Brandon Marshall Plans to Play Like an Insane Person, and I Love It

If Brandon Marshall completes his apparent self-determined mission Monday night, I could have a new personal hero. In case you are unfamiliar with what the Miami Dolphins wide receiver plans to do, Pro Football Talk has a nice brief synopsis:

"Marshall admitted Thursday that he’s been playing with his emotions too in check through the first four weeks of the season and that he’s finally figured out how to flip the switch that allows him to fully let loose. He said that he considers himself a monster and that he plans to play like one on Monday night."

More specifically:

"No, I’m not joking. I’m serious,” he said. “They’re going to fine me. It’s probably going to be like a $50,000 fine. But that quarter and a half that I’m out there, I’m going to play like a monster. I might get in a fight with Bart Scott. [Antonio] Cromartie, we pretty much matured our relationship and grew a little  bit. We used to fight in Denver and San Diego. If that happens, it happens, so we’ll see.”

Yes! Oh my goodness, is this perfect. If Ron Artest was this clear-cut about his antics and future mental breakdowns, he would be a basketball demigod. Really, this is refreshing, and I say that with the least amount of sarcasm possible. More importantly, Marshall is trying to spark a team that is the most likely to finish 0-16 at this point. Even more importantly, I think I speak for America when I say that there just aren't enough brawls in professional sports.

Mike Florio has other thoughts, though:

"Seriously, though, any time emotion comes up with Marshall we’re forced to remember that he was diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder during the offseason. If he does let loose on the football field, is he going to be able to switch it back off when the game is over and avoid any problems off the field?"

Ugh. Watching Florio turn Marshall into the main character of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel while wearing a plastic stethoscope is sickening to any degree of measurement. He's not going to turn into the Incredible Hulk if he decides to play hard, Mike. "Borderline personality disorder" does not equal exposure to gamma radiation.

You're supposed to play football like a "monster", but a restrained monster. This is what the NFL masthead preaches, and naturally, they aren't super thrilled with a player saying he is going to "fight" other players. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said cryptically "He knows the rules.”

He doesn't. And that is just awesome, quite frankly.