Sportsfrog.com

And here I thought it had all been ironed out between Josh McDaniels and Brandon Marshall. Apparently not. The fallout from Marshall’s benching, a benching that may or may not be related to whatever effort he may or may not have been giving after straining a hamstring in practice, is that he may have played his last down for Denver. From the Denver Post, this appears to have gone down much like the McDaniels/Cutler divorce:

After coach Josh McDaniels gave his version, and then star receiver Brandon Marshall communicated his take, there was but one mystery left unsolved in what has been the year-long soap opera that is “As Dove Valley Turns.” Exactly who broke up with whom?

McDaniels said at his news conference Friday that a pulled hamstring was not the primary reason he decided not to play Marshall on Sunday in the potential playoff-or-bust regular-season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs at Invesco Field at Mile High. “There’s a lot of players that play with things that are more difficult to play with than what he has,” McDaniels said.

Marshall said his hamstring first cramped up Sunday in the Broncos’ 30-27 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He then yanked it in practice Wednesday while running a slant route. An MRI revealed no structural damage, but Marshall indicated he would not have been able to play because he’s unable to take off from a receiver’s stance without his hamstring grabbing. Marshall, surrounded by reporters at his locker, seemed surprised at the suggestion it wasn’t the injury that would prevent him from playing Sunday but his unwillingness to play through pain.

I’ll say this for McDaniels, he is not boring. Discussion on McDaniels, carrying over from old swamp to new swamp has begun anew with the latest soap opera episode from Denver. McDaniels has won enough this season to get a mini-pass, but not making the playoffs after being 6-0 would likely shorten his rope considerably. Again. And replacing Brandon Marshall, should he be allowed to walk, will be no small task.

There’s still a chance.

Newsday is reporting the NY Jets might have an interest in Denver’s petulant (but undeniably talented) wide receiver.

I would like to see this, just to hear Mike Greenberg justify it for his beloved Jets after having to listen to years of his pontificating about how taking on such players (or retaining such players) is horrible for teams.

Hint for Greenberg: the same reason would apply to the Jets as applies to other teams. Undeniable talent gets second (and third…) chances. Because if you can get the tantrum to stop, 100 catch 1000 yard receivers at Marshall’s age who are available for acquisition are few and far between. Because the reward is greater than the risk.

Brandon Marshall suspended for the remainder of the pre-season for “conduct detrimental to the team“.

Punishment? I guess.

They may need to make him miss some actual season game checks to fully register their disapproval.

Next move is Marshall’s.

Not working.

The Broncos are dealing with this just right, in my opinion. When the toddler is in the throes of a tantrum, do not address the toddler, and do not give the toddler the attention he/she is seeking. Let the tantrum run its course, and then when the toddler can be talked to, figure out if there is a solution to whatever caused the problem. Often, they just need a nap.

Perhaps Brandon Marshall needs a nap. His latest petulant move, half-assing practice on Wednesday and caught on tape (thanks to gc and sportsfrog twitter for the link) kicking a ball away at one point in some sort of frustration has caused Marshall to apologize. I think the Denver Post (Mike Klis) has a good take on this:

In a report aired by KMGH-7 from Wednesday’s practice, Marshall was nonchalant during drills and was caught punting the ball away when the drill was finished. Perhaps realizing the video of his behavior may not help him draw interest from other teams, Marshall quickly went into spin control during an interview late Thursday night on ESPN’s “NFL Live” show.

“I’m not going to do whatever it takes (to be traded),” Marshall said. “I’m not out there trying to be a distraction to the team. Unfortunately, (Wednesday) I kind of let my frustration get the best of me. I definitely want a fresh new start with everything that is going on, not just this year but in past years. It’s been a lot. Unfortunately, I let my emotions get the best of me and I apologize to everyone for that.”

Although Marshall did not practice Thursday, he was at the team’s headquarters during the session. It appears Marshall was held out for punitive reasons for his conduct during practice Wednesday. “Me punting the ball was definitely frustration,” Marshall told ESPN. “It was an error in judgment. There was a lot of frustration yesterday coming out of a meeting.“

Indeed.

Strained.

And then some.

To recap:

—He wants a new contract.

—The Broncos don’t want to give him one.

—Marshall reluctantly showed up to camp, and then came up with a highly questionable injury.

—When he returned to practice, the Broncos put him on the second team.

—His agent came to camp again seeking a new deal and to reiterate in the absence of a new deal Marshall wants to follow Jay Cutler’s lead and get out of Denver via a trade.

—Denver again said “hell no”.

And now, with the team traveling to Seattle for exhibition game number two, Marshall was left back in Denver. Despite being healthy. From the Denver Post:

There is something amiss between the Broncos and Brandon Marshall. The Broncos made a curious decision Friday when they decided not to take their top receiver with them for their preseason game here tonight against the Seattle Seahawks. Three other Broncos players — Brian Dawkins, Knowshon Moreno and Brandon Lloyd — also didn’t make the trip. However, they were all held back because of injuries.

Marshall is healthy. His status with the team seemed to change Tuesday afternoon when his agent, Kennard McGuire, met with Broncos management to reiterate a trade request Marshall said he first delivered to owner Pat Bowlen during a face-to-face meeting in June. In the Broncos’ practices Sunday and Monday morning, Marshall began the sessions running plays with the second team, but he would occasionally mix in with the No. 1 offense. Following the meeting between McGuire and the Broncos, Marshall spent the rest of the week relegated to the scout team. Marshall said he didn’t mind the scout team demotion because he admittedly didn’t know the playbook.

Is Marshall getting punished? Or are the Broncos contemplating acting upon Marshall’s discontent as they did former quarterback Jay Cutler by putting him on the trading block?

