Get Off McDaniels’ Back, Brandon Marshall Quit On The Broncos

In the world of professional sports, fans tend to latch on to the players perceived as the stars of their sport. The concept of “team” often comes secondary. People fall in love with stats and flash, and don’t pay enough attention to the real reason their favorite team is winning or losing.

It’s not surprising at all to me that there are so many in the media calling for Josh McDaniels’ head for benching Brandon Marshall. The man who goes by the nickname “The Beast”, is just that on the football field. He’s a monster. He loves the camera, and the camera loves him. He’s a genuine Super Star, and the Broncos‘ most talented offensive player by most accounts.

But how much should McDaniels tolerate before he says enough is enough? Should Brandon Marshall get a free pass from the coaching staff, simply because he’s a fan favorite, with gaudy stats?

My answer would be absolutely not. To win football games, you need to have 11 guys on the field that are committed to the guys lining up beside them. Are people truly naive enough to believe that Marshall’s teammates could watch him act like a punk towards their leader, coach McDaniels, and then commit to him on the football field?

They can’t possibly trust the guy. They can’t possibly trust his motives. Not when the whole world knows that Marshall is in a contract year, and that he wanted to ditch the team last summer. Not when they know that this guy doesn’t have their backs, as he’s decided that he couldn’t possibly take the field with them against the Chiefs, in what could be the final game of Denver‘s season.

So why is it that Marshall gets the benefit of a doubt with the media and most fans? How is it that Brandon Marshall can pull a hamstring (with negative MRI results) just three days after getting 100 catches for a third straight year, and nobody raises and eyebrow?

Is it possible that “The Beast” is really in too much pain to be productive? Sure. But I’m not buying into it. I’m done sticking up for this guy. He got his stats. He got his pro bowl bid. Telling the coaching staff that he is too injured to help his team against the Chiefs in the season finale seems like a cop out by Marshall. It seems like Marshall felt that he had done enough earn a big contract offer this off-season, and he decided to call it a year, one game early.

That’s more than enough to tell McDaniels that he doesn’t want the guy around anymore. Would you trust Marshall? It all seems too convenient for him. 100 catchess? Check. Pro Bowl? Check. Big contact next year? Check. Okay, time for vacation.

I really do wish things could have been different, and I am going to miss the excitement of watching Brandon Marshall in a Broncos uniform.

The fact of the matter is that Marshall does not fit with the Broncos. People forget that Shanahan had every intention of cutting Marshall until he got fired, which is saying a lot, considering the lowly characters Shanahan has bent over backwards to bring to the Mile High City, such as Ted Washington and Dale Carter.

For every Larry Fitzgerald, their is a Randy Moss and a Terrell Owens.

Brandon Marshall is no Larry Fitzgerald.

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Joe Flacco Shows Denver What It’s Missing As Ravens Roll Over Broncos

Kyle Orton does not lose football games. He doesn’t make many mistakes that could cost his team. He’s a good system quarterback and a pretty solid leader on the field. With that being said, he doesn’t do much to will his team to victory either.

Throughout Orton’s career, he has been able to manage games, and ride the wings of the great defenses that both the Bears and Broncos have provided for him. As a result, he has a sterling record of 27-13 as a starting NFL quarterback.

Bronco fans seem to believe that Orton will get a contract extension, and remain the starter in Denver for years to come. I however, think they’re wearing their heart on their sleeve a bit too much. They are way too quick too fall in love. Too quick to overlook the obvious shortcomings in Orton’s game. I believe that the Denver Broncos’ front office, however, will look hard at drafting a quarterback with the pick they acquired from Chicago in the Cutler trade. I hope they do.

Joe Flacco showed us the difference between being a game manager, and being a play maker in Week Eight against the Broncos. Joe Flacco is a play maker, through and through. He faced a dominant pass rush all day long, yet time after time he found a way to extend the play with his feet. Some of the biggest plays of the game for the Ravens came on broken plays, where it was simply Flacco willing his team to score.

Flacco is a tremendous player, and a deference maker for the Ravens. He is a great reason for Denver to look for a quarterback that can play outside the box, and find a way to win games. With Denver, we see a team that lives off dinky little throws, and depends on their receivers to become running backs with the ball in their hands.

