National Football League

Broncos' Decker healthy once again and it shows

Published Sep. 21, 2011 11:48 p.m. ET

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At long last, Eric Decker's left foot is fine and his mind clear.

He's taking passes and punts into the end zone with regularity and showing all 31 other teams what they could have had if they had bet on him like the Denver Broncos did.

Decker scared teams away when he missed the last half of his senior season at the University of Minnesota after tearing the ligament that holds the first two toes together in a game against Ohio State in October 2009.

Called a Lisfranc injury, it requires a long and arduous rehab with no guarantee of success.

Nearly two years later, Decker said the injury no longer bothers him physically or mentally.

''It's been night and day for me,'' Decker said. ''It's so true that last year my foot was always on my mind and making me think a lot and making me be very cautious. This year, I had a great offseason, didn't have any pain, didn't have any pain through the preseason. It helps my confidence, lets me go play football again.''

On Sunday, Decker ignited a win over Cincinnati when he overcame an early fumble to become the first wide receiver in team history to score twice and top 100 yards receiving in his first career start.

That followed his 90-yard punt return for a touchdown against Oakland in the opener.

His three TDs so far are one more than he had in spot duty his rookie season.

Now, it's easy to see why so many scouts considered him a surefire first-rounder before he got hurt.

''Eric is one of those guys that you can tell is just ready to take off and take it to that next level,'' quarterback Kyle Orton said. ''He's a young guy, but (you can see) just how smart he is, the way he can make plays, the way he bounced back after a tough fumble.''

Decker was having an outstanding senior season for the Golden Gophers when he got hurt but he never got down and leaned on former Broncos teammate Brandon Stokley, who overcame a similar injury.

''Eric's always been very, very strong, and I think he's always been very optimistic when it comes to everything and I think he just looked at the injury as a setback,'' said Adam Weber, who was his quarterback in college and is now on Denver's practice squad.

''It couldn't have happened at a worse time, he was having a great senior year and I know a lot of question marks came up when it happened. But he's remained positive, kept on doing his rehab and I think now he's reaping the benefits.''

Although this year's lockout kept him out of OTAs and minicamps for the second straight season, Decker worked out with Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald in Phoenix and in Minneapolis and also participated in Brian Dawkins' organized workouts in Denver, catching plenty of passes from Orton over the summer.

''I see a clear mind,'' wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said. ''I don't see any lingering effects at all. He goes out and practices hard every day and he looks faster in the game than he does in practice.

''I actually had kind of forgotten about his foot injury until you brought it up just now.''

Decker won the slot receiver job in camp and also earned punt return duties even though at 6-feet-3, he's tall for that role and represents a bigger target for coverage units.

He was pressed into an expanded role against the Bengals last week when Denver's starting wide receivers were both hobbled by groin injuries. Pro Bowler Brandon Lloyd was unable to suit up and Eddie Royal pulled up lame before halftime.

Pushed into a starring role in Denver's makeshift offense, Decker ran with it - straight to the end zone in Denver's 24-22 win, coach John Fox's first in Denver.

Decker scored on a 25-yard slant and a 52-yard deep throw.

''He's just more comfortable,'' Weber said, ''and it takes time to adjust to this level. And obviously coming off of an injury, there were a lot of things working against him last year. But this year, you can tell that he's much calmer, much more relaxed and he's just playing football.

''This is the type of player that he was in Minnesota. It's actually a lot of fun just seeing him play football again.''

Decker was considered among the top receivers in the country before his injury and many scouts were projecting him as a first-rounder. He showed his smarts at the NFL combine by scoring a 43 on the 12-minute, 50-question Wonderlic test that's used to gauge aptitude.

But his foot worried teams and the Broncos grabbed him in the third round, 97th overall.

''Well, you can play the what-if game,'' Weber said. ''But just like when he was in high school, he was not highly recruited at all and he came in and developed and I think that's his same mentality here. He could have been a first-rounder, but I think he's used that as a chip against him, he's pushed himself and now he's performing like he's a top-notch guy.''

Decker, who grew up in Cold Spring, Minn., also played center field for the Golden Gophers and was drafted by Milwaukee following his sophomore season and by Minnesota after his junior season.

Although he's absorbing the hits now instead of collecting them, Decker said he never wanted a career in baseball.

''I grew up with baseball but then football became my first love,'' he said. ''And it fits my lifestyle better. Football's so much more structured. In baseball, you can be stuck in the minor league system, you're in buses, you don't know if you're going to be up or down, you're playing 162 games a year.

''I want to be able to play a sport where I can have a family one day and see my kids because I know a lot of baseball players that have a tough time seeing their kids through the season.''

These are the kinds of things one can contemplate when the body is sound and the mind at ease.

Notes: Lloyd, DE Elvis Dumervil (shoulder), MLB D.J. Williams (elbow) and RB Knowshon Moreno (hamstring) returned to practice Wednesday after missing last week's game. Still sidelined are the three Thomases - WR Demaryius (finger, Achilles), DT Marcus (groin) and TE Julius (ankle), plus RCB Champ Bailey (hamstring) and Royal.

---

AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed. Connect with AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton at http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

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