Neues » Although a reunion between receiver Demaryius Thomas

and former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels has seemed to be inevitable for a while now Dre’Mont Jones Jersey 2019 , the official arrival of Thomas in New England raises a fair question as to the 31-year-old’s role with the Patriots: Will he make the final 53-man roster?Apart from the fact that Thomas continues to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in late December, his production has fallen off in the past two years. And even though he’s schooled in McDaniels’ offense, there’s a different between the way McDaniels draws up plays and .The impression created by the transaction is that Thomas instantly will be a valued member of the team. After all, a quick glance at Twitter shows that he’s making $6 million for one year. Look more closely, however. The reports are that he’ll earn “up to” $6 million; per Field Yates of ESPN.com, the base value of the deal is a mere $1.35 million, with the balance coming from incentives and bonuses that he may or may not earn.For now, Thomas becomes the eighth receiver on the roster (that number includes special-teamer Matthew Slater Cheap Dre’Mont Jones Jersey , who hasn’t caught a pass since 2011). By next weekend, the Patriots could have more on the roster, from draft picks to in-draft trades (that’s how they got Randy Moss in 2007) to the land rush for undrafted free agents.By September, there’s a chance Thomas won’t even be on the roster. Chris Simms pegged it as a 50-50 proposition during Wednesday’s ; given the experiences of veteran receivers like Eric Decker, Reggie Wayne, and Chad Johnson in New England, that may actually be a little high. I’m not one of those fans who can remember single plays in a particular game of a distant season - or often even a recent one - with any detail that is deserving of the play itself.Obviously I remember those iconic plays that every Broncos fan remembers because they were in such monumental games or at monumental moments, they could not be forgotten. Plays like:I’m more of a big picture person. I remember dominant players Dre’Mont Jones Denver Broncos Jersey , or great comebacks, games won by a last-second touchdown or interception, games lost by heart-breaking misses, players whose careers made an impact in Denver in any way.So when I was asked to recall my “favorite Steve Atwater moment” on a recent podcast (and the Okoye hit was off-limits and Tim already took Super Bowl 32’s dominant performance), I was at a loss. Besides those two obvious “moments,” how do you choose one of Atwater’s hits? Just one of his 1,074 tackles (24th all-time among tackle leaders), 24 interceptions or five sacks as a favorite moment?And so that’s the thing. You can’t. The greatest part of Atwater’s game wasn’t that he had a litany of highlight reel moments. His entire career is the highlight reel. The fact that Atwater didn’t have just one great season of big hits but instead had a decade of them - with five seasons of off-the-charts number of tackles - tells you the kind of never-say-die mentality he had on the field. His rookie season boasted 129 tackles Dre’Mont Jones Denver Broncos Jersey , earning him Defensive Rookie of the Year. The following campaign, Atwater put up his highest total with 173 tackles, followed by 151, 150 and 141 the next three years, sitting out just two games in those five seasons.The bottom line - Steve Atwater was a relentless defender, never giving up in any game on any play. Always playing through the whistle; always trying to get his guy down.And proof of what that meant to the game of football comes in a story Andrew Mason has told on Adam and Ian’s podcast of Tony Dungy. When the Bucs coach had a young John Lynch struggling in his game, he pulled the safety into the film room and showed him clips of who else? Steve Atwater.Because Atwater played with the technique and tenacity that Hall-of-Fame players do.*editor’s note - If you want to hear what I did say because I couldn’t come up with one favorite Atwater moment - and instead told a funny story about how nervous I was answering a film analysis question from THE GREAT STEVE ATWATER on his Orange and Blue radio program - check it out on the 18:30 mark)