Demaryius Thomas was hoping you had tempered your expectations. Just for a little bit.
“I’m about 95 percent. I’m not at 100 yet,” he said with a grin, hoping his statement was believable after Thursday’s practice. “I say that because I have a brain (mistake) on the field sometimes.”
Thomas didn’t want to mislead you. He didn’t want you to watch the Broncos’ third preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday and believe all the kinks in the offense would magically disappear.
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He was, however, hoping to correct them, and hoping that with more time and more snaps, he and Peyton Manning could eliminate that pesky 5 percent.
But his second preseason showing probably didn’t close the gap.
Thomas and Manning played the first half, the most they have thus far in the preseason. But their timing — under center and in shotgun — was off once again.
On Denver’s first drive, Manning underthrew a pass to Thomas in the near left corner of the end zone. Another attempt intended for Thomas in the end zone was intercepted. And by the end of the half, Thomas had only three receptions for 30 yards.
In their preseason debut at Houston last weekend, Thomas and Manning looked like the duo from the last few seasons in the Broncos’ pass-friendly offense. Thomas was targeted six times, catching three for 24 yards as Manning often worked in the shotgun. But the first-team offense struggled in the win, gaining 67 net yards in four drives, all of which ended in punts. After reviewing the film, Thomas came up with his own points of emphasis for Saturday.
“We can do better on third-down conversions,” he said. “We had a couple third-and-2, third-and-3 that we couldn’t get. When you get in the red area, you’ve got to score touchdowns.”
The last time he faced the 49ers at home, Thomas had no problem doing just that. Manning connected with Thomas for his record 509th career touchdown pass in the second quarter, and then again for No. 510 in the third quarter.
But on Saturday, the Broncos again struggled in the red zone, going 0-for-3 in the first half. Their third-down efficiency improved, going 5-for-9 (56 percent).
While preseason games carry no meaning for the Broncos’ record or for their starters, it’s still viewed as valuable playing time to test the new offense before the games count.
But after two tests, Thomas may be sticking with that 95 percent.
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or
