A Lexicon of Expert Darron Thomas Departure Invective

I think most Oregon fans wish Darron Thomas well, and hope for the best for him as he enters the next phase of his athletic career. Unfortunately, more than a few fans are apparently very upset about his decision, and are not shy about sharing their expert opinions.

Below the jump is a collection of posts from comment / conversation boards on various newspaper and entertainment web sites. The names have been removed, and there are no links included, as I don't want to give people more credit for being butthurt than they deserve; but all comments are verbatim (some extraneous and/or potentially libelous verbiage has been edited but spelling, punctuation, etc are as found).

These comments deserve collation, preservation and scorn. My fervent hope is that someday DT will be able to look back on this kind of "fan" behavior and laugh. It's okay, I guess, for a random adult to disagree with a young man's career choices, but what the hell is wrong with some people?

• maybe he meant the Canadian football league draft. no way is Thomas a top NFL prospect at QB. Love the guy, but jeez. oh well I like what Bennett can do better any way now we will get to see how much faster and better the offense can be with a guy who is fast as a runner and can actually throw well too. Good luck DT you’re gonna need it.
• This strips Thomas of all his Duck accolades. He was in Cliff’s car, and now we know why. He’s a moron. His winning record is only very partly his. He has benefited from LMJ and Chip’s system. What a fool. This is him not copping to some personal problem. he is about as ready for the NFL as Sean Mannion. Maybe less.
• DT thought to himself….time to finally take the drivers seat :) What a bad decision, no way in HECK does he get drafted. Subpar athlete, knucklehead, inconsistent passer. Just last night I was bummed about MM, and BB sitting next season weird….
• You honks who are talking about Thomas being poor and needing mney are missing the obvious fact that he won’t get drafted, not to mention that he was a textbook case for making valuable improvements in his game this next year. He’s clearly desperate, and will end up working at Target. This is the dumbest decision I’ve heard of in some time.
• We Duck fans want the best for our guys. DT is free to be stupid. But he is being stupid. Do you want us to lie?
• fans do not see the scouting paperwork, but we can see some really bad passing in the games and we can also see some really bad decision making during the plays, we also see a player who will get crushed by NFL defensive linemen and not do much sack avoidance, because of that, we don’t think DT is a Payton Manning or Matt Barkley or Andrew Luck type - the type that excells in the NFL
• You might want to re-title the article "Darron Thomas will forgo his final year of eligibility", but turn pro?? I think the odds are very, very very slim of him ever taking a snap in the NFL. He obviously did not "smoke it all" cause this guy has to be high as a kite to think he has any chance.
• Why on earth would a player declare for the NFL draft when he has no chance in hell of getting drafted? That doesnt make much sense. He’s probably in-line for a season-long suspension or something. This just makes no sense.
• It would follow that with Cliff leaving, DT would be close behind. Follow the weed.
• Do you have any idea how much more earning power a person with a degree has in their lifetime? It has been suggested that Darron has graduated, but staying in school to get his Masters would almost certainly be more lucrative than trying for the NFL. Darron has made a habit of showing up at the wrong place at the wrong time. The 2012 Draft is no exception.
• He won’t even be that good in the NFL. Do some of you guys get it now? For DT it was always and just about DT, everyone else comes secondary. The high on dope run down I-5 was a huge significant clue. Onwards with Bryan, we will be great with him. Thanks for the memories DT, you could have been more consistent next year, USC and impending sanctions really bothered you, that much is obvious.
• DT is a coward! He knows Bennett is better, and would beat him out his senior year. Now go drive around with Cliff at 4:00 am and "smoke it all"!
• And so he might, might make 100k for two or three years in the NFL or CFL.....then what? He should have stayed and showed that he had the guts, resolve and work ethic to fend off Bennett and lead the Ducks to another huge season. To me that's a better long term risk because he could have actually worked hard to become better, improved his draft stock, showed he is resilient and earned a degree. Even if he wasn't able to fend off Bennett (and I think he would have) he still could have made the CFL and/or had a great work career as a former Duck star and with a college degree. DT wasn't up to the challenge.
• Shocking news. What an idiot. He is not an NFL qb. Thomas played great in some very big games (auburn, wisconssin) but he wasn't exactly a model citizen. I've heard from several sources that he was basically high the entire time he was in eugne ...... am not sold on bennet. preseason ranking went from 3-4 to 12 not good
• Thomas is GARBAGE! Entering the draft cause you're afraid of a little competition. That's just sad, pathetic, and makes you a $@%!$. If I'm running a team, I don't sign him ever based on that fact alone
• This kid is plain $@%!$@%!!!! before i even read this article i said this is a stupid decision. he is throwing his career away and especially throwing the money he could make away if he stayed another year. Darron is not a good qb and especially in the NFL. Spread Option is not a hard offense to be a good qb at. all in all back to what a guy said a couple of posts ago "Have fun working at Mcdonald's ond day" you IDIOT!!
• I am willing to bet that he was placed on a random drug testing program by U of O after what happened last summer/spring. The institution does not have to report these violations and thus can govern the players that fail tests as they see fit. That being said, I think he failed the test and Chip gave him 2 options, transfer and let it be known that you got kicked out of Oregon because you failed these tests OR go pro and I will not release the information to the public (essentially thanks for making me look good for the past couple of years). That is just speculation on my part, but I am willing to bet that he just didn't up and leave a national title contender and a chance to be "the man" because he wanted to have a shot at being a 7th round pick, because that just doesn't make any god damn sense.
• ... as great a QB as he was for college football and The Oregon Ducks, outside of his durability, there is nothing about his game that fits the NFL mold. He has compared himself with Cam Newton and those two are not the least bit similar. I can't see him getting drafted or even making an NFL roster. I hope I am wrong, but I really don't think I have ever seen a player bypass his senior year and enter the draft with less true NFL talent. He does not have the arm strength, accuracy, size, speed, or athletic ability to succeed, but other than that, he's should do well.