This kind of philosophy can work well, especially with the unparalleled talent level of the Denver offense around Orton, but it’s not good enough to beat the top teams in the league consistently.

The Denver Broncos are a team that plays down to the talent level of their quarterback. They have very dynamic play makers at receiver that rarely get solid opportunities to make plays down the field. Teams are going to keep blitzing Orton because they know he isn’t going to make a play that’s not there at first glance. They know Orton will take a sack instead of extending the play with his feet.

In a game that featured two of the NFL’s best defensive teams, Joe Flacco was the difference in the game, something that Kyle Orton will never be.

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With Every Loss, Bears Pay More for Cutler

Last spring, the Chicago Bears made a play for Jay Cutler, a quarterback whom they thought would be the future of their franchise. Indications are, they still feel the same way about him, as they awarded Jay a fat contract extension that will likely be worth as much as $30 million for two years.

Just a few days after locking up Cutler, the Bears went into Cincinnati and got ran over by Cedric Benson, whom they drafted in 2005. Benson seemed to pick up at least ten yards every time he touched the ball. This, of course, put Jay Cutler in a tough position, but his response to the hardship was less than inspiring.

He finished the game with one touchdown pass and three interceptions. Not a $30 million dollar day, as the Bengals steamrolled the Bears 45-10.

Whats most disturbing about the loss is that the Bears trademark defense seems to be missing this season. The heart of their team, Brian Urlacher, hasn’t been able to contribute this season, which could have a lot to do with it. But that doesn’t matter to the undefeated Broncos. It only gives them more hope that the 2009 Bears will be a complete flop.

The Bears still owe Denver their first round pick this season. This was originally dismissed as a late first round pick, but week by week, it is becoming more apparent that this pick could very well be in the Top 10.

Its double jeopardy for the Bears. The less Cutler does for them on the football field, the higher the draft pick the Bears will fork over for him.

The way things are going, this trade is getting sweeter and sweeter for the Broncos. It is now possible that after trading away their “Franchise Quarterback” in 2009, they could be in line to draft another in the 2010 draft.

As it is now, the Bears have already traded Kyle Orton, Robert Ayers, Seth Olsen, and Richard Quinn for Jay Cutler, and Johnny Knox. The trade already seems one sided, with Robert Ayers proving to be a very solid pass rusher, and Kyle Orton playing mistake free ball. Seth Olsen is good insurance for Denver’s veteran offensive line, and Richard Quinn was considered the nation’s premiere blocking tight end at the collegiate level.

Johnny Knox may be the only pleasant surprise for the Bears, in an otherwise disappointing season. Cuter has basically thrown an interception for every touchdown pass this season, and his contract will make it even tougher for the Bears to get better in the future, having already given up their first and second round picks in this year’s draft. Ouch.

But it just gets worse from there. Bears’ GM Jerry Angelo may not know any greater pain than to watch Denver turn around a year after the trade, and use Chicago’s pick to draft Jake Locker, or Tim Tebow, or Jim Clausen, or even Sam Bradford, as there is no consensus pick as to which QB will get drafted first this year.

It will be a tough year for Bear fans.

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Recapping Game One Of The McDaniels Era

Despite being named the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, Kyle Orton came out and did everything he could to lose the job to backup, Chris Simms.

Orton left many Broncos fans with a sick feeling in their stomachs, throwing interceptions on three straight series. Let’s just say it wasn’t his night.

However, Denver did come out and show some good flashes with Orton at the wheel.

In Orton’s first series, the Broncos effectively moved the ball all over the field before stalling at the 49ers two yard line, where Orton was picked off by Nate Clements, in an apparent mis-communication with Daniel Graham.

After Denver’s defense forced San Fransisco to punt the ball, Orton and the Broncos again marched straight down the field.  After a couple very nice runs by Knowshon Moreno, Orton again found a red jersey for an interception, this time it was Dre Bly stepping in front of Brandon Stokley.

After shutting down the 49ers offense again, the Broncos got the ball back in the shadow of their own endzone, where things really got ugly for the offense.

