The Broncos didn’t necessarily slot Demaryius Thomas as a candidate to be their kick returner when they used the 22nd overall pick in April’s NFL Draft to select the wide receiver.
But after giving him a chance in Sunday’s win at Tennessee, Head Coach Josh McDaniels has confidence the 6-foot-3, 229-pound rookie is the right man for the job.
“He is a little taller than most (returners). He’s probably a little thicker than most, but in our mind, he’s harder to tackle than most and he’s probably just as fast as anybody else,” McDaniels said. “The more he did it, the more he wants to do it and I think he’s really embraced that.”
Thomas saw his first action as the deep man on the kick return unit last Sunday at Tennessee and finished with 144 return yards on four attempts, including a 65-yard return to set up a third-quarter Matt Prater field goal.
Thomas, who has 11 catches for 149 yards and a touchdown this season, said special teams coordinator Mike Priefer came to him last week and asked if he’d be ready to handle return duties. The receiver told him he’d be happy to get on the field any way possible.
Heading into his second game as a kick returner, Thomas said he’s starting to get a better handle on what it takes to be a good NFL returner.
“I learned that the game is fast and if you’ve got a hole, you’d better hit it instead of tiptoeing through it,” Thomas said. “If not, you’re going to get hit.”
McDaniels said Thomas also will see time against the Ravens on the kickoff and punt return team as well.
Thomas’ willingness to contribute in any way possible early in his career fits right in with the philosophy McDaniels has worked hard to instill in his team during the past two seasons.
“That’s just his attitude and it’s a tribute to him and a number of other players in our locker room that are very unselfish and will play any role that we ask them to do,” McDaniels said.
During his morning media session, McDaniels said that Knowshon Moreno and Spencer Larsen will be out for Sunday’s game because of injuries.
“Knowshon and Spencer just aren’t ready to go and (I) don’t think it’s the right thing to do to try to force them to try to play before they’re ready to go,” McDaniels said.
McDaniels said he expects Andre’ Goodman and Wesley Woodyard, who both missed Sunday’s win at Tennessee, to be available against the Ravens after evaluating the pair in practice so far this week. They’re both listed as questionable for Sunday’s game on the injury report.
Moreno, who has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, returned to the practice field on Wednesday on a limited basis but missed the Thursday and Friday workouts. Larsen, who sat out against the Titans with an ankle injury, did not practice this week.
Moreno’s absence means Laurence Maroney, Correll Buckhalter and Andre Brown will likely be the three available running backs for the third straight week. With Larsen out, McDaniels said Dan Gronkowski will see more time in the backfield as a fullback.
For the Ravens, Jared Gaither (back), Tavares Gooden (shoulder), DE Paul Kruger (knee) and Donte’ Stallworth (foot) will miss Sunday’s game. Jason Phillips (illness), Tom Zbikowski (thigh) and Edgar Jones (thigh) are listed as questionable. Todd Heap (shoulder), Le’Ron McClain (shoulder), Ray Rice (knee) and Fabian Washington (illness) are probable for the game.
- Eric Detweiler, DenverBroncos.com
Below are some more photos from Friday’s practice:
Tags: 2010, Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos, Head Coach Josh McDaniels, Knowshon Moreno, Spencer Larsen
Sorry to hear Larsen and Moreno are out,I guess we might reach 0 yards on the ground if we’re lucky.LOL
Great job Thomas on returns last week,keep up the good work,just PLEASE don’t get hurt,that’s all we need.
McD,if you’re listening,give Brown a shot at toting the rock,Maroney and Buck don’t seem to be having any luck.
ha that rhymes! but seriously, get this ground game moving! the ravens will eat us alive if we are forced to pass 50+ times this week!
Glad to see Goody and Woodyard are healthy enough to go.
Also glad to see McD is smart enough to sit Moreno and Larsen when they are not ready to go.
hey what are the black jerseys for? Practice squad? or are we preparing for the ravens to wear black this week?
Great, another wonderful pic for my wall of my fav player Brady Quinn.
I think we will beat the Ravens,but I’m really looking forward to the Big Mouth Jets coming to our House,I can’t wait till we shut them the f up.
Didn’t know that Rex Ryan wanted to come here and coach,but they couldn’t get a deal done,I don’t like his mouth,but he does take up for,and respect the Hell outta his players.just saying.
Yovi…I heard the black jerseys are for the backup players that have a good week of practice,idk.
Klis reporting that the broncos pulled out of contract discussions with Champ.
