Brandon Marshall is not worth it

Brandon Marshall is a very good wide receiver. He's the best that the Broncos have and maybe one of the top five or six in the NFL. With Jay Cutler gone, the Broncos are going to need their receivers to be highly competent and to adjust to Kyle Orton and/or Chris Simms for the team to have any chance (slight though it may be) of contending this year.

With all that said...hey Broncos: Get rid of Brandon Marshall. He's an immature, selfish, whining, violent jerk. Over the last three years, he has:

Aggravated the incident that led to Darrent Williams dying;
Beaten, choked, and shaken female companions more than once;
Allegedly slashed one woman with a knife;
Busted for a post-game DUI;
Been a team distraction from said involvement in above incidents;
BEATEN, CHOKED, AND SHAKEN WOMEN MORE THAN ONCE;

And now HE WANTS A RAISE?!?!?!?

We have friends who have stopped watching NBA basketball. When pressed for a reason, one of their gripes is "the league is full of thugs." Now, we love the NFL, but really? How many Brandon Marshalls are there in the NBA? Did Dwayne Wade get caught killing pit bulls recently? Did Steve Nash get busted for coke in a parking lot last year? Did Shaq shoot himself in a club last season? Did Kobe Bryant--well, okay, but he was acquitted, it was over five years ago, and the last thing anyone can call Kobe is "thuggish." He may be a dick, but not a thug.

The NFL has more thugs than the NBA--even going by percentage--and

Brandon Marshall is a THUG.

This is not someone the Broncos and their fans should want to be associated with. If Broncos fans stop blinding themselves (we aren't going to win it all this year, sorry) and really, REALLY look hard at everything Brandon Marshall has done over his career right up until Spring of 2009, we as a fanbase should be just as tired of B-Marsh as Falcons fans were of Mr. Vick--and the organization should feel the same way. Yet the Broncos are probably reconsidering his contract because of the fear of fan backlash. After all, they can't afford to lose an on-field presence that has contributed to such a "dominant" .500 team that's missed the playoffs three straight Jake "the Snake" Plummer-less years going on four. Hey, Brandon IS a really good ball-catching-guy.

Mr. Bowlen, you showed guts when you finally said "enough" and fired Shanahan. You showed guts backing Josh McDaniel even when his judgment seemed questionable regarding Jay Cutler. Show some guts now. Don't cave in to B-Marsh. If he wants to earn the money he agreed to be paid according to the contract he signed, let him play out the season. If he behaves and has a good year, franchise his ass and tell him if he so much as gets a parking ticket he can eat bench until his contract is up. But don't give in and reward Brandon Marshall for being cancerous. Cut him or keep him, but don't cave to him.

We want the Broncos to succeed, but not with an asshole like Marshall giving us second thoughts about the team's character. We'd actually like it if the team we liked was actually worth liking. C'mon last year Jay Cutler--JAY CUTLER--called B-Marsh immature. We all know Pumpkin Pie isn't exactly a paragon of maturity and restraint, so for him to call Brandon a whiny girly man should have set off a lot more alarms in Denver.

Also, if this was one of the New York teams or New England or DC, the media would be treating B-Marsh like a superstar criminal and the Broncos would be made to look like total douchebags for putting up with him. Thank goodness ESPN doesn't give a crap about anything that happens west of Philly except Lebron James and Manny Ramirez.

Anyway, that's our story and we're sticking to it.

CUT THE THUG!!!

Bye Bye Big Baby Daddy

"Wait...YOU'RE my brother too?"

In a move that will certainly affect the lives of children around the world, Travis "Big Baby Daddy" Henry was released by the Broncos today. Mike Shanahan's quote regarding BBD:

"Although Travis has the ability to be one of the top running backs in the NFL, we have to make decisions that are in the best interests of our organization and its goal of winning a Super Bowl, we did not feel his commitment to the Broncos was enough to warrant a spot on this football team."

These words coming from Shanahan mean a lot to us. After all, this is a guy who's on his third D coordinator in three years, who switched from a veteran QB with a winning record to an untested rookie during a crucial playoff stretch, and who approved Henry in the first place despite massive red flags against his character--even though Shanahan supposedly has a system that can work for almost any back. Why sign a highly potential problem child to the one position you've been able to stick pretty much anyone into for ten years running with good-to-great results?

While we don't excuse BBD for his flake-out, we don't necessarily blame him in the big picture. After the Brian Griese era fizzled out, the Broncos went from an organization that prides itself on a roster full of character to employing a roster full of characters. With the exodus of Todd Sauerbraun, Javon Walker, and now BBD, perhaps they are making a long-awaited step back into the right direction--but Brandon Marshall had better shape up quick.

Farewell, BBD...we're sure you'll end up on some NFL roster. Too bad the Raiders are now stacked at RB; you'd have fit in perfectly. Find a job quick, though--you got some mouths to feed and no man except Karl Malone can ignore that responsibility and get away with it. Good luck, Travis.

(Speaking of basketball--Lakers vs. Celtics? Holy crap, we're ten years old again. Time to grab some Fun Dip and Green Slime Hi-C and settle in!)

Where was all this aggression during the season?

Daniel Graham just got arrested for beating up a bedpost at his ex-girlfriend's house. Outstanding. That makes the fifth member of Denver's 2007 roster (okay, David Kircus is stretching it, but he did collect a paycheck) to get cuffed for stupidity in the last 365 days.

The Broncos won't be breaking the Bengals' overall record for arrests in a single year, but they're certainly trying, aren't they? Maybe Graham wants to be moved? Tony Scheffler almost completely took Graham out of the Broncos' TE picture this year. Either way, stupid move, Daniel. After Sauerbrun gave that poor cabdriver a drunken-rage smackdown, you'd think Denver players would know better.

And to think there are Denver fans who want the team to go after Chad Johnson. Lord have mercy.

Does this count as "Pro-Shanahan?"

Probably not. But if Shanahan decides to cut the spoiled whiner loose we won't shed a tear.