The Earl Thomas punt return experiment got off to an adventurous start in the Seattle Seahawks' 36-16 beatdown of the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.
The first return Thomas caught in close quarters and got walloped. The second boot he fumbled as he caught, while simultaneously getting hit by Green Bay's Davon House, who was pushed into Thomas by corner Richard Sherman.
"He really should have fair caught the ball on both of those,'' coach Pete Carroll said after the game, per the Seattle Times. "He's so aggressive, he got vulnerable that second time and he got pounded that first time, too. So we will keep working on it and get better.''
That doesn't sound like a man ready to change gears and take his most vital defensive player off special teams.
Thomas was selected to take over the punt return duties after Golden Tate (who was suspiciously enjoyingcheesecake exactly at the time of the muffed punt) departed to Detroit. Thomas' muff led to the Packers' only first-half touchdown and was the main reason the game wasn't a blowout by halftime.
The safety didn't sound too concerned about the wayward night.
"I was really just being me," Thomas said. "Being aggressive and playing with no fear. I can't control what happened.''
He could have called for a fair catch.
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