Denver Broncos Training Camp 2010 – D. Thomas Delights – 08/06 p.m.

Kyle Orton didn’t know what was happening, but he was suddenly losing the focus of his teammates on the field. Blue and white jerseys were suddenly taking flight around him.  It took the quarterback a few moments, but he finally caught on — an ice cream truck had driven onto the field, and his teammates were in hot (cool?) pursuit.

An ice cream truck delivered cool treats to Denver Broncos players to end practice Friday (BroncoTalk.net)

Tim Tebow, watching from the sideline, didn’t recognize it at first, either.

“I didn’t have a clue what was going on,” Tebow said. “I figured they were putting back on the music and someone actually put that (ice cream truck music) on their playlist and I was like, ‘What?’ But then, you know, found out it was the ice cream truck so it was a cool surprise.”

A cool surprise indeed.

Attendance: S Brian Dawkins returned to practice. Absent: RB LenDale White, RB Knowshon Moreno, RB Correll Buckhalter, LB D.J. Williams, OL Dustin Fry, C Russ Hochstein, G Chris Kuper, T Ryan Harris, DT Chris Baker, DT Jamal Williams, TE Daniel Graham, LB Elvis Dumervil, LB Jarvis Moss, and DL Justin Bannan.

Injury Report: The Broncos were in shorts today; no new injuries to report. Tyler Polumbus filled in for Harris at right tackle.

What I Liked

WR Demaryius Thomas — Mark it down — Friday, August 6th just might have been this first round pick’s coming out party.  Nothing Thomas had done to this point even came close to the two performances he put on today.  In the evening session, Thomas started his dominant work early, making a leaping catch in the back of the end zone over safety David Bruton in 7-on-7’s. Later he back-pedaled with a deep sideline two-handed grab over Cassius Vaughan, who ran a lap after in self-punishment. Then there was the coup de gras: beating Champ Bailey on a slant route and escaping the corner’s would-be tackle completely.

“I’m learning the playbook better so I started to play fast once I knew what I was doing,” Thomas said. “I think from here on, I think I can just have the mentality to just go fast at all times and I’ll be fine. Just stay in my playbook and I should be OK.”

TE Richard Quinn — Quinn had been having one of the worst camps of anyone on the team, but he performed well tonight.  He had a number of tough catches, including a jump ball over Darcel McBath and back-to-back bombs from Tebow.

What I Didn’t Like

WR Eric Decker — This guy is supposed to be notorious for catching everything that comes even remotely close to his path, right?  Today was definitely the exception to that idea.  Decker dropped at least four balls today, which might have been more than half the targets he received.  Not every ball was right between the numbers, to be certain, but I’ve always been of the belief that if it hits a receiver’s hand, it’s a catchable ball. Especially with a reputation like Decker’s — that’s why they get paid the big bucks. One of his “drops” really went right through his hands and into Andre Goodman‘s for the interception, so Decker was an easy choice for this spot.

CB Alphonso Smith — Smith has been having a tough camp.  He’s been usurped on the depth chart (Perrish Cox at 2nd left corner behind Champ; Nate Jones as starting nickel back), and it’s hard to disagree with either ranking.  Today I saw Smith get burned by Eddie Royal on a comeback for a 15-yard gain. Later, he went toe-to-toe with Brandon Stokley on a deep throw from Orton and even got his hands around the ball as he fell to the ground. But the ball bounced up, right into Stokley’s hands (Immaculate Deflection II, anyone?), who took it to the end zone for six.

S David Bruton — I’ve noticed a trend: a lot of Demaryius Thomas’ impressive hauls have been coming at Bruton’s expense.

Play of the Day #1

The Immaculate Deflection II — Stokley’s bobbling catch for a run-in 50-plus-yard touchdown off the hands of Alphonso Smith.

Play of the Day #2

Demaryius Thomas’ two-handed sideline grab while running backwards for 30+ yards.

Miscellany

Creative playcalling won out during a spread formation team drill.  Somehow, Josh McDaniels and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy got #1 wide receiver Jabar Gaffney matched against inside linebacker Wesley Woodyard.  That’s a battle the offense is going to win every time.

Up Next: The big practice at INVESCO Field at Mile High!  6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Admission is free, better come early!