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_16279530
Champ wants to finsih as a Bronco and seems to be willing to take a pay cut to achieve that.. the issue becomes DOLLARS…. I know Bailey is aging but hell he’s better that 99.9% of CB in the league when he’s playing with crutches for crying out loud.
McDaniels ~ I dont want to wake up one morning and have to smash my laptop because of bad decision..
It looks like Orton knew what he was talking about when calling Finnegan a dirty player:
The NFL officially fined Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan on Friday and warned him that future infractions like the one he committed last Sunday against the Broncos could result in “increased disciplinary action.’’
According to the NFL, Finnegan was fined $10,000 for an incident involving Broncos offensive lineman Chris Kuper. It’s the same play that prompted Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton to call Finnegan a “dirty” player in remarks after the game. Orton accused Finnegan of punching Kuper.
In the league’s letter to Finnegan, it was noted that future infractions of this type could lead to increased disciplinary action.
Finnegan didn’t want to discuss the fine on Friday. Earlier in the week he said he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary against the Broncos or Kuper. Finnegan was not penalized on the play.
“I was just being me,’’ Finnegan said.
And me is being a jerk…
LOL… Good one Bay. What a little terd. Kuper could squish him like a little bug.
I am losing respect for the Titans more and more,and I’m the biggest Titan fan on here,dirty,dirty,dirty.
WELL IT’S 5:00 SOMEWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!BEER THIRTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GIT-R-DONE
GO BRONCS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAHHHHH……..That’s good,and cold too.haha
Bronc on,my Bronco Bros!!!!!
I’m outta here for a while.
Lucky you BFE. I’m out in Cali. but it will be beer thirty soon enough. Enjoy the camping trip buddy. You lucky dog.
Latest developments on the Bailey situation:
What McD says:
“We’re not going to talk about the contract and all that stuff in general, but we want Champ Bailey to be here. We want him to finish his career here. There’s a lot of little things that go into these things. These things take time to get right, and sometimes the timing of it doesn’t match with the player’s desire or our desire, but ultimately when they get worked out, everybody’s content and happy. If there’s something that can happen sooner rather than later, then that’s what we’ll want to do. I love the guy. He’s been great for me, professionally, personally. He’s great for our locker room, and nobody here wants him to leave, and there’s a lot of things that go into these things and factor into timing. Brian’s handled a lot of these things great through the course of the offseason. I expect that to be the case with this. It might take a little while.”
What Bailey says:
“There’s so many people just changing teams. I just think anything can happen at any time. So, I’m telling you, if you’re a guy in your last year or you want a new contract or you’re a free agent, you might go somewhere else. Do I really need to spell it out for you? I’m just saying (a trade is) always a possibility. It wouldn’t surprise me. Things like that wouldn’t surprise me, but I’m not saying that we’re going to ask for a trade or anything. I love being here. So I wouldn’t do that. I’ve battled some pretty major injuries and, fortunately, I’ve gotten myself healthy enough to play again and play at a high level and, you know, that’s all I can do. I really can’t lose sleep over what’s going on right now. I’m still auditioning for 31 other teams, so my play with speak for itself and … the money will come when it needs to.”
You would think they are both talking about something completely different, wouldn’t you.
Hummm..?
Something very fishy this way comes. Two completely different stories… Where have I seen this before??
I think there was a little hint the other day that nobody cought when McD held Champ out of practice for a “coaches decision”……. hmmm?… Could it be that Champ had to spend a day in the McDoghouse?? Now he is speaking out about it when McD thought it would keep him quiet?
No matter what the situation is, this is a huge distraction for the Broncos when they need to have their collective focus 100% on the Ravens… We don’t need this drama! We need a united team with one goal and NO DISTRACTIONS!
I like the way he put the blame on Xanders…lol
ILMSDB!
oh oh McD going to trade away another pro-bowler? I am detecting a pattern here, and while I have noticed Champ has not been his usual take-away self, I sure don’t see anyone on the team stepping up to fill his shoes. Not good, ur right baylin it does look like they are talking about something different, same thing I thought before we lost …… all the other pro-bowlers who have gone by the bronco wayside.
GO BRONCOS
It is interesting that everyone thinks McD does everything in running the Broncos. I wonder what all the other coaches and staff do? Hell McD is not negotiating with the agents. He just takes all the heat from everyone. I believe Xanders would be the department that is doing the negotiations. I believe if McD has anything to say about it, Bailey would be a Bronco for ever. Why wouldn’t he? McD is hired to win games not worry about profit and loss statements. That is the GM and owners dept. Just thought I would add this in case some get confused. Just saying.
I think danso is right. Maybe we should TAR and FEATHER Xanders first…..LOL hahaha! just kddn..
