Jeudy cites concentration for two drops
Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy’s goal for the remaining 15 games of his rookie season: No more dropped passes.
Jeudy had two drops in Monday’s 16- 14 loss to Tennessee, spoiling his NFL debut.
“Those are plays I make usually,” he said before practice Wednesday. “It just seemed worse because it was my first game. Those two dropped passes made it seem like I was nervous. That wasn’t the case. It was just not concentrating on the ball and trying to make a play ( before) the catch.”
Jeudy’s second drop was particularly critical — in the fourth quarter and the Broncos leading 14- 13.
“I felt like I failed my team on those two plays,” he said. “Me learning from that and just going out there and practicing and really focusing on catching the ball and on the little details of catching the ball is really going to help me. Those two drops ( will) probably help me on not dropping passes for the whole season.”
Jeudy caught five passes for 56 yards against the Titans.
Bouye headed to IR. Cornerback A. J. Bouye ( shoulder) was placed on injured reserve, meaning he will miss a minimum of three games. Teams are allowed to bring an unlimited number of players back from injured reserve this year ( the previous limit was two) after they sit out three weeks.
The Broncos will roll with rookies Michael Ojemudia and Essang Bassey as the Nos. 2- 3 cornerbacks behind Bryce Callahan at Pittsburgh on Sunday. The team promoted De’Vante Bausby from the practice squad.
Running back Phillip Lindsay ( turf toe) did not practice and coach Vic Fangio said he is “not sure of his status for the game yet.” Also not practicing were safety Kareem Jackson ( day off) and inside linebacker Mark Barron ( hamstring).
Receiver Courtland Sutton ( shoulder) was a limited participant six days after he was injured. Also limited were left tackle Garett Bolles ( elbow), receiver Tyrie Cleveland ( hip) and safety Trey Marshall ( wrist).
Lock’s
lament. Reviewing his play against Tennessee, quarterback Drew Lock said one improvement point is obvious.
“I definitely missed some deeper shots that I could have connected on,” he said. “It just goes back to making the simple plays and to me, a deep shot should be a simple play — it’s a 1- on- 1 matchup.”
According to The Denver Post’s game charting, Lock was 0 of 5 on passes that traveled at least 16 yards in the air.
The incompletions in air yards were 35 ( Jeudy), 40 ( receiver Tim Patrick), 26 ( Jeudy), 42 ( receiver DaeSean Hamilton) and 32 ( tight end Noah Fant). The big miss was Hamilton on the secondto- last possession. He got a step on cornerback Malcolm Butler, but Lock overthrew Hamilton for a should- havebeen touchdown.
Hall candidates announced. The Pro Football Hall of Fame unveiled its 130- player modern- era candidates for the Class of 2021.
The players with Broncos ties: Quarterback Peyton Manning, center Tom Nalen, returner Glyn Milburn, safety John Lynch, receivers Rod Smith and Wes Welker and defensive linemen Neil Smith and Michael Dean Perry. Boulder native Tony Boselli is also a candidate.
The field will be cut to 25 semifinalists in November and to 15 finalists in January. Manning headlines the first- year eligible class that includes cornerback/ safety Charles Woodson and receiver Calvin Johnson.
Impressed with Big Ben. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returned from last year’s elbow surgery to help beat the New York Giants on Monday. Roethlisberger, 38, will be making his 220th career start.
“He’s still a great quarterback, he’s a big man ( 6- foot- 5/ 240 pounds) in the pocket, he can make all the throws starting in the quick game to all of the deep throws, he’s courageous in the pocket and will hang in there and move around to bide time,” Fangio said.
Footnote. Fangio said he won’t change the procedures of getting assistance with clock/ game management after admitting his focus on calling the defensive plays led to him not calling a timeout with 1: 28 remaining Monday.
“That’s the first time it happened so hopefully it’s an anomaly and we’ll be better at it,” he said.