Orange Colored Glasses – breaking down B Marsh

-A quick-hitting, early glance at the latest news from my favorite NFL team - the Denver Broncos. As written by my Twitter friend John Krischel, @mtokBronco. So – if you don’t agree, don’t blame me (ha)! Comments are welcome…

So year number two of Josh McDaniels tenure as Broncos head coach and we have our second big trade go down.  Year number one brought us the Jay Cutler trade to Chicago and this year brings us the Brandon Marshall trade to Miami.  I’ll give McDaniels this, he doesn’t mess around, if he thinks you are a problem or potential problem, you are gone.  It’s all about the team and if you are not on board with that, it’s time to go.

Let’s break down the trade a bit.  The Broncos get Miami’s second round pick this year and Miami’s 2011 second round pick.  With Miami’s second rounder this year, the Broncos now have No. 11, No. 43 and No. 45 in the first two days of the draft.  Since the Broncos have Whatshisface (Jabar Gaffney), Old Dude (Stokley) and Eddie (Eddie Royal) left on their roster to catch balls for them, it’s imperative that the Broncos find a replacement for Marshall NOW - not next year, but now since the Broncos are handcuffed at the receiver position. 

Of course, will this matter since we have ole neckbeard (Kyle Orton) still slinging the rock?  I mean I give neckbeard props, he does win, but he’s not the kind of QB who is going to bring you back from a deficit or take over late in a game and put a game away.  He’s simply not that kind of QB, so if you look at it that way, we can have all-pro receivers all over the field, but until we get someone who can sling the rock better, it won’t matter. 

What do you say of Marshall?  I’m not sure, one thing I can tell you is this, he is NOT worth this.  “Marshall and the Dolphins reached agreement Wednesday on a four-year, $47.5 million contract extension that includes $24 million in guaranteed money, according to a league source. The deal includes close to $29 million in the first three years of the contract and makes Marshall the highest paid receiver in NFL history.” (see full story here) 

Everyone talks about Marshall’s catches, but in my humble opinion, catches are the most overrated stat in NFL history.  When you average less than 10 yards a catch, it’s easy to catch those little bubble screens and short come backers.  Look at Wes Welker and his catch total over the past 3 years. Sorry, Wes Welker is NOT that good of a wide receiver because he catches so many balls.  Same with Brandon, he’s good, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not a top five wide receiver in the league. Top 10? Yes, Brandon Marshall is a top 10 receiver in this league. 

Brandon is also one incident away from being suspended by the league for an entire year.  Now, $24 million in guaranteed money, Southbeach and Brandon Marshall go together like a Chinese firecracker.  I smell explosions already and they seem to be coming from the Miami area.  Marshall, in my opinion (obviously not fact) lacks the breakaway speed needed to be a top flight receiver.  His hands are also suspect since he drops some easy balls and also fumbles quite a bit too. 

Do I sound like a typical fan “oh, he sucks now that he isn’t on my team”??  Sure, maybe, but I’ve always thought that about Brandon.  He has so many positives, but he also has so many negatives that are off the field issues.  He is one incident away from a year long suspension by the NFL.  He has a history of violence against women and not being able to stay away from the “bad influences”.  His cousin and he were the ones that caused the Darrent Williams incident.  He almost cut his hand off while horsing around with his cousin.  He quit on his team at the end of the 2009 season after he reached his personal goals.  He quit on his team in practice because he was mad he didn’t get a big contract at the start of the 2009 training camp.  Should I go on, or do you see the point?  Brandon has a $24 million dollar body and a 10 cent head. 

Will Tony Sparano be able to control him?  Maybe, it’s going to take a very authoritarian coach to deal with Brandon because he is like the spoiled child who needs all the attention in order to stay out of trouble.  Bill Parcells, who is running the show in Miami, does have a great football mind.  Maybe he is right?  Maybe Brandon is worth all the headaches.  That is yet to be seen, at this point, Denver no longer has to worry about Brandon and his issues.  For that, I am grateful.  Every day you wake up as a Bronco fan and hold your breath hoping there wasn’t some issue with Brandon. 

Now we shift our focus to the draft and building a team for the future.  With so many draft picks this year and a deep draft, the Broncos can build a team that can compete now and in the future.  Who will Denver take at #11 now? 

Some say Dez Bryant since we do not have a top-tier wide receiver.  Others disagree, saying Dez is Brandon Marshall (head-case wise) minus the known quantity of him being a good NFL player.  I say the off the field issues with Dez are overblown April talk.  Usually in April, teams start leaking “stories” to try to get players to fall to them, it happens every year.  This year, it’s Dez’s turn to be part of that.  If teams look at his on the field play and talk to his coaches, I’m sure they have a good idea of who Dez the player is. 

Others say Denver might take Florida center Maurkice Pouncey.  This is probably the safest of the picks since Denver doesn’t have a legitimate center on their team anymore.  Supposedly Pouncey is a sure-fire NFL ready center.  This draft is deep with O-linemen, so maybe we take a skill position player and get our O-line later in the draft.  Who knows, McDaniels and the rest of the Broncos are keeping a tight lip and nothing is going to slip.

Let’s hope 2011 doesn’t bring the drama the 2009 and the 2010 off-season has.  I just want a nice quiet off-season for once as a Bronco fan.  Is that too wrong to ask for?  Let’s go Broncos!!!