claymore
08-23-2009, 08:00 AM
Krieger: Chicken is a game with two losers
The game of chicken between Brandon Marshall and the Broncos is still escalating, with no solution in sight.
Marshall's absence from Saturday night's preseason game in Seattle only reinforced the impression that we have a replay of the Jay Cutler story — a stubborn coach battling a stubborn player, with neither prepared to give an inch.
Coming off Marshall's acquittal in Atlanta on misdemeanor battery charges nine days ago, there seemed to be an opening for the two sides to come together. The threat of a league suspension was gone, and Marshall proclaimed himself fully recovered from offseason hip surgery.
Instead, the two sides seem to have grown further apart, with coach Josh McDaniels insisting Marshall play his way back to the first string under his existing contract, and Marshall shrugging and saying if McDaniels wants him on the scout team, that's fine with him.
This can't go on.
Last week, McDaniels denied it was a distraction, but that's just blather. Of course it's a distraction. McDaniels is a rookie head coach trying to install a new system with new assistant coaches and lots of new players, and all anybody wants to know is what's going on with his recalcitrant receiver.
To explain Marshall's absence from his second straight preseason game, the Broncos lumped him in with their injured players, but he's not injured.
If he's not ready to play because he doesn't know the playbook, that's not an injury, that's a disciplinary issue.
And Marshall's announcement that he was "not close at all" to knowing the playbook was more strategic than it sounded. After all, what player busts himself publicly for failure to learn the playbook without an ulterior motive? This was part of the larger game of chicken. Let's break it down:
Before last week's preseason opener, McDaniels was required to issue his first depth chart. He put Marshall, who was one of only three NFL receivers with more than 100 catches last season, on the second team.
Since the depth chart's base set was a three-wideout formation, this meant Marshall was no better than the Broncos' fourth receiver.
And not even that, as it turned out. When Brandon Stokley sat out a practice Wednesday morning, McDaniels moved Chad Jackson, not Marshall, into the starting lineup.
Marshall has alluded to things being said behind the scenes that the public doesn't know about. I'm guessing one of them was a criticism of his command of the playbook.
His response was the "not close at all" comment. In effect, he was saying, You think I'm too far behind to be a starter? Fine. In fact, you're absolutely right. I'm nowhere near ready to play. Don't know when I will be, either.
If the Broncos have all the apparent leverage, that only means Marshall has little to lose.
If he had the prospect of unrestricted free agency at the end of the season, which he would if the collective bargaining agreement were not about to enter an uncapped year, he might put his nose to the grindstone for a below-market salary to get his payday at season's end.
But with the labor dispute between players and owners threatening to leave him in the purgatory of restricted free agency indefinitely, Marshall has two choices: He can accede to McDaniels' demand that he prove himself an elite receiver all over again for below-market pay, or he can try to force the Broncos' hand by being
So far, he's chosen the latter option. He's taken a lot of public criticism for defying McDaniels, just as Cutler did, but McDaniels hasn't done much to solve the problem except to demand Marshall bend to his will.
Old-school values are nice, but so is dealing with reality. The Bill Belichick approach works better when you have the credibility of three Super Bowl rings. Many coaches more experienced than McDaniels have pointed out that dealing with modern players requires flexibility.
Marshall feels trapped. If the Broncos won't reward him for two 100-catch seasons and won't trade him to someone who might, it looks like they will have a disruptive force on their hands. McDaniels fears that trading another disgruntled player will send a message that anyone can force a trade just by demanding one. So far, he's demanded too much in exchange to make a trade workable.
Further escalation could mean disciplinary action on the Broncos' part and a union grievance on Marshall's. That could go on indefinitely. Marshall also has the option of filing a grievance against the club for misdiagnosing his hip injury last season.
None of this would help resolve the situation. Somebody has to be the adult here. It's just hard to figure out whom that might be.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297 or dkrieger@denverpost.com
Marshall has alluded to things being said behind the scenes that the public doesn't know about. I'm guessing one of them was a criticism of his command of the playbook.
His response was the "not close at all" comment. In effect, he was saying, You think I'm too far behind to be a starter? Fine. In fact, you're absolutely right. I'm nowhere near ready to play. Don't know when I will be, either.
This is what he (JMCD) did to Cutler IMO. One of the user comments on the article was perfect in my opinion.
By Bosco H
What novice Head Coach in the history of the league has alienated the starting quarterback and best receiver upon entering his new job? When has a novice coach come into a job and imploded an 8-8 team?
