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He’s a tremendous football player, and they are fortunate to have him, but sometimes there are things that go on that make you wonder if somebody needs to have a chat with him . . .
I’m talking about Brandon Marshall. In one season, he already qualifies as one of the best players in Jets history. And based on what I saw in the spring, he looks like he’s ready to have another monster season. As I mentioned in an earlier post, he dominated on the practice field this spring. I realize there is only so much you can glean from spring practices since there is no tackling, but I saw a guy still at the top of his game in terms of running routes and catching everything in sight. One thing that doesn’t get mentioned enough is his route-running. He’s a fantastic route-runner.
Maybe I’m old-fashioned. Maybe I view things too often through Bill Parcells-Bill Belichick prism, but I just feel that Marshall needs to cut down on things that can be perceived as distractions.
Distractions are a bad thing in team sports.
Yesterday, he decided to have a Q-and-A with fans on Twitter. It went on for about 13 minutes.
The last question was from a fan named Kyle – “Favorite receivers besides yourself?”
Marshall answered, “Golden Tate.”
Tate is a Detroit Lions receiver who previous played for the Seattle Seahawks.
I’m sure many of you are wondering why he didn’t say, “Eric Decker.”
It’s the kind of thing you do in team sports. Throw a bouquet to a teammate.
Perhaps some of you think I’m making too big a deal out of this.
Well, guess who chimed in on Twitter about half-hour after Marshall called Golden Tate his favorite receiver (aside from himself).
Mr. Eric Decker. At the stroke of midnight, as Thursday turned into Friday, Decker tweeted to Marshall, “C’mon man!
Why go there Brandon?
If Marshall had said, “Calvin Johnson” or “Larry Fitzgerald” or somebody like that, perhaps Decker wouldn’t have cared.
But when you pick a player who is seemingly on the same level as Decker, why do that?
Calling Golden Tate your favorite receiver over Decker, isn’t a “championship team” thing to do.
Marshall has never been to the playoffs during his decade in the league.
And the guy is an all-world talent.
Over the course of that decade there have been a lot of distractions. It’s well-documented that in 2011 he was diagnosed with a mental health issue, and now takes medication for it.
The guy is an amazing talent.
But Todd needs to talk to him.
Calling Golden Tate your favorite receiver ahead of Eric Decker is not exactly a team-building exercise.
Can you imagine a Bill Parcells or Bill Belichick player doing that?
Perhaps he didn’t mean any harm, but I just think there are constantly too many things going on here from a distraction standpoint.
Like that Showtime show, which is one of the reasons the Chicago Bears got rid of him. They hated having a player doing a show like that during the season.
Do you know how many times we (reporters) were running to his locker last year to ask him about something he said on that show?
Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I don’t think these kind of distractions are good thing.
Why go there?
June 24, 2015
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