San Francisco’s coach likes to question questions like few others in NFL circles.
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NFL power rankings: Niners’ Jim Harbaugh fond of shooting down media’s questions (Yahoo! Sports)
DENVER (AP) – Demaryius Thomas sure has a knack for dashing into history. Eight months after scoring the longest overtime touchdown in NFL playoff annals, the Denver Broncos’ big receiver burned the Pittsburgh Steelers again by hauling in Peyton Manning ‘s 400th touchdown toss. In January, it was an 80-yard grab from Tim Tebow on a crossing pattern that secured Denver’s first playoff win in six seasons. On Sunday night, he turned a “smoke screen” designed to beat the blitz and gain about 10 yards into a 71-yard score. With that, Manning joined Brett Favre and Dan Marino in the exclusive 400-TD club. At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Thomas is the biggest target Manning has had in his 15 seasons as a pro, but it was his speed that took Manning aback. “We weren’t thinking an 80-yard touchdown. Maybe a 9-yard gain is kind of what I was thinking,” Manning said. “So, it sure was a nice surprise.” Manning marveled at the blocks Thomas got, but noted “Demaryius did a majority of the work and really turned it on with great speed.” Thomas figured that having his first full training camp in his third pro season would translate into a fast start, and he was right. He was dogged by a broken foot, sprained ankle, concussion, torn Achilles and fractured finger in his first two seasons after leaving Georgia Tech following his junior season. He missed training camp his rookie year after aggravating a foot injury and he missed last year’s camp after tearing an Achilles tendon in offseason workouts. He was coming off yet another surgery, to remove pins in his left pinkie, when Manning signed with the Broncos in March. So, he got a late start working on his rhythm and rapport with his new quarterback while fellow starting wide receiver Eric Decker quickly became Manning’s workout partner. Thomas, however, quickly caught up when he was healthy. “Being able to go through OTAs, minicamps and all with a new quarterback, it was a big deal,” Thomas said. “I feel like everything just got better and better as we went on. It’s better to get the reps on the field than just sitting in meetings and watching. It was great for me to be healthy this year to get the actual reps instead of the mental reps.” If Thomas, who had five catches for 110 yards in the opener, can stay healthy, he’ll be a big boost for Denver’s retooled offense. After missing the first five games last year, Thomas was spectacular down the stretch. In December and January, his 35 catches for 745 yards, four touchdowns and a 109.3-yard receiving average were second only to Detroit’s Calvin Johnson and came despite Thomas playing in an ultra-conservative option offense. With Tebow around, opponents often left Thomas in single coverage so they could stack the line of scrimmage to stuff the run. With Manning at quarterback, Thomas is adjusting to crowded coverages. “It’s a lot of different when Tebow was playing and it was nine (defenders) in the box all the time. All I had to do was beat man” coverage, Thomas said. “Now it’s cover-eight, cover-six, cover-two. … But I think I’ll have a good year if I can stay healthy.” Thomas said he’s a better receiver for having a perfectionist like Manning as his QB. “He’s made me a smarter receiver and taught me how to run routes the way he wanted them, the way to get open,” Thomas said. “Basically, I had to change up some things that I wasn’t doing before. Working with Peyton helped me.” By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Pro Football Writer (© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Thomas Off To A Fast Start With Manning In Denver
DENVER (CBS4) – Broncos linebacker Wesley Woodyard wants to help kids so on Tuesday night he held a fundraiser for youth at risk. Woodyard has a foundation called Wesley Woodyard’s 16Ways Foundation. He feels very strongly about giving back. “This is my first event of the year, and this basically kicks off everything that I do during the season,” Woodyard told CBS4. “Everything that I raise during this dinner goes to my free football camps.” Woodyard will host another event on Sept. 25 — an “MVP Dinner” from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sullivan’s Steakhouse on 1745 Wazee Street. Woodyard and his family started the 16Ways Foundation a few years ago. On the website the foundation describes their mission as follows: The 16Ways Foundation recognizes an emotional need for at-risk youth. At-risk youth require reassurance that they matter, in order for them to achieve their highest possible academic and social levels, with the intent to become productive, contributing members of society. LINK: 16Ways Foundation
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Bronco Woodyard Helps Raise Funds For Youth At Risk
Since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing on the road Sunday, we don’t have to wait for the Thursday afternoon deadline to find out if their game wil…
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Southern exposure for Week 2
Danny Tuccitto of Football Outsiders gives Week 2 fantasy football advice, examining the best and worst matchups by position.
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Week 2 fantasy matchups, whom to start, sit and more – NFL
Knee-jerk reactions are everywhere following Week 1, but most aren’t warranted, John Clayton writes in his latest mailbag.
NEW YORK (AP) – Peyton Manning’s debut as quarterback of the Broncos was a big winner for NBC – its highest-rated game on a Sunday night. The network announced the ratings Tuesday, two days after Denver defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-19. The game drew a 16.5 national household rating and 26 share. That topped the 15.7/25 ratings of last year’s Cowboys-Giants Week 17 finale. The ratings also tied the 2010 NFL opener of Minnesota-New Orleans as NBC’s highest-rated regular-season game. The Steelers-Broncos game was seen by more than 27.5 million viewers, second only to the Cowboys-Giants regular-season prime-time game. Sunday night football has been on NBC since 2006. A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show. (© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Broncos-Steelers Was Highest-Rated Sunday Night Game Ever
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Demaryius Thomas sure has a knack for dashing into history.
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Thomas off to a fast start with Manning in Denver (The Associated Press)
ENGLEWOOD — For years, it seems, the Broncos have been searching for the right corner to line up at right corner.
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Porter making his mark with Broncos
Poll a thousand people across Denver this week in the wake of Sunday night’s Broncos’ victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers and ask them who was the MVP of the game. I think the results of that poll would be pretty predictable and include only a few names. Peyton Manning. Tracy Porter. Vonn Miller. For me, it’s an unlikely hero. I’m picking offensive lineman Zane Beadles.