We are now completely lost with the whole Brandon Marshall holdout saga I have affectionately dubbed, “BMarsh-Gate” (it doesn’t really ring). Granted, most residents of Bronco Nation’s greatest fear is that this is another in long line of terrible decisions by one Josh McDaniel. Understand one thing from me, the Jay Cutler situation was one big cluster screw admitted by an angry rhinoceros through the back door. Dropped the ball, misunderstood, oversight…whatever you want to call it, Josh McDaniels handled that situation as poorly as it could possibly be handled.
Spending a future first round draft pick in order to draft a CB in the second round may very well have been a reach (a reach that I am happy to see unfold on the field. Alphonso Smith, considering his size, has first round and more importantly, top 20 talent), is easily laudable…yet easily attacked as well. The offseason acquisitions concentrating in the defensive secondary were good ones, but no attempt to address the front seven? And then only drafting one player in the front seven? REALLY? It is clear that one of two things is happening here. Either, Josh McDaniel has a clear plan of action that will create a whole, “system over parts” scenario…or, more likely, McDaniel thinks he has a plan and believes he can just do what he wants to and it will all work out in the end like a masterful plan. The latter is just the arrogant approach to drastic change that the Denver Broncos fans cannot handle. As for trying to pin the Brandon Marshall situation as a rose by a different color… tap the breaks at least this early in the discussion.
Yes, connections can be made from Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall. They are not the result of the same problem rearing its ugly head again and Josh McDaniels not having the stones to see it for what it is. It is in fact, a domino theory. Begging the question does not cover it. It is more like forensic evidence to aid the prosecution. Jay Cutler for whatever reason decided he longer wanted to be in Denver. We will not go into great depth about Cutler. Just know this, my opinion centers around the immaturity he most likely displayed in a sort of toddler-esque hissy fit when some of the control he had over that franchise went out the door with Mike Shanahan. Is Jay Cutler better than any other option the Broncos find themselves in (present players or potential trade/free agents)? YES. The impact does not stop there. The biggest difference that I see between Cutler and Marshall is in the eventual new surroundings. Did Cutler go to a better offensive team and/or scheme? ABSO-LUTE-LY NOT. In Denver he had Marshall, Royal, Scheffler, and arguably the best young offensive line. In Chicago, a good to great defense depending on health, a decent offensive line, and a wide receiver core that probably couldn’t make the Mission Viejo High School Varsity. Is Brandon Marshall in a great offensive situation? Barring the QB change, YES. On the surface one might ascertain the conclusion that everything is the same minus a top 10 QB. However, the interest should be peaked once said QB is no longer in the equation. Even with Cutler there was no assurance that McDaniel would have utilized Marshall in the same way that Shanahan did. But with Cutler gone, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the offensive scheme will change in the conservative direction. Kyle Orton may be an effective, yet not impressive QB…but clearly he is no Cutler. From Brandon Marshall’s perspective, one would have to lean toward Marshall on his concerns. If the offense is not as open and aggressive, then Marshall does not get as many deep passes or even passes that utilize his YAC ability. Thus, it seems obvious that with all of the changes made (+new coaching staff, -Pro Bowl QB, +highly anticipated rookie RB) Brandon Marshall would feel that his personal production will go in any direction except for two. Right where they have been or up.
Should Marshall be concerning himself with personal goals? You might not think so, but it would suggest Marshall to not be human if he didn’t. On the field Marshall has contributed like a $10 Million a season type of player. Off the field, more like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, but we’ll address that momentarily. In any given profession, when an employee far exceeds the job description (and I don’t mean you stayed late on Friday to finish a report for Monday) he/she is expected to be compensated for their efforts. Now in the real world there are no contract holdouts. However, whether we as fans like it or not, there is a process by which players can address a financial agreement…in fact is a contract holdout. It is the only tool that a players has to demand the discussion. It is step one in the NFL players instruction manual on contract negotiation. If you don’t particularly like that, well, then hate the process and not the player. Let’s look back at the financial discrepancy which spawned this entire situation. Brandon Marshall is set to make $2 Million (and change) for 2009. When stacked up against all of the NFL WR’s in 2008, Marshall makes almost $8 Million less than what market proclaims his value is at. $8 MILLION LESS??? For those who cannot connect those dots, that’s a starting linebacker, a starting defensive tackle and decent tight end. That is a lot of money to be missing. That’s like a person doing a job who’s market value is $100,000.00 and only getting paid $25,000.00. All I am saying is that I get it. I understand.
