News » As a combo, the Denver Broncos‘ two highest-paid

ENGLEWOOD Nate Davis Jersey , Colo. (AP) — players aren’t exactly money yet.Although Demaryius Thomas caught the winning touchdown pass from Case Keenum in their opener, the pair making a combined $27 million this season have 10 missed connections so far.That’s almost as many connections — 11 for 81 yards — as they’ve made together.Calculating incompletions where he got both hands on the ball, Thomas leads the league with five drops so far.Thomas had two early drops in the opener but bounced back to catch a 4-yard dart from Keenum to beat the Seahawks in Week 1. Thomas dropped three passes against the Raiders last week, when he had five receptions for 18 yards. Only four times has he had fewer yards in a game since becoming a starter in 2012.His biggest drop last week came with Denver at midfield, trailing by two points with 22 seconds left.Thomas sprinted up the right sideline and deked his defender into leaving him wide open. Keenum delivered a pass on target and on time, but the ball sailed through Thomas’ hands.On the next play, Keenum hooked up with Tim Patrick for his first NFL reception, a 26-yarder that set up Brandon McManus‘ 36-yard field goal that beat the Raiders 20-19 .Thomas’ early-season troubles are reminiscent of 2015, when he dropped eight passes before November, then added five drops against New England in a game when his sole catch proved crucial to Denver’s win in overtime that helped propel the Broncos to the Super Bowl 50 title.Thomas said his only focus this week was on trying to help his team out Sunday when the Broncos (2-0) visit Baltimore (1-1), and his latest bout of drops apparently hasn’t alarmed his coaches.“He’s OK,” coach Vance Joseph said, adding that the coaching staff can provide a boost by calling his number early and often.“It’s our job to get him going early and to get him his confidence early,” Joseph said. “When guys go through a whole half and have one attempt or two attempts Tytus Howard Jersey , that’s tough for receivers. If he has his first attempt and he drops it or it’s a bad ball, that’s a mind war. It’s our job to get him going early. It’s his job to play with confidence, and he will.”Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said he believes that corrections need to be made in the flow of the game without regard to a specific player who might be struggling with catches or confidence.“We’re just trying to give everybody the ball,” Musgrave said. “We don’t want to start worrying about one guy here … We’ve just got to let the ball find everybody in the system, whether it’s handing off or throwing it. If we do a good job, I think everybody will get their touches.”Keenum sees any hiccups right now as the inevitable crimps that will dissipate as the offense develops.“The team that you are in September is always very different then the team you are in December,” Keenum said. “I think that’s why you come out every day and practice. You grind away at those little itty-bitty details, mechanics and footwork, routes and protections, so that you can keep building this library, keep building this trust, keep building this chemistry with these guys with the offensive line, the running backs, the receivers.“All so you can trust on that when it comes down to December, January Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , and hopefully February.”ROUGHING RULEJoseph said he understands why the league is emphasizing roughing calls on quarterbacks this season.“They want the quarterback not to be punished. Back when I played, that was the key to the game: How much can you punish the quarterback? But it’s changed,” Joseph said. “They want you to sack the quarterback and turn your body and not put your full body weight on the guy.”Joseph said he concurs with the league’s efforts to keep QBs safe.“I don’t want Case hit that way. So, it goes both ways with the players. So, I agree with it,” Joseph said. “We haven’t had a play yet that has cost us. So, I don’t have a problem with it. That could change in two weeks. But it’s for the safety of the position.” NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Broadway in downtown Nashville is as lively a place as any in America. The Las Vegas Strip, Times Square and Bourbon Street have nothing on it.Particularly this week.For the first time, the NFL draft is in Music City, and even in the days leading up to Thursday night’s opening round, Broadway has been buzzing.Sure, the honky tonks tend to be full of revelers who don’t care if it’s New Year’s Eve or, well, a weekday in late April. The difference now: Nearly everyone is talking football while the bands on stage are working through their repertoires of Carrie Underwood and Blake Shelton songs.“This weekend Ugo Amadi Jersey , Nashville, Tennessee, is, in fact, Football City,” declared Mayor David Briley. “This wouldn’t be happening if the league and team had not seen what we already knew about the city of Nashville.”How much have the locals embraced the draft? Well, 100,000 or more are attending the opening round, with thousands more projected to turn out on Friday and Saturday.Although, by the look of things Wednesday and early Thursday on Broadway — which has been shut down to traffic for several blocks, a fact that might bottle up traffic but doesn’t seem to bother pedestrians a bit — many of those attendees aren’t from middle Tennessee. An informal survey of NFL team jerseys being worn showed 17, including from as far away as Seattle and Buffalo.NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told SiriusXM NFL Radio: “One of the things is the geographic location of the city you are in. Fans love to go from other markets to here. The number of jerseys you see (fans wearing), it reminds me of our international games.”Rain was in the forecast for Thursday night, something that didn’t plague Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas in the past four years as the draft has become a traveling circus. That could put a damper on outdoor festivities Devin White Jersey , though it’s unlikely to affect the business in the restaurants and bars downtown. Might even help.As Goodell has noted, the bar — a different sort of bar from those on Broadway — for the draft has been set high by previous cities, particularly Philadelphia.But as Briley and other Nashville residents point out, this isn’t exactly a city of strangers to big events, including the CMA Music Fest in late spring that is even more crowded.Twelve NFL cities have sent representatives here. In some cases, the league is looking to cities that aren’t likely to bid for a Super Bowl because of stadium or hotel issues.Taking particular interest in this week’s events are representatives from Las Vegas, which has next April’s draft.“I am sure Las Vegas will try to set a new bar also,” Goodell said. “Nashville will have an influence on Las Vegas.”In several ways, Las Vegas and Nashville have commonalities. Both have a centerpiece street — of course, closing down much of The Strip in Nevada would be much more of a chore and much more unlikely than doing so with a significant portion of Broadway here. Both have a solid entertainment base. Both have become destination vacation spots.That’s a year off, though. Right now, Nashville and the NFL are joined at the hip. Goodell believes “This is going to be a great platform for the city of Nashville.” The mayor simply smiled at that statement.