Denver Broncos' Julius Thomas Plans to Turn Potential at Tight End Into Production
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Denver Broncos' Julius Thomas plans to turn potential at tight end into production Jeff Legwold The Denver Post July 27, 2013 It's a statistical line that measures football pain, perseverance and potential. It reads one reception, 5 yards, one tackle and 22 months. That is the road Julius Thomas has traveled into Broncos training camp. "I don't think anyone was looking forward to training camp more than I was — that's a safe statement right there," Thomas said Friday after practice. "I caught as many bad breaks as you can catch for a while there, at least from a football perspective. But that's how life goes. You ride your highs and you've got to find a way to get through and ride your lows. "And now I'm here doing whatever I can to do the work, to be ready for the opportunities that come my way. I lost a year and a half, two years. It's time to catch up." Thomas has had enormous potential from the moment the Broncos selected him in the fourth round of the 2011 draft after one season of playing college football at Portland State. Thomas had played four seasons for the school's basketball team — he set a school record for games played (121) and led the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances — before deciding to try football. Thomas then flashed that football potential as an all-Big Sky Conference selection with 29 receptions. He flashed that potential again during the Broncos' offseason workouts in the spring of 2011 and into training camp that summer. The Broncos saw possibilities in a 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end who could leave linebackers in his wake and overpower safeties. But then there was the catch, on Sept. 8, 2011, when Thomas was tackled by Bengals linebacker Manny Lawson. "That's a long time ago," said Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey. "In this league that's just a long time, but we've all seen that talent, what he can bring to the table. Now it's just a matter of staying on the field to give yourself a chance to make those plays in games." Thomas suffered a right ankle injury on his lone career reception and struggled through the rest of the 2011 season. After working out with Peyton Manning in March 2012, Thomas decided to have surgery to repair the injury. That led to a missed offseason program, only four games played in the 2012 season and 13 games, including the Broncos' playoff loss to the Ravens, as a game-day inactive. That brings Thomas to this training camp. "Losing about a year and a half in my development to get to this point, that's tough," Thomas said. "It takes a certain level of confidence and repetition to go out there and feel comfortable with what you're doing. "Then you get hurt and you lose that confidence of playing the game, you have to relearn everything. I feel like it's just time for me to go out there and do it, stay healthy. I know my assignments, I know what my responsibilities are." With first-year offensive coordinator Adam Gase calling the plays and veteran wide receiver Wes Welker added to the roster, the Broncos figure to use plenty of three- wideout formations this season. How much the team's tight ends find their way into the passing game remains to be seen. Last season, the Broncos used a three-wide receiver formation almost exclusively down the stretch. A two-tight end formation was next in terms of frequency. Last season, Joel Dreessen led the way at tight end with 853 snaps on offense in the regular season. His playing time increased late in the year. He played at least 59 snaps in each of the last five regular-season games and 70 in the postseason loss to the Ravens. Tight end Jacob Tamme played 528 snaps overall. He had 29, 11, 27 and 34 in the last four games of the regular season and 20 snaps in the playoff game. Questions remain about how and when Thomas would fit into the Broncos' offense. "The one positive out of all this was I had a chance to learn football," Thomas said. "It's been two years of being able to watch the game, learning how to do things and to practice against our starters on defense," Thomas said. "You may not have played a game, but every single day you went against the starters on a defense that was one of the best in the league. That prepared me just like I think the other things that happened have prepared me. "Now it's just about going out there and doing it." Broncos' Sylvester Williams joins first full practice on second team Caitlin Swieca The Denver Post July 26, 2013 After the signing of first-round pick Sylvester Williams on Thursday, the Broncos had all 86 players on their training-camp roster present for their second training- camp practice on Friday. The rookie defensive tackle spent time on the sidelines talking with coach John Fox at the beginning of practice before taking repetitions with the second team. The offense appeared to shake off some of the rust that was evident in its first practice, with quarterback Peyton Manning connecting on early passes to tight ends Joel Dreessen and Julius Thomas and wide receiver Eric Decker. Running back Ronnie Hillman took all of the repetitions with the first team in the early going. Montee Ball and Knowshon Moreno worked primarily with backup quarterback Brock Osweiler. Linebacker Von Miller continued to work with the first unit despite being in the process of appealing a four-game suspension. Williams, the No. 28 pick in this year's draft from North Carolina, signed a four- year, $7.6 million contract after the first practice of the season Thursday. He participated in a team walk-through Thursday night before his first full practice Friday. "I hope that I just impress my teammates and my coaches," Williams said Thursday night. "In the weight room and on the field, I just want to impress the people who brought me here. The people who believed in me enough to draft me in the first round." Williams is expected to begin practice with the second team, but compete for a starting job and playing time on passing downs Broncos running backs must keep up with Peyton Manning Jeff Legwold The Denver Post July 27, 2013 When the Broncos make the call on how they divvy up the carries at running back, there will be more in the equation than lugging the rock. Study habits could be every bit as important as yards after contact. "We're pushing all of them as hard as we can because everything flows through the quarterback," said Broncos running backs coach Eric Studesville. "You can't slow Peyton (Manning) down, and our position is like every position, we've got to find a guy who can keep up with the quarterback. The bottom line is, if you can't keep up with what Peyton is doing, then you can't be in there with him. Our guys know that." Making the right adjustments on presnap audibles and making the right choices in pass protection will be rewarded with playing time. What happens when the backs don't have the ball will determine who gets to carry it. "They know everything is live, every drill, and that the more you can do, the more you can be in there," Studesville said. "We can't have a situation where the quarterback is limited by something somebody else can't do. We're going to find the people — you're not really going to catch him — but we want the people who can get close to going his speed and those are the guys who will play." Ronnie Hillman and rookie Montee Ball have worked as the top two backs in the offense, with Knowshon Moreno at the No. 3 spot and Jacob Hester in a do-it-all role, including fullback in some two-back sets. Crank it up. The Broncos will not turn back the clock to the full-bore, padded practices of training camps in decades gone by, but they will put on the full gear for the first time in this training camp in Saturday morning's practice. "I think it's a good rule that we've got in place now with the league that the first two days are without pads," coach John Fox said. "But I think everybody in that building will be excited about being in pads for the first time since January." Fox has consistently said the evaluation of the team's linemen, on both sides of the ball, isn't complete until the padded practices. "That's when there is no hiding," linebacker Wesley Woodyard said. "So it's going to be exciting." Years of service. The Broncos announced Friday morning that vice president of corporate communications Jim Saccomano will retire after the upcoming season. It will complete his 36th year with the team, a span that includes 853 games with 421 Broncos victories in that total, including two Super Bowl victories. Saccomano will work as a Broncos consultant next season, but no longer will have an office at the team's practice complex. Footnotes. Rookie tight end Lucas Reed missed Friday's practice because of a right hamstring injury. ... It's only two days into training camp, but Fox said second-year quarterback Brock Osweiler has gotten slightly more work than he did in last year's camp when Manning was still working his way through the Broncos' playbook.