McDaniels is a disciple Bill Belichick. How did Belichick handle the Randy Moss trade? Looks very familiar to me. “It was a team decision”. I don’t like the way they go about their business but McD could be doing what’s best for the Broncos in the long run as we are very deep at corner. If they can get good value, the team gets better where it needs it faster. I’d like to see Gaffeny go as well, that would open up a spot for D. Thomas who has the talent to be on the field. That being said, soem corners play well late into their 30′s and Champ looks better this year than he has the last 2 in my opinion. Thomas, LLoyd, Royal , Decker sounds pretty good to me. Gaffeny won’t get traded because he was a Patriot, McD’s achillies heel.
Yeah you’re right bay… two different conversations going on there with Coach McD’s & Champ’s comments. Xanders is the man behind the desk, no doubt.
Seems like Mr B. has been an invisible man lately. Maybe we’ll see him at the game next week vs. Jets. Hope he’s doing well.
if mcd was planning to get rid of champ he should of done it in the offseason. We need champ in the secondary, cox is not ready for such a big role yet. But what ever mcd dose I hope we make it to the playoffs. I’m tired of coming up short, YOU BETTER KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING MCD!!!
So Thomas may also see duty returning punts. He did well last weekend. Best KO returns we’ve had so far this season.
Would love to see him break one!
Best wishes to Thomas this weekend.
Go Broncos!!!!
I bet ya Thomas breaks one return for a TD before our bye week. Also, I`m glad that Finnegan got fined. Heck ya!! serves him right. The cameras don`t lie. And where in the heck was the flag. Dirty, dirty.
I will be livid if Champ isn’t re-signed. Letting your best players leave isn’t the path to victory.
If Champ is traded or the decision not to extend his contract is made, McD had better lead this team to the playoffs. This year
Yeah – you could tell Orton was fired up in his postgame interview when it was discussed.
Sounds to me Champ is fed up with McShenanigans.
I agree. I`m fed up with all of this uncertainty with McFrugal.
Danso all the operations that have happened was 100% mcd. From trading Hillis to trading up in the draft for tebow. You think it was Xanders idea to get rid of Nolan?
He wanted a yes man GM. That’s why the goodmans are no longer here
Where’s Lance Ball, he had a great preseason!
I think we all are pretty much fed up,except the ones that think nothing is wrong.
Like I said yesterday,when the best and most classiest player on the team is pissed,something is definitely WRONG indeed.
Ball was put on the practice squad.
Week 5 in the Land of Mary…
Who knows what will really happen in the dirty bird nest….?? Have we ever won a game there….? I think We get Tar and Fethered every time we land in the purple coop!!!?
But, now is the time for a new wing, a new focus, a new determination and resolve…. To improve as you play towards the most important part of the season.. To reach for the peak in December… To change the minds of fairly weathered fans like me….lol
Now is the time for the Broncos to TURN UP THE HEAT on the ground game!!! To find a way to feed the blackbirds ROAD APPLES with about a 150-200 yard rushing output!!!
I dont think we need to battle the Crow in the air. Orton needs to have a luxury day handing the ball off and watching the dust fly while the (***Champ Baily***) led Denver D, in all its RAGING BLUE BRONCO GLORY, impose their will on the Ravens O!!!!
Robert Ayers needs to BLOW UP LIKE A BOMB and keep Flaco flustered, flippin and floundering around like a broken winged gull….
The Bronc O line needs to come down like a TON OF BRICKS on the Raven run defense and surprise them with a challenge they will not soon forget!!!!! Mucho and often!!!!!!!….
Soo… I’m sayin The Broncos Stable of Horses will be able to STAMPEED for at least a Buck and a Half to two Bucks on the unsuspecting Ravens….
Prater is GOLDEN – LIKE MONEY!!!!! #5#
Broncos 23
Ravens 17
STONE COLD RAGING BLUE BRONCO GLORY!!!!! 3-2
KEEP THE DRIVE ALIVE BRONCOS!!!!
I LOVE ME SOME DENVER BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ILMSDB!!!!!!!!!!est1975
Hey OC…picked up some Milla Lite Aluminum pints for my camping trip,they’re awesome buddy,you can screw the caps back on when you need to take a whiz.haha..They’ll be great for a camping trip.
