Something changed in Demaryius Thomas, and it’s not just his size

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Something happened to Demaryius Thomas in the months after Super Bowl 50. Something changed in the way he walked, the way he greeted reporters who were eager to pelt him with more questions about his drops and mistakes and pressures that filled his 2015 season.

Something changed in the way he trotted onto the field the next day, as he joked with teammates and shared laughs with coaches on the sideline. Something changed in the way he played to the fans who watched his every move from afar, and the way he refocused as he toed the line of scrimmage and fielded pass after pass from his new quarterbacks.

Something happened.

For the first time in more than a year, Thomas was no longer playing catchup.

“I wanted to be perfect, and I wasn’t,” Thomas said of last season. “I just kept letting it bother me and it kept building. So now that it’s over, I can go back to playing and not worry about any of it — the contract, my mom. Even though we won the Super Bowl, there was still a lot of stuff along the way.”

Last summer, as the Broncos transitioned to a new coaching staff and new offense, Thomas held out of the offseason program because of contract negotiations. Days before he received a five-year, $70 million deal — the third-largest awarded to a wide receiver — his mother’s nearly 15-year prison sentence was commuted by President Obama. For the first time, Katina Smith would get to see her son play football in person, not from an outdated television inside prison walls.

AND


“But if you watch the games, you study the games, you know he did not play up to his potential,” said Shannon Sharpe, the former Broncos tight end who has been a confidant of Thomas’. “That was one of the things that I talked to him about. And maybe the situation with his mom — I’m sure that weighed heavily on his mind. He got nicked early on and he had to play through it, and to compound that, he missed all the (organized team activities) holding out. The team, the fans, you have this expectation that ‘I got this money, I need to show them why they gave me this money.’ ”

full article - a little more from Shannon also
http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/02/demaryius-thomas-changed-2016-denver-broncos/

[TXBRONC]

AND



full article - a little more from Shannon also
http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/02/demaryius-thomas-changed-2016-denver-broncos/

Some people thought because he got the big contract that he got lazy. I never bought into that line of thinking.

[JPPT1974]

It sounds like he is maturing and growing up!

[OrangeHoof]

Well, with Mama out of prison and the GOAT quarterback throwing the ball, how come he couldn't catch it, mmmm? He could catch it from Tebow but he couldn't catch it from Peyton?

[MOtorboat]

Well, with Mama out of prison and the GOAT quarterback throwing the ball, how come he couldn't catch it, mmmm? He could catch it from Tebow but he couldn't catch it from Peyton?

Derp.

[TXBRONC]

Well, with Mama out of prison and the GOAT quarterback throwing the ball, how come he couldn't catch it, mmmm? He could catch it from Tebow but he couldn't catch it from Peyton?

He caught over 100 pass last season, so I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Well, with Mama out of prison and the GOAT quarterback throwing the ball, how come he couldn't catch it, mmmm? He could catch it from Tebow but he couldn't catch it from Peyton?

You need to read the following article, which explains how she felt after she got out of prison, and obviously, that also had to be on DT's mind.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14687893/demaryius-thomas-mother-makes-hard-choice-super-bowl Also a video on the link, with both DT and his Mom talking.

[Dapper Dan]

He just needs to weed to mellow out.

[NightTerror218]

Well, with Mama out of prison and the GOAT quarterback throwing the ball, how come he couldn't catch it, mmmm? He could catch it from Tebow but he couldn't catch it from Peyton?

Over 100 catches last season....caught more from Peyton then he did from tebow last season.

[Simple Jaded]

Thanks Obama.

[Buff]

Token training camp story. Sort of like how Latimer was poised for a breakout season last year and the previous year. I will believe it when I see it. In the meantime we should pay Emmanuel Sanders who instead of talking actually just does everything the right way.

[MOtorboat]

Token training camp story. Sort of like how Latimer was poised for a breakout season last year and the previous year. I will believe it when I see it. In the meantime we should pay Emmanuel Sanders who instead of talking actually just does everything the right way.

So, just so I'm clear, here...your summation is that Sanders doesn't talk? And Thomas doesn't perform?

Because those two items that you inferred are both astoundingly false.

I mean, Thomas has had over 400 receptions and 5,700 yards of production in the last four years, so to intimate that he only talks and doesn't perform is an absolutely absurd line of thought. Secondly, Sanders never shuts up, to the media, to opponents, etc. Sanders deserves to get paid, just not nearly as much as the best receiver on the team.

[Northman]

Whether the story is true or not Buff does have a point. We hear this shit all the time from many players every year. If there is an improvement from DT it will show when he hits the field.

[Valar Morghulis]

Token training camp story. Sort of like how Latimer was poised for a breakout season last year and the previous year. I will believe it when I see it. In the meantime we should pay Emmanuel Sanders who instead of talking actually just does everything the right way.

Leave my Cody out of this

[Buff]

So, just so I'm clear, here...your summation is that Sanders doesn't talk? And Thomas doesn't perform?

Because those two items that you inferred are both astoundingly false.

I mean, Thomas has had over 400 receptions and 5,700 yards of production in the last four years, so to intimate that he only talks and doesn't perform is an absolutely absurd line of thought. Secondly, Sanders never shuts up, to the media, to opponents, etc. Sanders deserves to get paid, just not nearly as much as the best receiver on the team.

