So the big news this week out of Broncos camp is the Lindbergh baby act of Brandon Marshall.
NOTE: When I say ‘big news’, I really mean ‘minor, slightly interesting story blown completely out of proportion because of our love of football and the history of prima donna wide receivers’.
Brandon has gone home to Orlando to rehab his recently surgically repaired hip. Unhappy that Bronco trainers apparently were unable to properly diagnose his hip problems and spent all of last season telling him to ‘rub some dirt on it and get back in there’, Brandon decided to head to his old hometown and work with doctors there.
While this may seem like a relatively rational thing to do, when it comes to professional football, any time a player doesn’t show for Volunteer (read: mandatory) Offseason workouts, conspiracy theorists come out of the woodwork faster than when a new JFK Assassination document is released. The theory (as usual) is the B-Marsh is unhappy with his contract and is making it known by going off to work out on his own.
Whether this is true or not, we don’t know, but that won’t stop us from speculating.
He currently makes in the range of $2 million/year and with the possibility that the Collective Bargaining Agreement will be re-opened may lose his opportunity a year from now to cash in on being the athletic freak that he is. He wants the Broncos to sign him up to that big contract now.
Putting aside the horrendously mis-guided decision to make this point with 1 – a head coach who has shown anything but a willingness to bow to the better players on his team and 2 – an economy in such bad shape, pro teams will inevitably begin to feel it and there won’t be a lot of empathy for a 24-year old making $2 million, I guess the real question is – does Marshall really deserve to get a raise?
Before diving into his on-field production, you have to factor in all of his off-the-field antics. Originally suspended for 3 games last year and until last week potentially facing another suspension this year, does a team really want to invest $9 million/ year in a guy who may or may not be allowed to play 16 games?
On the field, Marshall had a good year last year: 104 catches, 3rd in the NFL. However he also only caught 6 touchdowns, ranking outside the top ten in the NFL.
It could also be noted that the game in which Marshall was suspended last year was arguably the Broncos best offensive game of the season. I said it before the season last year and I will say it again – Cutler used Marshall as a crutch. He always looked to him first and when all else failed looked to him last. Without speed to beat players down the field, there is only so many underneath passes that can be completed before linebackers, safeties and corners start cheating up. Good defenses made adjustments; Marshall destroyed bad pass defenses. Over half of his receptions and five of his six TDs came in just six games – all against teams with passing defenses ranked 23rd or lower.
Could it be that Marshall is the receiver equivalent of Christian Okoye? An imposing physical specimen who took the league by storm for a year or two until everyone realized that he really only had one way of defeating you?
Regardless of how productive he was last year, how effective will he be going forward – you know the time actually covered by his next contract? For that you need to look at the Patriots. What role would Marshall have played for the Patriots? The Broncos already have 2 players that are more suited to play the Wes Welker role – Eddie Royal and Brandon Stokley. He doesn’t have the speed to beat people down field like Randy Moss – which explains why he had nearly 40 more receptions and half as many touchdowns as Moss. Yet, that will be the role he is asked to play this year.
Will he equal his 2008 production in this system? Will Marshall’s role in Patriots-west really warrant being paid like the best in the league? It is hard to say right now. We haven’t even seen this team on the field and the new coach hasn’t seen Marshall play yet.
That alone may be enough to tell you that, no, Brandon will not be ‘shown the money’ this spring. Let’s just hope for the stability of the organization, he didn’t head back to Orlando to force the Broncos to pay him. The last thing they need is another prima donna player who holds out from working with the new coach.
Let’s hope he just really likes DisneyWorld.