The 4 Horsemen will ride thru Baltimore and leave it in ruins!!!!!!!!!!haha
The talk of Bailey’s contract could not have come at a worse time, taking all the focus away from our game. We have improvements to make, a crazy good defense to take on Sunday and here we are, yet again putting drama first. We never seem to escape the drama. Story of the Denver Broncos. I think they’ll be wise for once and give the man what he deserves and wants, it’s clear he doesn’t want to leave but I respect him even more for saying he won’t “beg” for his job here in Denver. He’s better than stooping begging for a job. With his talent, he shouldn’t even have to ask to keep his job. He’s fought for it since he got it, more importantly he’s earned his job since he’s been here. A sad, sad, sad day when he leaves or retires but I’d rather see him retire early as a Bronco then team-hop around the league. I can only hope Xanders and Company won’t become stupid idiots and let this one slide. I hate that they say they’re putting this off till the end of the season, but it slightly makes sense when at his age they want to see what he still has left for the rest of this season… then again, they’re fools for not making amends earlier.
As for the game Sunday, it will be our biggest challenge yet. The #1 pass defense in the league and ironically our WRs are our best chance at putting up points, let alone moving a drive down the field. Orton & Co., have their hands full this weekend for sure. Yet somehow I still believe they’ll fight this one out for the win. Will be a close, low-scoring game though. I love seeing Thomas take kick returns, he’s great at it but I hope that’s not all he does Sunday. Waste of pure God-given talent to just stick him with kick return duties. And with the tough defense we’re facing, he’s one more weapon we could use out there. We need him out there with our offense.
Keep the faith Broncos Country…
GO BRONCOS in 2010!!!!!!
who really thinks we will trade Bailey?
Ok… Here goes a bit of an essay…
The Bailey situation is a little concerning, but I don’t think it’s really that big of a deal just yet. This same thing happens with at least one player on just about every team every single year. Any Pro Bowl caliber player hates playing through the last year of his contract while not knowing where he will be playing the following year. It’s stressful for any player in that situation. Champs just venting some of his frustrations. But don’t forget about Champ’s character. What Cutler, Marshall, and Scheffler all had in common was a slight me-first attitude, which ultimately led to their trades. Champ doesn’t have that problem. He’s going to give this team 1000000% every week regardless of what’s going on with the contract situation, so I don’t see it causing a distraction once the whistle blows on Sunday. Champ will take care of his business either way. And as for the coaches decision to keep Champ out of practice, I don’t think that’s a big deal either. McD did the same thing with Dawkins, Hill, J. Williams, Goodman and several others throughout the offseason just to give them some rest and time off, so it’s probably nothing too dramatic.
I’m always helplessly optimistic about these kinds of things, so what the heck. I’m going to stay positive and assume things will work out eventually until something officially happens with the situation.
Oh and one more thing… Like 07elway said, it’s not that unusual for teams to put off contract talks until the end of the season. They have to make sure his body can still hold up for 16 games or at least close to it before giving him a deal that will require that they pay him into his late 30s.
Like I said though I can’t help but look for the positive in the situation… it’s the only thing that keeps me sane lol.
Maybe they hope the CBA Agreement will land and they can give him a diff type of contract?
Well this is my second post today wrote a long winded affair when I got home but one thing after another happened and it got erased.
Oh well in short can’t wait for the game like all of you. They gave me hope last week and the more I look into it on this site and others the more I think baltimore is beatable. It is worrisome that Harbagh has such a good record at home and that the Ravens play so well at home. But this is a good or the beggining of a good team wwe have been competitive in all the games we have played and I think A win is possible in a fairly low scoring game I see the broncos pulling it out in the 4th quarter with a better passing game then the ravens.
23 broncos
16 ravens
Oh I am realy trying to stay out of the whole Cham Bailey debate as suggested by a couple of guys on this site I am definatly a coolaid drinker and I cant stand to talk smack. although I waffle at time mainly brought on by this site!!!
I think Bailey will test the waters and go where the money is best and I don’t see the MCpatriot led Denver management team being willing to Poney up the kind of cash he can get on the open market he has three good years left in him as a number two shut down guy being paid like a number one and everyone knows the patriot Ahhem I mean MCpatriot way is to value system over player every time so we the fans will suffer in part because bowlen is soft and wont stand up for a player who is probably HOF caliber and was the face of the franchise during the lean years of the early millenia until Dawk got here.
So we will lose based upon philosiphy
Go Blue and orange crush there will with a higher scoring offense
turnover free football for 60 minutes!!!!!
Ben, very good second part of your post above about the Bailey thing, and as a self thought Football Philosopher myself, there is a whole bunch of sense coming out of your analogy of the McPatriot philosophy.