1.) I made no inferences that Thomas doesn't perform. You inferred that.

2.) My only point is that you won't ever read a training camp hype story that is chock full of excuses about why Sanders hasn't lived up to expectations but is now poised to exceed them, because he consistently and habitually exceeds them.

3.) I don't want to hear about DT's volume numbers - let's talk about efficiency in 2015. He clearly underperformed relative to his peers and his potential. It's silly to make excuses for him. We know he's a great talent and a great player - now he just needs to show us he's worth being paid as the 3rd richest WR in the league.

[Dapper Dan]

What are the exact numbers that DT is suppose to have to adequately fulfill his contract?

[OrangeHoof]

What are the exact numbers that DT is suppose to have to adequately fulfill his contract?

Given what the man's being paid he should bring in damn near everything thrown his way instead of disappearing for the playoffs. That's all I'm saying.

Of all NFL receivers with 80 or more catches last year, only two had drop rates of 4 % or higher - Brandon Marshall at 5.8% and Demaryius Thomas at 5.1%.

http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/drops/2015/

[dogfish]

What are the exact numbers that DT is suppose to have to adequately fulfill his contract?

forty-two!

[Northman]

Given what the man's being paid he should bring in damn near everything thrown his way instead of disappearing for the playoffs. That's all I'm saying.


Not really possible even with the best receivers in the game.

However, considering that DT himself said he struggled last year there is no excuse to be made for him by anyone on this board. The guy knows he missed some opportunities last year so hopefully he has focus straight this year to correct a lot of the mistakes last year.

[Buff]

What are the exact numbers that DT is suppose to have to adequately fulfill his contract?

Well he should be consistently showing up as a Top 10 WR in terms of advanced metrics that take into account his entire body of work and measure efficiency. Certainly not down among the 50-60th best receivers.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/wr

[Dapper Dan]

Not really possible even with the best receivers in the game.

However, considering that DT himself said he struggled last year there is no excuse to be made for him by anyone on this board. The guy knows he missed some opportunities last year so hopefully he has focus straight this year to correct a lot of the mistakes last year.

I'm pretty sure every hungry, driven player says they could have done more. Even the great He-manual Sanders probably.

[NightTerror218]

Well he should be consistently showing up as a Top 10 WR in terms of advanced metrics that take into account his entire body of work and measure efficiency. Certainly not down among the 50-60th best receivers.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/wr

Not so sure i am a fan of this brake down. When thomas was #7 in yards and receptions. He was also #10 in all ayers yards after reception.

This website can not take into account drops and state the fact. Which bad qb play adds to their catch rate. And this directly affects the rating of the players. Also yards after the reception is not a stat which should be since this is a category of the WR without QB influence.

[Dapper Dan]

Not so sure i am a fan of this brake down. When thomas was #7 in yards and receptions. He was also #10 in all ayers yards after reception.

This website can not take into account drops and state the fact. Which bad qb play adds to their catch rate. And this directly affects the rating of the players. Also yards after the reception is not a stat which should be since this is a category of the WR without QB influence.

They have Sanders at 49. I hope John doesn't see that site. No way he'll pay Sanders after that.

[Buff]

I like how Dan is so dug in on this topic. I feel his passion.

[BroncoJoe]

I like how Dan is so dug in on this topic. I feel his passion.

Dan's tool needs some sharpening.

[dogfish]

Dan's tool needs some sharpening.

i don't think we should be talking about dan's tool outside of the lounge. . .


or in the lounge, for that matter. . . :fear:

[Denver Native (Carol)]

President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced he commuted the prison sentences of 214 non-violent drug offenders. Minnie Pearl Thomas, the grandmother of Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas, was one of them.

Minnie Pearl Thomas, 60, has spent the past 16 years housed in a federal prison in Tallahassee, Fla., for running a cocaine ring out of Georgia with her daughter, Katina Stuckey Smith, the mother of Demaryius.

Smith’s 20-year prison sentence was commuted last July, and after she spent time in a halfway house, she was released in the winter. Minnie Pearl Thomas, who received a life sentence, is set to be released Dec. 1, according to the Department of Justice.

“I just found out right when I came in from weights,” Demaryius said after the Broncos’ morning training camp practice. “I had no idea. I was surprised. I was excited, too. It came this early. I heard 200-plus people get to have a second chance, and for my grandmother to be one of them, it’s a blessing.”

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/03/demaryius-thomas-grandmother-minnie-pearl-thomas-sentence-commuted/

[TXBRONC]

He is still one best recievers in League and I'm about complain about one season where he had 9 drops while being targeted 177 times.

[Spiritguy]

President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced he commuted the prison sentences of 214 non-violent drug offenders. Minnie Pearl Thomas, the grandmother of Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas, was one of them. Happy for him but I hope this doesn't mess with his head like when his mother got released.

[BroncoWave]

Happy for him but I hope this doesn't mess with his head like when his mother got released.

Seriously. That's all we need is for him to have this same distraction come December.

[Simple Jaded]

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/03/demaryius-thomas-grandmother-minnie-pearl-thomas-sentence-commuted/

Thanks once again, for the second time, Obama!