Dolphins’ Marshall embraces his fresh start in Miami
Brandon Marshall has earned a reputation both on and off the field. On the field, he’s regarded as one of the league’s best playmakers - he can make an average quarterback look like a Pro Bowler.
He is coming off the third straight season in which he was able to make at least 100 catches and he is in the prime of his career at 26 years old. Off the field, he has butted heads with his coaches in the past. In his four seasons with the Denver Broncos, he played under coaches Mike Shanahan and Josh McDaniels who are both known for ruling with an iron fist. It wasn’t a match made in heaven for Marshall but his performance and production compensated for that.
Despite his production, the Broncos felt it would be best if they traded him. His fate in Denver seemed to be ultimately decided when he was benched in the season finale last year by McDaniels in a game where the Broncos had to win to keep their play-off hopes alive.
Sitting their best playmaker in such a crucial game could only mean he had no future in Denver. When the Broncos traded him, they received two second-round draft picks from the Miami Dolphins and Marshall signed a four-year, $47.5 million extension with the Dolphins hours after being traded.
Marshall will not exactly have a much more lenient head coach in Tony Sparano and will have the ‘Big Tuna’ upstairs watching him in Bill Parcells, the Dolphins Vice President of Football Operations, another man known for his old-school approach. The two both are strict in their policies and aren’t afraid to come down hard on their players. Marshall says he is not worried about that and feels he has the chance to make a great impression with his new bosses and team mates.
"This is the first year since I've been in the NFL that I'm going into a season totally happy with nothing but football on my mind, it's a different type of motivation. It's a positive motivation. In the past, I think what drove me was playing with a chip on my shoulder. I still have that chip on my shoulder, but at the same time I want to be accountable. I want to be the guy that his team can turn to and say, 'Hey he's going to be there.' I think that's a positive thing.”
Marshall is clearly happy to be out of Denver, with the contract he felt he deserved. Some might think he won’t fit in the strict Parcells system but the doubters also have to keep mind that Parcells is no fool. He understands Marshall’s past and he understands that Marshall had the tendency to act out. However the fact that he went out and invested so much in Marshall says a lot about the positives Marshall brings.
Parcells understood that his team was in need of a playmaker at wide receiver, especially with a young promising quarterback in Chad Henne. Parcells may be known for his philosophy of defence and running the football, but he also understood that in a league ruled by the passing game, the Fins needed a player like Marshall.
The Dolphins understand what Marshall could bring to their offence and welcomed him to their team. Henne himself called Marshall the day of the trade and told him how happy he was that the Dolphins got him. Henne has been working on his chemistry with Marshall throughout training camp and loves what he’s seeing so far: "What I've seen out here in practice, he's going to be one of the greatest," said Henne.
Marshall also said that with Coach Sparano, he feels like he can be himself while still working his hardest. Sparano expects 100% from his players at all times and that’s something that Marshall brings every day: "This guy prepares like a pro, goes hard in practice all the time," said Sparano.
Marshall was brought in to lead the Dolphins to a Super Bowl in the near future. Marshall is now on a team with a run-first philosophy but says that his main focus is winning. He’s prepared to take on any role asked of him in order to bring a championship to South Beach. He’s ready to do it and now he’s waiting for the opportunity to prove himself.
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