Brandon Marshall (the receiver) was electric during his four-year tenure in Denver, topping 100 receptions, 1,100 yards and six touchdowns in each of his final three seasons. Unfortunately, his stay didn’t end peacefully.
If you remember, with the hiring of Josh McDaniels as head coach and the ousting of Jay Cutler as quarterback, Marshall’s demeanor changed. Whether he was sulking on the sidelines or punting footballs during practice, he became a problem in the Broncos locker room, and after the season, Denver parted ways with their Pro Bowl wide receiver.
In retrospect, a lot of Broncos fans have put the blame on McDaniels, who seemingly blew up what looked to be a talented young offense with a nuclear bomb, but Marshall isn’t afraid to take some of the blame — or all of it.
In an interview with MMQB’s Peter King, Marshall spoke up on his final year in Denver, saying that he’d love to apologize to the entire organization, but specifically Brian Dawkins.
“I think about this all the time. There’s probably a list of 100 guys and woman, people in the [Denver] organization … But there’s one guy that always stands out, when I always think about this, and it’s Brian Dawkins. Brian Dawkins was at the end of his career, and we had a great team, and I didn’t do my part to help him reach that Super Bowl and get that ring. Josh McDaniels’ first year, and I never understood, after our sixth win in a row, we’re 6-0, I think we beat the Dallas Cowboys, Josh McDaniels says, ‘Hey, Victory Monday! I’m giving you guys Monday off!’ And Brian Dawkins was like, ‘NOOOOOO! Let’s keep it rolling!” And I’m young, I don’t understand the sacrifice that it took, and it takes, to be a Super Bowl champion, and to be successful. I want my Monday off! I want to go party! I don’t want to come in. I don’t want to work. I’m looking at this guy [Dawkins], like, ‘You’re a bad teammate!’ We went off … The reason I always think about him is now I’m in the same position, and I look at the [young] guys, and I don’t have but so much left in me, and I really want this—for so many different people and for different reasons. And I see guys don’t really understand how significant this moment is, and it’s only a moment, and it goes by like that. (Snaps his finger.) He was at the end of his career, and I was a jerk. I came in, I didn’t get in my playbook, I was mad at Josh McDaniels … I was just in a bad place, and I let him down. I let him down.”
Marshall has since gone on to have a borderline Hall of Fame career, and he’s found better ways to deal with and treat his borderline personality disorder.
Many Broncos fans have mixed emotions when it comes to Marshall, but there’s no questioning that he’s matured over the last six years.
