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DENVER (AP) — Some wore full costumes and others sported jerseys D.K. Metcalf Jersey , including one Denver Broncos supporter with “P. Bowlen” on the back.hour before making their way inside the stadium.The fans arrived in droves Tuesday to pay respect to owner Pat Bowlen, who died last week at 75 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s, and just two months shy of his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.The public tribute to Bowlen at Broncos Stadium at Mile High featured all sorts of memorabilia, including his famous fur coat , Super Bowl trophies , vintage photos, videos and numerous footballs marking big moments. Then there was his desk, which was noteworthy for a piece of paper resting in his in-box . It was a to-do list containing three items: be No. 1 in everything; beat the Raiders; win the Super Bowl.Of course, all three boxes were checked.“He’d be incredibly overwhelmed by all this support and love,” said Brittany Bowlen, who along with her siblings stood in line for hours greeting fans as they made their way through the exhibit. “It’s pretty astonishing, to see all these artifacts and things that were important to him in life. He’d be incredibly overwhelmed by the support. It would be moving for him.”Super fan Jesse Esquibel wore some of his game-day outfit for the occasion, including a mask. He’s known as “Bronco Reaper,” a name he selected after experiencing a few near-death encounters throughout his life. Another supporter wore an orange Darth Vader helmet.“I wanted to show,” Esquibel said http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-cody-barton-jersey , “that Broncos fans are fans through and through.”Peyton Manning was in attendance. So was John Elway. Longtime receiver Rod Smith recounted a golf game when he partnered with Bowlen and they took on coach Mike Shanahan and quarterback Brian Griese.“We ended up winning. You should’ve seen his face — he was fired up,” Smith said. “In the weight room, didn’t matter where he was, on the treadmill, Pat was competitive.”Very much so.Bowlen had as many Super Bowl appearances (seven) as losing seasons, and Denver went 354-240-1 since he bought the club in 1984. The team won Super Bowls in 1998, ’99 and 2016.“There’s not a person in this community who’s had a more profound impact on Denver and the state of Colorado and really the Rocky Mountain region than Pat Bowlen,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said. “I wanted to make sure I came and paid my respects to the family and the memory of a great man who’s done a lot for all of us.”A private funeral service will be held Monday, with Bowlen’s good friend John Finney delivering the eulogy. Finney, who lives in Honolulu, has so many rich stories from their longtime friendship. Like how they used to paddle a canoe through giant waves in Hawaii, or how they opened a business together, or their trips on Bowlen’s jet.“He had a lot of friends from all walks of life here, from beach boys to bankers,” Finney said in a phone conversation. “He was devoted to the Broncos and devoted to winning.”Finney recalled the time Bowlen came back to Hawaii soon after the Broncos were beaten 55-10 by the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 24. Bowlen steered clear of their beach club for about a month Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , knowing he would be razzed.“So Pat finally shows up after a long absence and (someone) says, ‘Great game, brah,'” Finney cracked. “We’re always teasing one another.”A competitor with class, that was Bowlen’s reputation.“There was not a dishonest bone in his body,” Finney said. “He was so respected in the NFL, because the other owners could trust him. He wanted to be part of the betterment of the NFL, and it worked.”On Feb. 7, 2016, Elway thrust the Lombardi Trophy into the air and hollered, “This one’s for Pat!” That moment came 18 years after Bowlen had declared, “This one’s for John!” following the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship.And on Tuesday, Beth Bowlen Wallace paid respect to the legion of Broncos fans that showed up by saying: “This one is definitely for you all.” PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Dobbs did all the right things last summer, or at least enough of them for the Pittsburgh Steelers to cut veteran backup quarterback Landry Jones at the end of the preseason and promote Dobbs to the spot behind Ben Roethlisberger.Nine months later, none of it matters.Whatever gap Dobbs created over then-rookie Mason Rudolph in 2018 is gone. It’s not an indictment of the ever-meticulous Dobbs so much as a return to the way the Steelers prefer to do business. When Dobbs and Rudolph report to training camp at Saint Vincent College next month with 88 of their teammates http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-phil-haynes-jersey , they’ll once again be in a fight for the opportunity to be the first option off the bench.“They understand it is competition and it’s open,” offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said Wednesday. “But to me, that position is always going to be open no matter who is here. That battle is every single day trying to put us in the best position when if Ben is not in the game, that we have put the right guy in to give us a chance to win the game.”Even if those chances will be focused entirely on the short term.Roethlisberger signed a new contract in April that runs through 2021. Great news for the Steelers, not so much for the two players taken a year apart in the draft — Dobbs in the fourth round in 2017, Rudolph in the third round in 2018 — who saw any real shot at becoming an NFL starter blocked indefinitely, at least as long as they play in Pittsburgh. Dobbs’ deal expires after 2020 and Roethlisberger’s extension coincides with the entirety of Rudolph’s rookie pact.Not that Rudolph is particularly interested in trying to big picture things.“I’m not talking about contracts,” Rudolph said with a respectful shrug. “That’s what it is. Football, you’re either one play away, two plays away sometimes so you’ve got to be ready to go and you’ve got to prepare like you are the starter.”Something Rudolph looks a bit more like this spring than last. The tentativeness that nagged at him as he tried to absorb Fichtner’s playbook has vanished. The former Oklahoma State star has looked far more confident with the ball in his hands and the uncertainty in his voice while barking out signals is gone. Even the guy Rudolph tongue-in-cheek referred to as “Mr. Roethlisberger” has noticed.“They are more comfortable, especially Mason,” Roethlisberger said. “The first year your head is kind of spinning a little bit. You see him settling into it a lot. And he’s not afraid to step to whatever group, whatever receiver. In the past, he might have felt hesitancy to throw to certain guys.”Maybe because Rudolph understands snaps are precious. There weren’t many to go around for him once the regular season started last fall save for the occasional work on Wednesdays while Roethlisberger watched from the sideline as part of a scheduled day off. Rudolph knew it was coming. That didn’t make the adjustment any easier.His goal is to not let it happen again. If there was a silver lining — at least for Rudolph — in the team’s failure to reach the playoffs, it was the opportunity to do a deep dive into Fichtner’s system.“I can get kind of into a little bit of a nerd mentality at times in the offseason Ugo Amadi Jersey ,” Rudolph said. “It’s fun. It was fun studying. Back here ready to go and put it on display.”Rudolph isn’t the only one in the quarterback room that’s a self-professed nerd. Until he unseated Jones last summer, Dobbs was a bit of a curiosity, as well known for his degree in aerospace engineering as his ability to throw a football. He excelled during an extended audition in the preseason — passing for 434 yards and four touchdowns — and suddenly found himself as the primary backup.Dobbs threw meaningful passes in two games, completing a 22-yarder with the team deep it its own end against Baltimore in early November then went 4 for 9 for 24 yards and an interception on the road in Oakland after Roethlisberger exited with a rib injury.While Dobbs feels he did enough to remain second on the depth chart, he’s not exactly pouting. He’s watched Rudolph’s progress over the past 12 months. Dobbs knows if he doesn’t continue to improve, he’ll find himself falling behind or maybe even looking for work come early September.That’s why getting worked up over the potential ripple effects of Roethlisberger’s contract is useless. There’s so much to focus on right now, wondering what his career might look like in two years is pointless.“I want to compete, I want to be the best, I want to find a way to make it better,” Dobbs said. “Whatever it is, I’m trying to build the next fighter jet or I’m trying to be the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers or if it’s dodgeball. I want to be the best dodgeball player out there and if I’m not, I want to figure out how can I get there.”