Diner Morning News: Brandon Marshall and Trust

National Football Post

QUOTE: “Talent Is Obsessed with Renewal from Day 1 to Day "R" (R = Retirement).” -- Tom Peters

BRANDON MARSHALL AND TRUST

The headlines often don’t match the real essence of what’s being said, and that was obvious this morning reading about Brandon Marshall and the Broncos.

Marshall is one of the best wideouts in the NFL and wants a new deal, but his off-the-field behavior has made the Broncos wary about investing in a new contract (giving Travis Henry and Daryl Gardner big money would have made anyone wary).

However, Marshall admitted there are mutual problems when he said, “There are trust issues on both sides, and that's understandable. We've got to try our best to move forward.”

At least he’s willing to do that, willing to learn the playbook and willing to acknowledge that he’s made his share of mistakes. For me, this is an indication of progress.

Watching the Broncos the other night in San Francisco, I thought their offense looked exceptional in terms of their design, and all I kept thinking was how good they’ll be when Marshall is added to the equation.

He dictates coverage from the defense and is the kind of player who has to be respected, short and long.

Opposing defensive coordinators must ask a very simple question when game planning against Marshall: Who is going to be able to tackle him when he gets the ball in his hands?

Opponents can’t play a smaller corner on his side or they’ll throw him bubble screens and force the corner to tackle. Trust me, this will end after two bubble screens because the corner will have had enough. It’s no fun tackling Brandon Marshall.

What makes the Broncos so exciting to watch on offense is that when Marshall is on the field, head coach Josh McDaniels will be able to move him around, shifting personnel groups as he lines up Marshall all over the field.

Then it will become very difficult to roll coverage to him, double him and, most important, get the best tackler on him.

Marshall will not shift or move when McDaniels wants the coverage to roll to him, thus allowing him to attack other parts of the opponent’s defense. Marshall is the kind of player that great coaches know how to use to help others make plays.

That’s why Broncos have indicated they don’t want to trade Marshall; they need him to maximize their offensive potential.

Marshall can help Kyle Orton become a better player. He will not stop him from throwing interceptions, but he can make the reads easier, and his ability to run after the catch will be a huge asset for Orton.

If Marshall is willing to make this work, so are the Broncos.

 

DON’T COLOR THE RAMS BLUE

After doing my blue-chip profile the past several days, the one team that jumped out at me in a negative way was the Rams. Wow, do they lack talent. Even their good players—the ones I thought were going to be blue—were not, once I analyzed their past two seasons.

However, what was alarming was their lack of up-and-coming talent. Maybe I’ve missed a few. Maybe Chris Long, Donnie Avery, and Jason Smith will ascend to the blue level this season.

Looking back over their drafts, they’ve missed on too many picks, and now coach Steve Spagnuolo is going to have to dig them out from the ruins and rebuild this team from the ground up.

The Lions have taken so much heat as being the worst team in the NFL, in large part because it was easy to dump on Matt Millen, their former GM.

Yet in fairness to Matt, the Rams in previous years have done as bad a job of collecting winning NFL talent as any team in the league.

I have written this numerous times, and maybe one day it will resonate with NFL owners who constantly lose, but it takes talent to evaluate talent.

The Giants are a talented team because they have an organization that has very good talent evaluators.

The other night on Monday Night Football, I heard Jon “Love You Bro” Gruden talk about how all the Giants players look alike—how they have a team of big, long-armed players. Well, that’s not by chance and it’s not by hope; it’s purely by design.

The Giants have a process of how they build their team. They have system to procure talent and they have talented evaluators. This is why they have so many blues and the Rams do not.

To regain their winning ways, the Rams must start collecting winning players in every round. What will help this along is that their head coach knows the right way to do things and the right kind of players needed to win consistently in the NFL.

I bet Spags has been shaking his head many days wondering how this team he now coaches got so bad. I know I am.

Follow me on Twitter: michaelombardi

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