Peyton Manning not missing a beat

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Even with Eric Decker down, Peyton Manning didn't miss a beat.

Decker has been the star of the Broncos' training camp so far, but when he went out with a strained groin, Demaryius Thomas stepped up to solidify his standing in Manning's eyes and with Denver's refurbished offense.

Thomas made several big catches Thursday, even turning a rare wobbly pass from Manning into a 35-yard TD when he outleapt Drayton Florence and Raheem Moore at the goal line.

Another time, he gave Tracy Porter a taste of the stiff-arm he used on Ike Taylor to beat Pittsburgh in the playoffs.

Whether on posts, curls or slants, Thomas was there to haul in Manning's fastballs during the no-huddle work to the delight of yet another record crowd — 5,034 — at Dove Valley. The Broncos will face the Bears on Thursday at Soldier Field in the preseason opener for both teams.

“Well, I think Demaryius has had a really good camp even when Eric's been practicing,” Manning said. “Demaryius is a guy that we are going to feature. His size and strength and speed just allows you to do certain things with him that other players just can't do.

“And so, Eric's had a really good camp. He's just got a little tweak, hopefully he'll be back this afternoon or tomorrow.

“But I thought Demaryius these last two days has really made some big plays, he's done some good things with the ball after the catch, which is what we're going to need,” Manning added.

After all, Manning's game is built on finding the hole in the defense and getting the ball there as quickly as possible so his receiver can use his legs to turn short passes into long plays.

“You can't just throw down the field every time,” Manning said. “You've got to be able to take a 5-yard hitch or a little 10-yard hook route and turn it into a 20-yard or a 30-yard gain and he's kind of shown those type of plays these past two days.”

Good thing, too, because Thomas had some catching up to do.

The oft-injured Thomas needed an operation to remove pins from his left thumb this off-season and was sidelined when Manning signed with the Broncos (No. 10 in the AP Pro32) in March.

So, he was rehabbing while Manning was throwing tons of passes to Decker at local high school football fields while working his way back from a nerve problem in his neck that caused him to miss all of last season and led to his release by the Indianapolis Colts.

Thomas returned to the field in May and quickly made a big impression on Manning, who never had such a huge target in Indy.

“He's the biggest receiver I've played with since I've been in pro ball, certainly,” Manning said. “He has that rare combination of size and speed. So, I look forward just to getting more and more comfortable with him and just kind of growing through this process.

“And every day is important with not just him but all of the receivers as we work together to get on the same page in many different phases.”

Also making plays and an early impression on Manning is free-agent receiver Andre “Bubba” Caldwell, who signed with the Broncos this off-season after four years in Cincinnati.

“Bubba Caldwell has excellent speed, has a rare speed to really get deep,” Manning said. “Corners, you can tell when they're covering him they're going to maybe be off a little bit more knowing that if you miss one step he can be right by you.”

Also helping Manning get up to speed is a stout secondary led by Champ Bailey.

“I've said that all along, it's a great challenge going against our defense. There's a lot of speed out there, a lot of experience,” Manning said. “… And so it's a good challenge every day.

"We're going to win some battles; they're going to win some battles. But it's good. It's making the Broncos better and I know it's really good for our receivers and for our timing.”

Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio doesn't relish facing Manning every day in practice, but, hey, it's better than seeing him across the field on Sundays like he did so often while coaching the Jaguars.

“He was a thorn in my side when I was in Jacksonville. I'm happy he's on my side now,” Del Rio said. “He's one of the better quarterbacks to ever play.

“It's really excellent work for our defense to be stressed every day with a premiere quarterback approaching his job the way he does.”