first one interview, then another.
I thought that sounded like something I'd written way back. I've been meaning forever to look it up. On Wednesday, I did. And sure enough.
After detailing Zach's 194 tackles, eight pass breakups, 10 quarterback sacks and three fumble recoveries his senior year at Pampa, here's what I wrote the day he committed to Texas Tech in late January 1992:
"Some recruiters, however, questioned whether Thomas' fiercely competitive streak could offset his pedestrian 4.8 speed."
Zach would bring that up at 20 and at 30. And a couple of years ago, as he approached 40, Thomas readily acknowledged that kind of thing fueled him.
"I used to love that," he told me. "I used to pull up the negative stuff and keep them and just remind myself, when I was starting to feel good about myself, that it can sneak up on you. I didn't ever want to feel comfortable. When I was playing really well, I would always pull out clips with negative comments. When I was playing bad, I would do the opposite. I would pull out clips that said good things about me."
Maybe that's why he got hung up on the "pedestrian speed" knock from so far back. I mean, really, how many negative assessments can you find about a guy who became an all-American, an all-Madden teamer, an All-Pro and NFL all-decade?
"Pedestrian speed" was the Thomas paradox. Maybe it applied in a footrace. But for short-area quickness, the ability to stop, start and redirect in a tight area - you know, the skill most vital to middle linebackers - Thomas might be among the best ever.
"Zach defied anything ever with the measurables that people say it takes to play in the NFL," former Tech and Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Jim Bates told me last week. "The thing is, with his study habits and his getting to what we call the alley between the contain element in a defense and the line of scrimmage, he would get there faster than a back that runs a 4.3.
"He was just incredibly quick, incredibly smart. That 4.9 ... He ran 4.5 on the football field."
Bates and Thomas both were back in Lubbock last weekend. They spent some of their best years together, Thomas playing for Miami from 1996-2007 and Bates calling the Dolphins' defensive shots from 2000-04.
"Of all the players I ever coached, Zach probably is the top player that I enjoyed coaching the most," said Bates, who spent nearly 40 years in college and the pros.
Yet, there was a time when Bates, too, had to get past Thomas' reputation for being too slow. Let's go back to early 1996. It's right after Thomas has finished up his Tech career being an All-American for the second year in a row. Bates is scouting prospects for the draft, which brings him back to Lubbock.
"Here's what happened," Bates said. "I was coaching for the Dallas Cowboys . I saw him on tape before I came out. I'd watched a lot of tape, and he was incredible. It was as fine a college tape as you ever want to see. I couldn't wait to get out here.
"What shocked me is he ran a 4.9 on the turf and he vertical jumped 23 inches. I believe his height at the combine was 5-10."
No wonder Thomas slid to the fifth round in the 1996 draft. Still, Thomas' highlights told the story, as far as Bates was concerned.
"A coach looks at the tape, and the tape is the true, true measure of how good a player is," Bates said. "We still wanted him at the Dallas Cowboys. He was just electric, watching him on tape. Then we acquired Fred Strickland from the Green Bay Packers , who was a middle linebacker. That's what got us out of the game with Zach."
Chew on that, Cowboys fans.
Bates would eventually get his man, though. And Zach Thomas, instead of being stuck with Cowboys teams in decline, started his career with Jimmy Johnson, a perfect match of two highly motivated football people.
The rest is history, although the ending to Thomas' football career is still to be written.
Is he a Hall of Famer or isn't he? Thomas is on the preliminary list of 113 candidates for the 2015 class released Tuesday.
Online, you'll find quite a few writers and fans who believe he's borderline.
Memo to Zach: Some folks say you're a "Hall of Very Good" player.
Might want to clip and save that for someday in Canton.
don.williams@lubbockonline.com
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This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Williams: Zach might have been a lot of things, but slow not one of them
