ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Much has been made this week about comments made by Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas following Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Thomas now famously told Mike Silver of NFL.com, “You’ve got two guys … damn, the best duo in the league, and we haven’t had 100 yards in a game yet. He’s got, what, eight catches? I’ve got nine. I mean…”
The comments caused quite a stir around Denver. Thomas, not known for being a classic diva receiver, complaining about touches and targets during his team’s 2-0 start. It seemed out of character.
On Wednesday, Thomas cleared the air a bit on the frustration.
“I think there’s a lot more opportunities on the field than what we got at the end of the game,” he explained of the offensive projection. “I think the [bigger] frustration is that we can be a better offense than what we’ve put out so far. We’ve been in the red zone maybe three or four times, and we haven’t been able to get a touchdown. We’ve had three turnovers in two games. I think that will come to haunt you at the end. Basically, I think it’s just trying to be a better offense. We’ve got one of the best defenses in the game, if not the best. They talk about the defense; there’s no problem with that. They think it’s the reason we won last year. I want to be a better offense. I think it’s better for this team because if we get our offense better, we’ll be a totally better team.”
Thomas isn’t the only one frustrated. His partner in crime, Emmanuel Sanders, admitted he’s been frustrated, too, but also kept things in perspective.
“There’s some frustration, but it’s hard to be frustrated when you’re sitting here 2-0,” he explained. “At the end of the day, I can sit up here and make it all about me and Demaryius [Thomas], how we’re used to having 100-yard games, we’re used to scoring touchdowns, and we’re used to doing this. But we’re sitting here 2-0. We’ve got the No. 1-ranked defense and offensively we’re getting better. We’re better than what we were last year, and I’m happy.
“It’s all about getting into the playoffs and winning championships,” Sanders added. “Right now, we’re on the path. Obviously, team goals come before individual goals. Individually, yeah I would like to have my highlights running on ESPN. Yeah, I would like to be having 100-yard games, be ranked [in the] top five. But we’re sitting here 2-0, so I go out there every single day. I’m waiting on that big game; Demaryius is waiting on that big game—we know it’s going to come. We’re just waiting on that opportunity.”
The Denver Broncos will spend nearly $15 million on receivers this season, five times more than the $3 million they are spending at the quarterback position. Trevor Siemian, he’s making just barely a sixth of that chunk going to quarterbacks. On paper, that looks like frustrations for wide receivers.
“That’s understandable, right?,” He asked rhetorically of the frustration. “Receivers, they want the ball, they want to make plays, especially our guys, and they’re two of the best in the business. We want to give those guys opportunities to make plays, so I think it’s understandable. Everybody is working really hard to get wins, which we’re doing and get better. That’s the exciting part, too, there’s room for improvement, and we’re still winning. Understandable, though.”
“Those guys have been awesome,” he added of the duo, dousing rumors of disconnect. “Tremendous leaders out of those two. Those guys have been great with me, pulling me along the whole way through. Not just them, Matt [Paradis], Russell [Okung] and all of those guys. They’re doing a great job, and they know they’re getting their touches so I can’t say enough with how they’ve led.”
In the end, though, head coach Gary Kubiak had the mic drop of the conversation.
“We had a lot of productivity on offense, 24 first downs, 400 yards and 6.2 yards a play. We were very productive. I’d take that every week,” he concluded. “I’ve never met a receiver who didn’t want more touches.”