Failing to pick up a first down on the first two snaps, Denver was faced with a third and long. Orton faced some heavy pressure which was picked up nicely by Knowshon Moreno, and then spotted Jabar Gaffney wide open about thirty yards up field. The pass went about 20 yards and was intercepted and returned to Denver’s four yard line.

San Fransisco would go on to score their first touchdown of the night on the ensuing play.

The bright side for Denver had to be their defense. The front three did a tremendous job of driving the offensive line off the ball, and as a whole, the starting defense was excellent against the run.

Their week spot was undeniably there inability to cover Vernon Davis. This, unfortunately, was relatively to be expected. The toughest part of transition to a 3-4 defense is for the outside linebackers to learn proper pass coverage technique.

In the second half, Denver’s offense came out in a much more conservative manner, led by Chris Simms and Peyton Hillis. McDaniels dialed up a lot more run plays, and the offense looked sharp.

Chris Simms was very efficient and showed off his strong arm in the second half. The highlight of his night was when he hit rookie, Kenny McKinley for a 52 yard touchdown. The play was especially impressive as Simms was on the run when he launched the ball over 50 yards through the air. 

Chris Simms faced the second string defense, but I liked the play calling a lot more. Denver was still very creative, but what we saw with the first string offense looked like the Patriots in mid-season form. Too much, too soon.

While it’s clear how special McDaniels is as a coach, I don’t think the players are quite ready for such a complex offense, which is precisely what preseason is for. Things will start to come together as the season progresses.

After the night was through, Denver’s second and third string had scored two touchdowns and a field goal, with Chris Simms taking every snap. After their final touchdown, with the score being 17-16, Denver tried to go for the win, but came up short on the two point conversion.

All in all, I think it was a great learning experience for the team. It was especially good for McDaniels, I think. I think he will try to run the ball more, and take baby steps with Kyle Orton and his Denver offense.

Defensively, Denver needs to focus on defending the tight end position. The secondary will prevent the big plays, but the young linebacking corps. clearly needs to work on pass coverage.

 

Notes:

Rookie Tom Brandstater did not see any action vs San Fransisco. Orton played the entire first half, and Simms played the second.

Knowshon Moreno left the game in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury that is being called a sprained knee for now. MRI results will be known tomorrow.

With Marshall’s Acquittal, Where Do the Broncos Go From Here?

So it’s official.

The Denver Broncos can no longer hold Brandon Marshall’s “legal troubles” over his head, in their efforts to avoid paying him.

What it comes down to now, is whether or not Brandon can turn his attention back to the football field and prove that his hip is fully healed after offseason surgery.

If you believe Brandon Marshall, he has said that he is back to 100 percent for the first time in over a year, which should strike fear into the rest of the AFC West.

After all, even without feeling in his right hand, and a bad hip last season, Marshall still dominated, catching 104 passes for over 1,200 yards receiving.

Chances are, Marshall might be the best he has ever been, on and off the football field this year.

Not only will Marshall have his health, but his emotional and mental well being has got to be at an all time high. A tremendous burden has been lifted off his shoulders with the jury’s decision to acquit him of all charges today.

Now, all Marshall has to worry about is his wedding and his future with the Broncos.

So will the Broncos make efforts to repair the rift that has grown between them and their star receiver, or will they try to trade him away?

For the sake of the Broncos’ future relationship with Marshall, I really hope Pat Bowlen will at least sit down with Marshall and his agent again and discuss Brandon’s future with the team. 

I feel that an apology from both sides is definitely in order.

On one side of the coin, Marshall has got to understand that it was a scary proposition for Bowlen to make a big commitment to a player that could be facing a long suspension.

On the other side, Pat Bowlen has got to feel just a little bit guilty that he didn’t show more faith in his all-pro receiver.

He’s had more than his share of troubles, but a lot of those troubles have involved the same person: Rasheeda Watley, who has been described as “angry” and “volatile” by at least two very credible witnesses; a Denver Police Officer, and a counselor the couple visited in Florida

From an outsiders point of view, it seems to me that Marshall’s biggest legal troubles were more a case of extortion than anything else.

In a letter to Marshall from Watley’s former lawyer, she was said to be demanding $500,000…a sum greater than Marshall’s 2008 salary, for her silence.