Now before I address Marshall’s off the field issues, I’d like to address the alternate universe that is the Denver Broncos without Marshall and Cutler. Let’s assume I am correct in thinking that unlike most teams that do it, the Broncos actually have a large number of defensive players who will transition into the 3-4 defense rather smoothly. Just try to picture it from the opposing team’s defensive coordinator. What is there that scares you enough to gameplan accordingly? Can the QB beat you by his own Merits (Kyle Orton)? NO. Can the #1 WR beat you (this would be Eddie Royal)? NO. Can the #2 WR beat you (this would be Jabar Gaffney in this exercise)? NO. Can the starting RB beat you (this would be rookie Knowshon Moreno)? NO…at least not all by himself. Moreover, if the RB is the only weapon that might scare you, seems to me that the defense in question has one very tantalizing option…pin their ears back and let it fly, ON EVERY SINGLE PLAY. The beauty of football schematics is that they are a “tug of war” proposition. If the offense goes deep, then the defense cheats the safeties back. If the defense cheats the safeties, then the offense reacts by running the ball. It’s a very remedial analogy and naturally its more complicated than that, but you get the idea. If there is no threat to throw the ball deep there is no reason to defend against it. Even if Eddie Royal has the game of his life due to stacking 9 in the box and leaving him one on one with the CB, that still would not be enough to win. What does that leave you with? Short passes or runs (by an virtually immobile QB and rookie RB) against 9 in the box on every play. It would be like watching a seven year old playing Madden on the most difficult setting. The Broncos offense will never have a chance. Most likely, they would be drafting in the top 3 next year and hopefully Pat Bowlen will be looking to hire a new coach twice in as many years. I am not trying to singlehandedly put the eventual success or lack there of on the retaining or losing of Brandon Marshall. I am however, saying that in the era of NFL football, you cannot win without the threat of a big play player. Take any successful team in the NFL, then subtract all of their really good or pro bowl players. Now how good are they? Now Cutler and Marshall are not the end all be all of QB and WR, but they are the class of their team. With that in mind, take away Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne from the Colts. Its an outlandish premise, I know. With no Manning or Wayne, that team’s best players would be Addai and Clark. By no means threatening to any defensive coordinator. It is just not a viable option. McDaniel wants us all to believe that its all about the system. That his system would be effective no matter who is in the lineup. That’s a very nice notion, for Bill Belicheck who already has the players to fit the system. How did the Patriots go 11-5 with a starting QB who had not started since high school? Was the system or was it the parts around him or was Cassell really that good. The answer, a balance of all three. Is Cassell Tom Brady? Hell no, but he is decent. Moss, Welker, and the rest of the offensive unit more or less is the same. Insert one guy who is familiar with the system and the train should keep moving. The key is Moss. Moss is Marshall in this analogy. Royal could develop to be a lot like Welker. The offensive lines are similarly effective. Now take away Brady/Cassell and Randy Moss…now how effective are the Patriots on offense? You just cannot take Cutler and Marshall out of the equation like nothing is wrong and actually have the arrogance to believe the team doesn’t skip a beat. It just doesn’t work that way. Besides, if that is McDaniel’s plan…to slowly move Shanahan’s people and replace them with his own, I really hope he has passed along to Bowlen his 13 year plan.
You might be asking yourself, “that’s all fine and good, but what about Marshall’s off the field issues”? I will say that they are a factor but should not be weighed more than his on field ability. DISCLAMER: I DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES CONDONE ANY VIOLENT BEHAVIOR TOWARD ANYONE, BUT ESPECIALLY WOMEN. You just cannot convince me that more than a handful of run ins with the law and one conviction is worth throwing away 206 catches, 2590 yards and 13 touchdowns in only two years. Especially when you note that Denver’s inability to find the endzone was so prevalent. Do to the fact that the case has not been finalized, I will do what most of us who inhabit the “Court of Public Opinion” almost never do. I will presume the innocent to be so until proven otherwise. I would like to indulge one idea is really nothing more than an idea. I have absolutely no evidence in any way to conclude this other than it all seems so odd. I infer that Brandon Marshall in his personal life is a very passionate and volatile person. I also infer that the significant other he has had are also passionate and volatile. It is not odd for anyone to have experience a couple who argue more than you do, get physical more than you do and yell more than you do. That does not make them bad people, just passionate and volatile. There are three interesting aspects to his case that I find particularly odd.
1. The woman’s lawyer contacted Marshall’s lawyer who offered to drop all of the charges for a disclosed amount of money. Then when that ploy didn’t work the woman’s lawyer offered the same resolution but for a lower amount of money.
2. The woman has a small gash in her thigh that required stitches from the hospital that she claims was the result of an enraged Brandon Marshall. Just a thought, but I have never heard of physical signs of abuse in a case like this that occurred on the meaty part of the thigh that was no more than 3/4 of an inch long and about the same deep. I have heard of a busted face, broken limbs, etc. If he was so enraged how would he be able to inflict such a small wound? That is the kind of wound that is purely accidental or meticulously planned out. I’m not suggesting the woman inflicting the wound upon herself, just that it is highly suspect.
3. Then the email. I won’t pull the conspiracy theory card here, but seriously. If that is the largest portion of the evidence, then this trial may not last long. The common conjecture has been that the email said something to the effect of, “please don’t ruin me”. Which could mean anything. It could mean, please don’t ruin me even if I did something wrong. It could also mean, please don’t ruin me in order to get money. I could mean any number of things.
The bottom line is that Brandon Marshall may have some issues he needs to address. Maybe he needs to be more careful who he surrounds himself with. By no means is Brandon Marshall Adam “Pac-Man” Jones. And he absolutely does contribute on the field. Would it be nice if none of these players had personal flaws? Sure it would, but that is not the NFL we live with. If he is guilty he is guilty, if not let it go. If I were the Denver Broncos, I would find a way to settle their issues and do so in a amicable way as far as public relations is concerned. The player has the right to ask for a raise, especially when he deserves it. The team has the right to deny it. The professional thing to do is to take everything in and have a dialogue that results in a logical and fair result for all considered. If after that, Marshall wants Larry Fitzgerald money and the team does not see his worth exceeding 10th best WR in the NFL, then they might be at a classic impasse. It is my opinion that if the Broncos offered some kind of extension that would be considered respectable, Marshall would agree. If the team were smart they would include a personal conduct clause that would void the contract keeping Marshall liable for the entire signing bonus if he were to get into more trouble.
All in all, whatever decision is made…it should be made with logic and consideration for all aspects involved. Note to Coach McDaniel: you need more tools in your toolbox. A hammer is not the all purpose tool to fix everything.
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