Ex-Eagle Hollis Thomas Rants After Loss To Bucs: 'Being An Eagle Is A Privilege'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Hollis Thomas played the first decade of his prominent NFL career as a Philadelphia Eagle.
Thomas, better known as "Tank," was as tough as it gets during his playing days and is appreciated by fans for his hard-nosed work ethic. Now, as a co-host on the 94WIP Josh Innes Show, Thomas couldn't hold back his outrage after the Eagles' 45-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
"It's a privilege to play Eagles football and these guys are taking it for granted," Thomas said on Monday. "It's a privilege. It's not a right. When you become an Eagle, you become an Eagle, and these guys have yet to see that being an Eagle is a privilege.
"These guys are not Eagles," the former defensive tackle continued. "I know they have on the uniform and they have the name. These guys are not Eagles. They do not define what an Eagle is."
So what defines a Philadelphia Eagle?
"What defines an Eagle is fight, fight until the end," Thomas explained. "Even when you're losing. I've been in some situations like they were in yesterday to where it was no way we was coming back, but you knew everyone was still fighting."
Listen: Hollis Thomas on the 94WIP Josh Innes Show
The Eagles once dominant run defense has all the sudden allowed over 100-yards rushing in three of their last four games, including a massive 283 yards on the ground to the Bucs on Sunday. As a former run stopper, Thomas wasn't too happy about it.
"And these guys, I don't think get it," Thomas said. "I don't think they ever will. It's a few guys on the team that get it, that you saw was playing, but when I looked at the stats---and they ran the ball 42 times and my middle linebackers [Kiko Alonso and DeMeco Ryans] got three tackles between them. That's not acceptable. That's not the Eagle way.
"And I'm sick of tired every time we turn around we get a rookie quarterback in here and we give him all day to throw."
Thomas said he talked to his former teammate and fellow defensive tackle Corey Simon, among other frustrated former Eagles.
"I didn't get too pissed until I got calls this morning from Corey Simon and a couple other Eagles asked what is going on," Thomas explained. "These guys are not Eagles, they do not get it.
"What the hell is wrong with this team? You have talented guys, you just putting them in a bad position. And it goes from the top to bottom. It's not only the players, it's the coaches too. If you have a lackluster coach and an attitude, then you gonna have lackluster players and that's pretty much what I've seen and that's not the way of the Eagles. This happened at the end of Andy [Reid]'s regime, but it's happening now and that's a very, very, very bad sign. They've quit on him [Chip Kelly]."