As you can tell, I meant to say the other "shoe."
Though, simply for the sake of thematic purpose, please give me a pass here, after all, we are discussing a wide receiver.
We should soon know if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is as tired of Brandon Marsahll as many of us are. Simply put, it is a little bit unsettling to hear the loud cheers Marshall is receiving from what appears to be a shrinking crowd that comes to Dove Valley to watch him catch passes every day.
The question now is how much longer will be be catching them?
If there is one certainty with Goodell, it's that he will not tolerate behavior that puts the NFL in disrepute. He realizes running a totally clean and incident free sports league seems idealistic at best. However, make no mistake, when it comes to handing down a severe punishment, idealism gives way to reality. Goodell realizes how bad behavior leads to bad business.
In that particular respect, he has used his far reaching power to discipline players not based solely on the conviction of a crime but instead of on the totality and overall complexion of a player's incident history. In other words, you don't have to be charged with any crime to be guilty in the eyes of Goodell. Poor judgement alone is not a punishable offense but in the law interpreted by Goodell, it may as well be. That is why Marshall looks to be facing some sort of suspension.
Many think he may get a four game suspension, a possibility that remains on the table, but for some strange reason has very few Broncos fans nervous. I do understand that feeling paranoia on a hypothetical is counterproductive, however, look at the issue at it's core level: The Broncos maybe without Marshall for 25 percent of the season. Sure, the Broncos have depth at receiver, though, by their own given admission, have nobody with the ability of Marshall. He caught 102 passes in his second NFL season, a might impressive statistic. How much does the possible loss of Marshall affect the ability of Jay Cutler to progress this season? Once again, a suspension has not even been meted, but just the prospect of it is scary.
There is a chance part of the reason there is little panic at the team's headquarters in Englewood is that Marshall may not be suspended at all. Goodell is in charge of disciplinary action, though can also decide that in some cases, it may not be warranted. Seeing this case as one of those seems a reach for me. Marshall has just had too many issues to be ignored. The accusations range from alleged domestic violence, driving without a license, having police being called to his home in Highlands Ranch at least ten times, and a DUI charge. Too many problems for Goodell to overlook.
Goodell has not shown a lot of mercy to those who have decided to put themselves in bad predicaments. Under the Code Of Conduct policy, Adam Jones missed the entire 2007 season. Former Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry missed the first eight games. Following that, Tank Johnson was given a ten game suspension. Then came the indefinite suspension of Michael Vick.
Will any of those have any effect on Marshall? Hard to say but one factor is easy to decipher. If indeed there is suspension, I wouldn't expect much leniency from Goodell.
Hope to see you back here on Wednesday.
-"z"