That would be the question, wouldn’t it?

There is almost something Bengal-esque in how Denver has handled the Cutler and now Marshall situations…

The Jets want a good receiver. Ok, that’s great.

Their targets?

Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Bowe.

Ok, that’s great. But they’re going to have to pay out the you-know-what to actually get one of them.

The Broncos apologized to Marshall–which was apparently Jamie Dukes’ bombshell. Remind me to not pay attention to his Twitter feed–and if they weren’t serious about trying to mend that bridge, I doubt that they would have taken that step.

As far as the Bowe Show goes, the consensus seems to be here in Kansas City that his demotion is purely motivational, and that Bowe will be starting in week one against Baltimore. They can’t seriously have their top three receivers be Amani Toomer, Ashley Lelie and Bobby Engram.

So Mike Tannenbaum, you better be ready to give up a first round pick. And I doubt you’re willing to do that.

Demoted to second string.

Man, horse flu is such a bitch.

I am guessing the promotion back to first string happens about one half second into Marshall’s first full effort practice with the team. Which should occur on the Friday practice before their opener with the Bengals…

By the way, I am really enjoying the Josh McDaniel era. It’s a sustained slow motion train wreck.

Similar to the blue flu when policie departments engage in work slowdowns around contract unhappiness?

Because Marshall, unhappy about Denver’s refusal to rengotiate his contract, showed up to camp, and then, well:

It has now been a full week since last time we saw Brandon Marshall on the practice field. The Broncos No. 1 wide receiver last practiced Aug. 2, and left that session early. He’s only been spotted walking to and from the weight room since. At this point, no one (in the media at least) is expecting to see him back anytime soon. Certainly not on the field for practice this week, and not for the preseason opener Friday at San Francisco.

And with no official comment from coach Josh McDaniels about the severity of Marshall’s injury/rehab from hip surgery, we only speculate about when Marshall will be healthy enough to return and how effective he will be when he does. Remember, Marshall didn’t participate in any minicamp practices and he went through only two full practices and one walk through since reporting to training camp July 27.

Stupid horse flu, er, “hip issue”, I am guessing it will magically clear up by week one of the regular season.

That is the good news for Broncos fans.

The bad news is that the NFL is still looking into the matter, and Roger Goodell may not care that the charges were dropped. Given Marshall’s lengthy series of run-ins with local community standards over the years and already being on the league’s radar, another suspension remains a possibility.

And, if there’s one thing that appears to get Roger Goodell off, it’s suspending players.

Arrested in Atlanta for disorderly conduct following a fight. Not a big deal, in the broader view of athlete legal issues, except for the fact that this is Marshall’s fourth arrest since 2006. And that he was already suspended for three games by Roger Goodell at the start of last season for his previous legal run-ins.

And given the Chris Henry/Goodell precedent, it might be surmised that Marshall is looking at a lengthy suspension to start 2009. Eight games would be my guess. Courtesy the Denver Post, Marshall’s legal issues:

Marshall’s transgressions

Oct. 31, 2004: Brandon Marshall faced misdemeanor charges of trespass, resisting arrest without violence, disorderly conduct, refusal to obey and assault on an officer in a Halloween arrest his junior year at Central Florida. Charges were dismissed.

April 8, 2005: Marshall was charged with retail theft, a misdemeanor, after police in Orlando, Fla., accused him of trying to return a stolen set of bed sheets at a Burlington Coat Factory. The charge was dropped.

June 17, 2006: Marshall and girlfriend Rasheedah Watley both filed police reports alleging physical abuse by the other in an hours-long fight at Marshall’s Orlando apartment. No arrests.

Jan. 24, 2007: Police interviewed Marshall and his father after an argument in an Orlando parking lot. Marshall claimed his father tried to hit him with his car, while the father told police Marshall had shot a gun. Both declined to press charges.

March 18, 2007: Watley told Atlanta police that Marshall had punched her and taken her purse while at a downtown hotel. Marshall left before police arrived and no charges were filed.

March 21, 2007: Police in Palm Beach County, Fla., interviewed Marshall and Watley twice in one night after two loud arguments. Both said the incidents were not physical, and no arrests were made.

March 26, 2007: Marshall was arrested in Highlands Ranch on charges of domestic violence and false imprisonment after another argument. Charges were dropped in May 2007.

June 8, 2007: Two incident reports were filed by Atlanta police. The first was to investigate damage to private property when Watley’s friend alleged that Marshall hit her car and then threw a rock at the passenger door, near where Watley was riding. In the other, Watley told police Marshall had cut her in the thigh and punched her in the face. She was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Marshall was not on the scene, and no charges were filed.

June 30, 2007: Watley told Atlanta police Marshall had punched and choked her at his condo, leaving a bruise on her eye and scratches on her body. He was not on scene, and no charges were filed.

Oct. 22, 2007: Marshall was arrested and charged with DUI after he allegedly drove the wrong way on a one-way street in downtown Denver, hours after a Broncos game. Pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and sentenced to a year’s probation in Sept. 2008.

March 4-6, 2008: Three incident reports and one criminal warrant were filed after Watley and Marshall got into a fight at his Atlanta condo. She told police Marshall had punched her in the mouth and eye. Marshall told police his hand was also cut on glass during the incident, which included Watley’s two younger sisters. Marshall was arrested March 6 on a misdemeanor battery charge. A misdemeanor battery charge is still pending.

May 21, 2008: An Atlanta police officer was dispatched to Marshall’s condo to enforce Watley’s temporary restraining order while Watley was there removing her belongings. The officer described Marshall as being cooperative and Watley as argumentative, though Watley told the officer she felt threatened by Marshall and his relatives who were also there.