Thankfully, the drama may have officially come to an end today. Nothing but a football career to worry about for “The Beast”.

It will be interesting to see what happens next.

In my perfect world, Pat Bowlen and Josh McDaniels would meet with Marshall tomorrow, and try to repair their relationship before the season starts.

Do something to make sure the guy doesn’t want to bolt as soon as his contract is up.

You never know, if Marshall can get back in camp and prove that he is healthy during preseason, maybe, just maybe, the Broncos will man up and offer him a decent extension.

I hope so.

Urlacher: Cutler Not What Bears Expected

He said what?

Say it isn’t so. Couldn’t we at least wait until training camp starts before we decide what to think about Cutler in Chicago?

Apparently Bears’ team captain, Brian Urlacher, couldn’t wait that long. Of course that depends on who you ask, as there are two sides to every story.

In an interview on a local Chicago radio station, Bobby Wade, a former Chicago Bear, couldn’t resist the urge to talk about the conversation he’d had with Brian Urlacher in Las Vegas over the weekend.

“I don’t want to get [Urlacher] in trouble, but it wasn’t what [the Bears] expected. Pretty much [Urlacher] said Jay Cutler was a [wimp] for the most part.”

Of course, “wimp” wasn’t the word used, although it’s amusing no matter how its said. I could come up some with more choice names for Cutler but I digress.

Brian Urlacher seemed to think it was funny when hearing that Wade had told the media his secrets.

“Oh, please. I don’t think I would ever say that about one of my teammates,” Urlacher told the Tribune. “Look, Bobby Wade’s a friend of mine. He’s trying to get things going before training camp. That’s just Bobby being Bobby. I’m pretty sure Jay knows I wouldn’t say that about him.”

So it seems to be a simple misunderstanding. Boy, if I had a dollar for every time I heard of “friends” across the NFL spreading rumors their “friend” called his supposed franchise quarterback a wimp.

Now that’s a unique sense of humor.

What makes Bobby Wade’s prank even funnier is that “wimp” is actually a name that many who have followed Cutler’s career would call him, after watching him pout after every loss in a Broncos uniform. So to hear Urlacher wasn’t a big fan was somewhat less than a surprise.

Is their anybody in the world that would put any stock into Urlacher’s denial of the comment? If this was a prank by Bobby Wade, he got the Bears good this time.

Another story circulating on Chicago radio stations, is that Urlacher had to be restrained from attacking Cutler in mini camp. This too was hilarious to Brian Urlacher. Yet another funny joke on the radio.

“I didn’t even practice,” Urlacher said, with a hint of sarcasm. “If anything, I called him a few names for zipping balls by my head with that cannon he has. Me having to be restrained? That’s funny.”

Love it.

Quick Fix for Brandon Marshall and the Broncos

Pay the man.

During the past two seasons, only Wes Welker has caught more passes than Brandon Marshall. In that same span, 165 wide receivers around the NFL have been paid more than the Broncos’ Pro-Bowler. 

In fact, fellow Bronco Teammate Eddie Royal, a rookie last season, has cashed in more of Pat Bowlen’s money in one year, than Marshall has since 2006. 

Even more shocking: out of the eight receivers on Denver’s pay roll last year, six of them made more than their superstar teammate. The other one, Glenn Martinez, made the same as Marshall.

Now, I already know the argument against paying Marshall: if Denver bends and pays him, what kind of message does it send other players about holding out?

In response to this question, I ask another.

What type of message is sent to players around the league when Marshall dominates for two straight seasons and Pat Bowlen refuses to pay him?

Personally, it tells me that no matter how well I play, or how hard I work for the Denver Broncos, my efforts will not be paid off… at least not until my original contract is fulfilled.

Almost anywhere you work, your pay directly correlates with your performance on the job; Working for the Denver Broncos on he other hand, is a completely different story.

Marshall has played his heart out for the Broncos. He went from fourth round pick to the most voted wide receiver on the AFC Pro Bowl team. Pay the guy what he’s worth on the field and build  clauses into the contract to protect the team, and Pat Bowlen’s bank account, should the legal troubles continue.

Having Brandon Marshall on the field is paramount to the Broncos success.

Pay him like he matters to the team.  

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