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_13187183
The game of chicken between Brandon Marshall and the Broncos is still escalating, with no solution in sight.
Marshall's absence from Saturday night's preseason game in Seattle only reinforced the impression that we have a replay of the Jay Cutler story — a stubborn coach battling a stubborn player, with neither prepared to give an inch.
Coming off Marshall's acquittal in Atlanta on misdemeanor battery charges nine days ago, there seemed to be an opening for the two sides to come together. The threat of a league suspension was gone, and Marshall proclaimed himself fully recovered from offseason hip surgery.
Instead, the two sides seem to have grown further apart, with coach Josh McDaniels insisting Marshall play his way back to the first string under his existing contract, and Marshall shrugging and saying if McDaniels wants him on the scout team, that's fine with him.
This can't go on.
Last week, McDaniels denied it was a distraction, but that's just blather. Of course it's a distraction. McDaniels is a rookie head coach trying to install a new system with new assistant coaches and lots of new players, and all anybody wants to know is what's going on with his recalcitrant receiver.
To explain Marshall's absence from his second straight preseason game, the Broncos lumped him in with their injured players, but he's not injured.
If he's not ready to play because he doesn't know the playbook, that's not an injury, that's a disciplinary issue.
And Marshall's announcement that he was "not close at all" to knowing the playbook was more strategic than it sounded. After all, what player busts himself publicly for failure to learn the playbook without an ulterior motive? This was part of the larger game of chicken. Let's break it down:
Before last week's preseason opener, McDaniels was required to issue his first depth chart. He put Marshall, who was one of only three NFL receivers with more than 100 catches last season, on the second team.
Since the depth chart's base set was a three-wideout formation, this meant Marshall was no better than the Broncos' fourth receiver.
And not even that, as it turned out. When Brandon Stokley sat out a practice Wednesday morning, McDaniels moved Chad Jackson, not Marshall, into the starting lineup.
Marshall has alluded to things being said behind the scenes that the public doesn't know about. I'm guessing one of them was a criticism of his command of the playbook.
His response was the "not close at all" comment. In effect, he was saying, You think I'm too far behind to be a starter? Fine. In fact, you're absolutely right. I'm nowhere near ready to play. Don't know when I will be, either.
If the Broncos have all the apparent leverage, that only means Marshall has little to lose.
If he had the prospect of unrestricted free agency at the end of the season, which he would if the collective bargaining agreement were not about to enter an uncapped year, he might put his nose to the grindstone for a below-market salary to get his payday at season's end.
But with the labor dispute between players and owners threatening to leave him in the purgatory of restricted free agency indefinitely, Marshall has two choices: He can accede to McDaniels' demand that he prove himself an elite receiver all over again for below-market pay, or he can try to force the Broncos' hand by being
So far, he's chosen the latter option. He's taken a lot of public criticism for defying McDaniels, just as Cutler did, but McDaniels hasn't done much to solve the problem except to demand Marshall bend to his will.
Old-school values are nice, but so is dealing with reality. The Bill Belichick approach works better when you have the credibility of three Super Bowl rings. Many coaches more experienced than McDaniels have pointed out that dealing with modern players requires flexibility.
Marshall feels trapped. If the Broncos won't reward him for two 100-catch seasons and won't trade him to someone who might, it looks like they will have a disruptive force on their hands. McDaniels fears that trading another disgruntled player will send a message that anyone can force a trade just by demanding one. So far, he's demanded too much in exchange to make a trade workable.
Further escalation could mean disciplinary action on the Broncos' part and a union grievance on Marshall's. That could go on indefinitely. Marshall also has the option of filing a grievance against the club for misdiagnosing his hip injury last season.
None of this would help resolve the situation. Somebody has to be the adult here. It's just hard to figure out whom that might be.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297 or dkrieger@denverpost.com
Marshall has alluded to things being said behind the scenes that the public doesn't know about. I'm guessing one of them was a criticism of his command of the playbook.
His response was the "not close at all" comment. In effect, he was saying, You think I'm too far behind to be a starter? Fine. In fact, you're absolutely right. I'm nowhere near ready to play. Don't know when I will be, either.
This is what he (JMCD) did to Cutler IMO. One of the user comments on the article was perfect in my opinion.
By Bosco H
What novice Head Coach in the history of the league has alienated the starting quarterback and best receiver upon entering his new job? When has a novice coach come into a job and imploded an 8-8 team?
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_13187183