There's an article up about an interview Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler did today with the Associated Press. In it, he covers a few topics, the headliner being his disappointment in wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
Marshall suffered a serious injury last month when his arm went through an entertainment center. Yes, really. The article says that the injury came when Marshall was "horsing around", which is awful if the pun was intended. But the injury was serious; Broncos' trainer Steve Antonopulos said in a statement that Marshall cut an artery, a vein, a nerve, two tendons, and three muscles. Ye-ouch.
The extent of the injuries makes the whole episode sound a lot worse than garden-variety wrestling. Still, though. You can call Brandon Marshall a chump, and you can laugh at his misfortune if you want, but I don't think you can call this an indictment of his character. Cutler disagrees:
'I've talked to him many times. I think a lot of people have. ... He knows he's running out of chances,' Cutler said. 'This wasn't like his DUI and other stuff he's had. It was an accident, but still, things like that can't happen. He knows it.
'But like I told him, I said, 'Brandon, they're going to quit giving you chances and you're going to have to go somewhere else. And that's going to be a shame.''
What does that even mean: it was an accident, but it still can't happen? I don't know. Also, as long as Marshall keeps producing like he did last season (102 catches for 1,325 yards and 7 TDs last year), he's not going anywhere, as the DUI proved. (Maybe I'm crazy, but a DUI bothers me a lot more than "horseplay", and I don't remember Cutler saying anything last year.) Anyway, I thought the article seemed to sensationalize a little bit, but Cutler wasn't exactly holding back:
'His DUI was a wakeup call,' Cutler retorted. 'He's had many wakeup calls. I mean, he's been in [coach Mike] Shanahan's office many times. I've been up there with him. He said the same thing: 'This is a wakeup call. This is the last thing that's going to happen. Blah blah blah.' I mean, until he goes out and proves it, we'll see what happens. [And you know, deep down I feel bad for those players who are expected to prove things.]'
Wait, why the heck would Cutler be up there with him? The quarterback comes to your performance reviews now? Anyway, what amuses me about the interview is that it seems like the whole thing sprang from somebody telling Cutler to act like a leader. Odd thing is, running to the press won't help that cause the way playing like a first-rounder would.
Cutler said of Javon Walker, who left for Oakland:
'You've got to have a No. 1 guy you want to go to. I think Brandon was going to be my guy. I don't know if Javon was going to be OK with 40, 50, 60 balls [considering I'd throw at least 20 of those over his head and into the stands.]'
I don't know, check it out, tell me if I'm being too harsh.
Comments
I bet Shammy-hands was the one who put Cutler up to assuming a leadership role, given that (1) Cutler is obviously Shammy's favorite if he gets to sit in on the performace evaluations and (2) no one listens to Shammy directly anymore. But if this is the best he can offer, we are in some serious trouble.
I agree that it is lame to come down on Marshall for what is obviously an accident - but, on the other hand, a guy with a big-time NFL contract should take better care of himself. The real frustration is that Marshall is now our entire receiving corps, so if he is out, Cutler is really going to light up the over-the-head throwing numbers.
Plus it's lame that someone would even try to look like a leader to the public. Who friggin' cares? I wonder if most football teams even have "leaders" the way we talk about them. I bet if they do, it's a non-quarterback more often than not. I mean, a few years ago there was all this talk about how Al Wilson was taking the entire defense out to dinner every week, and he was obviously one of the baddest guys on any field he'd ever stepped on...if you were on that team, wouldn't you care more about the tone he set than whatever Jake Plummer said? Obviously if you have Tom Brady or Brett Favre on your team that's another story, but that's rare.