However anything could happen since Bailey is a good guy never doing anything purposely wrong, so maybe it won’t be like some of the other players we lost, with whom it started exactly the same as this Bailey deal. McD said he loved Cutler, Scheffler, Hillis and Marshall saying he wanted both Cutler and Marshall here long term and that everything would work out, and in Scheffler’s and Hillis’ case that he was wrong to use them as little as he did and that he would use them more the following year, only to ship all four of them out. Bottom line with McD we never know, as he has proven over and over his word cannot be trusted, he simply talks to disguise his real intent as to be allowed more flexibility to do what he is ultimately gonna do.
Once we understand that, nothing actually comes out as a surprise anymore, I mean how many shocking developments have happened here ever since McD was named the main man, it is like a franchise history’s worth of huge unheard of type moves bottled up in a year and a half. Under McD we better all buckle up, this roller coaster of a ride could eject anyone at just about anytime and make everyone sick at one time or another.
Enough football philosophy for now, we are playing football tomorrow, back to x’s and o’s. Amazing to see how many fans find so many reasons to buy that we have a very good shot at beating the Ravens at their house, the team many consider a shoe in for the SB this year, and in fact to win it all, I included as most of you know. ANY GIVEN SUNDAY will have to do for me, on paper I don’t see much of anything to show me where we have the upper hand.
Orton on O? what about the relentless QB rush Baltimore brings day in day out and I can’t even imagine what it could be like when we can’t make them respect our run, 55 yards and 2.2 per carry per game so far this year is just not gonna cut it, and we are missing both our starting Tailback and Fullback.
And what advantage could we possibly have on D, other than O isn’t Baltimore’s strongest side of the ball. We are going to have to worry about no less than six major weapons, Boldin, Houshmandzadeh, Mason, Heap and Rice and McGahee out of the backfield, top it all with our inability to bring in constant QB pressure, Flacco could keep on a roll following his brilliant play to beat the Steelers in the fourth quarter last week.
ST seems that maybe it’s where we need a serious edge to have a shot, and that’s a possibility with Prater, Colquitt and now Thomas returning kicks and even punts maybe, Thomas says he like doing it so be it, but that would mean that we would have to finally find a way to shore up our coverage once and for all, a 98 yard return for a TD like last week would be most certainly enough to put a dagger into us this time around.
Bottom line on paper I don’t see it, but thank god they don’t play it on paper, it would definitely shock me if we pull it off. ANY GIVEN SUNDAY. If we do win I would have to totally re-evaluate where we are and where we are heading, because this would be the biggest upset of the year for me by far. I have had a big L next to this game ever since the schedule came out and in no way shape or form have I ever thought we would have a playoff caliber team this year, but with a win in Baltimore, how could I not? I think that’s what’s making all of these Broncos will beat the Ravens picks come in this week, the hope for great things is right in front of us, and most guys are hitching that ride and are feeling the exhilaration of what it would mean.
And I understand it, but I’m gonna go with show me first this week once again. I didn’t think we could beat the Titans last week, we took it to them and did it with many things going our way, I just don’t see how things can go our way for a second week in a row so I think the better more balanced team, the better team period, will win (and I didn’t pick us to win it all this year, so you know it’s not us) haha. I still need a little more research and soul searching for a score…
ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, ANY GIVEN SUNDAY. This game will go a long way in telling me who we really are. In that regard it is a huge game, we lose it big, we will be who I thought we were, we win it big, it’s a brand new season, at least in my mind.
Man, when I have fun writing, it keeps on coming, haha.
LAST DAY TO POST YOUR SCORE PREDICTION, NO PICK ON GAME DAY.
See, I can do long posts and short ones, versatility for you, maybe I can get a job with McD where versatility is king, LOL.
Neither Champ nor J Williams practiced. Why? Well guess what, Champ’s not practicing has nothing to do with him contract flap. Both he and JW have injury issues. Champn is not 100%, JW has chronic knee problems. They were kept out of practice to save wear and tear on their boidies. Champs has not been healthy for years. It’s been several seasons since Champ played in every game. McD is being very smart by limiting their practice time to get maximum playing time out of them. Stop hyperventinlating over nothing.
If we can find a way to win it big with a healthy running game tomorrow???? Wow!?
The Broncos could possibly be on their way to the playoffs….
If we lose it and can’t get any rushing gain…..?? ugg..
Then we are still flat mediocre with a long season ahead…
THE BRONCOS NEED TO GROUND AND POUND THE FOOTBALL!!!!
POUND THE GROUND IN BALTIMORE!!!!!!!!
I SAY GIVE LANCE BALL A CHANCE TO TOTE THE ROCK!!!
anybody got a paper bag I can breath into????
I think I’m getting too much oxygen at this high alitiude…. lol
OC, what do you know about our running game that I don’t, special inside information? LOL.