Julius Thomas runs in the second touchdown of the game against the Colts in Week 1. (Seth McConnell, The Denver Post)
Julius Thomas is sick of explaining himself. The Broncos’ tight end, who started the season on a tear, hasn’t looked like himself since injuring his ankle about two months ago.
“Somebody who doesn’t know me very well, or doesn’t know what I do in my rehab, might say: ‘Oh, you played basketball. You’re not very good about fighting through injury,'” . “That’s their opinion. People can feel however they want about me. But I know.”
The Colts know, too. After all, they saw him catch seven passes for 104 yards with three touchdowns in Denver’s over Indianapolis.
In a conference call with Denver media on Wednesday, Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano said he expects the best of Thomas on Sunday in their AFC divisional playoff game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
“Probably a monster,” Pagano said. “It’s the playoffs, divisional game. It’s win or go home. Everybody is going to play lights out. They know the ramifications, just like our guys know the ramifications of this game. He’s one heck of a talent, one heck of a player. It’s a long season. Guys go through things. It’s hard. You get banged up. It’s a marathon. (The Broncos have) had a week off and two weeks to get ready for this one. I know they’ve got a bunch of guys back that were banged up like everybody else. It’s the nature of the NFL. It’s a long, long season. We expect to see Julius at his best.”
