braces the opportunity and respon

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - With every dropped pass in September, speculation grew about just what was bothering Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas.His grandmothers death. Eric Deckers departure. Looming mega millions. Wes Welkers suspension.Thomas said it boiled down to something else entirely:Letting down Peyton.Thats the thought that invaded his mind when he was running free with two blockers in front of him against Indianapolis and Mannings pass inexplicably skipped off Thomas hands.Unable to forget it and move on, one drop turned into another. And another. And so on.Thomas, who piled up 217 catches for 3,117 yards and 28 touchdowns, counting playoffs, the last two years, was mired in the first bona fide slump of his five-year NFL career.Heading into the bye week last month with just one TD catch to go with four drops, Thomas consulted Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe and Broncos Ring of Famer Rod Smith, both of whom told him he needed to clear his head.When he returned from the bye last week, Thomas went out onto the practice field on his own time and caught 250 passes on Monday, then put in extra work the rest of the week, one of the reasons his position coach, Tyke Tolbert, declared his slump over.All the chips are in on us seeing the old Demaryius, Tolbert said last week. Everybody at some point in time will go through some type of slump. And hes through his slump. Luckily for him, he got it out of the way early. So, I look forward to nothing but great things from Demaryius this Sunday through the rest of the season.Asked why he would declare Thomas slump over before his star even had a chance to prove it in a game, Tolbert said: I think his approach and the fact that all our guys are back now. We missed Wes the first couple weeks of the season. We shuffled guys around but everybodys back doing stuff theyve always done, so I see everybody has a more stable mindset right now. I see the improvement in practice. And I expect nothing more than to see it in the game.Tolberts words proved prophetic. Thomas caught eight passes for a franchise-record 226 yards and two long touchdowns in Denvers 41-20 rout of Arizona on Sunday when Manning threw for a career-best 479 yards.Manning saw the signs of a breakout, too.Demaryius challenged himself during the bye week, Manning said. He knew he wasnt playing up to his capabilities. He has high goals and high standards and for whatever reason, I think hes been thinking a lot. We did put him in the slot early with Wes out. Hes been thinking a lot and its just affected his concentration with catching the football.I think he just had a good look in his eye all week and he got back to his fundamentals.Thomas big day included touchdown catches of 31 and 86 yards. Were it not for a chop block penalty negating his 77-yard TD catch, Thomas would have posted just the sixth 300-yard receiving day in NFL history.Its all right, Thomas said. Everybody makes mistakes. We got back out there and were able to put up more points and to get a win, and thats really all that matters.The usually sure-handed Thomas, who even made the erratic Tim Tebow look good back in 2011, had a trio of drops against Indianapolis on Sept. 7. All came within 4 yards of the line of scrimmage with significant yards after the catch a possibility.I had to play slot because Welker was out and Im not used to that, Thomas said. I knew if it was like third-and-5, Peyton always went to Welker and I knew if Im not open, hes going to be on me. So I was thinking when I got the ball coming my way, I would drop it, and first one I dropped. I let it get to my head: Im letting down Peyton, Im letting down my team.So, breaking out of his funk, he said, was a matter of just being back in my position and being more comfortable.With an unclouded head and a clear conscience.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Bernd Leno Germany Jersey . Then youve got to worry about the other up and coming teams in the two weaker divisions in the "Junior Circuit". Marco Reus Germany Jersey .C. - Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek says guard Goran Dragic will return to the starting lineup against the Charlotte Hornets after missing the last two games with a strained back. http://www.germanysoccerporshop.com/aut ... ersey/.com) - Brad Stuart has yet to play a regular-season game for the Colorado Avalanche, but that didnt deter the club from signing the veteran defenseman to a two-year contract extension on Monday. Ilkay Gundogan Germany Jersey . Bibeau, Torontos sixth-round pick at No. 172 overall in last years draft, was named the outstanding goaltender of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Manuel Neuer Jersey .The Hamilton Tiger-Cat defensive back always has the required receipt. But he also walks around with a tangle of metal screws, rods and plates after breaking his neck in 2006 playing high school football in Louisiana.Pavel Datsyuk will be the man to don the "C" for the Russian Olympic hockey team when they play on home ice in Sochi. Speaking with R-Sport on Wednesday, Russias head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov said the coaching staff had decided on Datsyuk as the teams captain. "We have a candidate for the teams captain who was agreed upon unanimously by the coaching staff - it is Pavel Datsyuk." Datsyuk later confirmed the news via Twitter. "I am honoured to be named a captain. Our team embraces the opportunity and responsibility of representing our country on the home ice." The Red Wings forward - and alternate captain - has appeared in three previous Olympic Games for Russia, winning one medal - a bronze at Salt Lake City in 2002. The 35-year-old has 15 goals and 17 assists in 35 games with the Red Wings this season. Datsyuk will take the placce of Aleksey Morozov, who captained the team in 2010 but was not named to the Sochi roster.dddddddddddd Other candidates for the captaincy included Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Ilya Kovalchuk, formerly of the New Jersey Devils. Ovechkin had voiced support for Datsyuk as captain when the Olympic roster was announced. According to R-Sport, Kovalchuk did not believe the captaincy meant more than a letter. "A patch on your chest means nothing. To win at the Olympics, everyone in our team must be a captain." Datsyuk is the second Red Wing to be named a captain at the 2014 Games, Henrik Zetterberg was named captain of the Swedish team. Teammate Daniel Alfredsson will serve as one alternate while Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin will serve as the other. In total, ten Red Wings will travel to the Sochi Games. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Discount Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Wholesale NFL T-shirts NFL Jerseys China ' ' '