Jerry Rice rips Marshall - The Orange Mane

crowebomber · 09-01-2009, 10:16 AM

Per FOX:

Jerry Rice saw the same clip everybody else did:

Brandon Marshall walking while his teammates ran.

Brandon Marshall punting a ball he should've handed to the ball boy.

Brandon Marshall dropping passes on purpose.

"That's something you don't do," Rice said Monday morning. "You don't drop footballs. What if your teammates see you do something like that?"

Suffice it to characterize Rice's reaction as offended disbelief.

"I never thought it would come to this," he said.

By "it," he means the state of wide receiver-dom, something he takes very seriously. "I don't think the love of the game is there anymore. It's all about me, me, me and getting that big payday ... Things have gotten out of hand with the wide receivers."

The position has a deserved reputation for having the flakiest, most selfish and egocentric players in all of American sports. And Marshall, whose antics earned him a suspension for the duration of the preseason, isn't even the latest in the parade that began more than a decade ago with Keyshawn "Gimme the Damn Ball" Johnson. Already, there are knuckleheads lined up to take his place, beginning with Michael Crabtree, who's still pissed off he wasn't picked in the top five.

"When I came in the league it was about earning your money, justifying your job," said Rice. "I always believed once you sign a contract, you're obligated to it. Or you work it out in-house. Michael Crabtree wants the money up front — before he ever puts on the uniform."

Don't mistake Rice's reservations for resentful ravings of a retired man. He's fully aware of, say, Larry Fitzgerald's old-school virtue. But he also knows that for every Larry Fitzgerald, there's a T.O. or an Ochocinco or a Plaxico, or, before his improbable second act with the Patriots, a Randy Moss. Wide receiver is the new reality show, a production infected with pathological narcissism.

"We're divas now," Rice said wistfully.

The NFL's all-time touchdown leader, Rice had 1,549 catches and 22,895 yards (almost four and a half perilous miles by my calculation) spread over 20 seasons. While some players brag about their thousand-yard seasons, Rice got a thousand (in just 10 games) on Deion Sanders alone. Rice is more than the best receiver in history. Given the fact that Jim Brown played just nine seasons, he's arguably the best player.

That's not to say he couldn't be selfish. Or ego-driven. In fact, he had to be. They all do.

To do the job properly, one must reconcile himself with the certainty of the blindside hit, with the defender's intent to decapitate. You must need the ball, as the need has to outweigh any fear or doubt. (In that respect, I understand, even admire, Keyshawn's self-proclaimed ethos. I'll always give him that: he never cared about the hitter, only the ball).

"It takes a special man to tell himself, 'I'm going to catch this ball no matter what, no matter the guy trying to take my head off,' " said Rice. "You have to be willing to jeopardize your body. You have to want the football, and you have to want it when everything is on the line. Like Michael Jordan in basketball. A receiver has got to be like that.

"You have to be selfish."

The issue, then, is the expression of that selfishness. "I demanded the ball in game situations," recalled Rice. "But I didn't tell Joe Montana or Steve Young to throw me the ball. They could tell just from my body language. You don't distract the team."

You don't drop passes in practice. You don't embarrass yourself. And that's what so many of these guys have become: embarrassments.

The Brandon Marshall case seems particularly galling to Rice. He saw Marshall up close, just a couple of months ago at Fitzgerald's training camp for receivers in Minnesota.

"I didn't realize the kid was that big," said Rice. "And unbelievably talented."

Rice had a little aptitude for the position as well. But the greatest component of his talent — like Jordan's — was the ability to work harder, longer and more precisely than the other talented guys.

"It was all about technique to me," he recalled. "You don't see that anymore at the wide receiver position."

Such insistence on technique was partly born of necessity. In 1985, when Rice was a rookie, defensive backs were still allowed to manhandle receivers, bumping and chucking them all over the field.

Perhaps the new generation of receivers have been emboldened by the rules. I wonder if they'd talk so much if they were hit like, say, running backs?

Rice considered the question, but only for a moment. "Nah," he said. "Guys like Ocho and Terrell Owens still would've been the same."

And here, Rice finally seized on an explanation, or at least the beginnings of one. Perhaps it's not the players who have changed so much as the coaches who've indulged their expensive vanities.

Brandon Marshall, he figures, wouldn't have dared to drop balls under Bill Walsh.

There'd be no suspension, said Rice. "He'd have been on the first Greyhound home."

Bronco LB52 · 09-01-2009, 10:19 AM

Cool Breeze · 09-01-2009, 10:19 AM

Gotta love Jerry Rice!!!

Broncoman13 · 09-01-2009, 10:21 AM

22,000 + yards is a lot more than 4.5 miles dipdong!

PRBronco · 09-01-2009, 10:21 AM

Good article

MileHighMagic · 09-01-2009, 10:23 AM

I hope our idiot WR hears about this article.

SouthStndJunkie · 09-01-2009, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McOSKIE!!!

22,000 + yards is a lot more than 4.5 miles dipdong!

I think it is a little over 13 miles.

Rohirrim · 09-01-2009, 10:26 AM

Listen to the man, Brandon.

WolfpackGuy · 09-01-2009, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McOSKIE!!!

22,000 + yards is a lot more than 4.5 miles dipdong!

Whoever wrote that is a dumbass. He should try 13 miles.

TheDave · 09-01-2009, 10:28 AM

Normally when the greatest WR to ever play the game calls you out, it would leave some sort of impression.

With Brandon... I doubt it.

Cool Breeze · 09-01-2009, 10:30 AM

I'm waiting for the Rastaman spin...

Smiling Assassin27 · 09-01-2009, 10:40 AM

Jerry did, on occasion, cry to the media about not getting the ball. But on the practice field, the guy was a legend. Watching clips of him in practice, he would catch a slant in a drill and, though everyone else was catching, making a first move, and getting back in line, Jerry would catch, make a first move, and sprint to the endzone on EVERY rep. There aren't too many WR's that are justified in giving advice to others about the position but Jerry Rice is #1 on that list...and probably #2 as well.

HILife · 09-01-2009, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McOSKIE!!!

22,000 + yards is a lot more than 4.5 miles dipdong!

lol good catch. In the guys defense, I think he was thinking 22,000 feet.

DrFate · 09-01-2009, 10:43 AM

feet != yards

Bronco LB52 · 09-01-2009, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smiling Assassin27

Jerry did, on occasion, cry to the media about not getting the ball.

He also took Steve Largent's number out of retirement when he went to Seattle. He was a diva, too. He was just more subtle about it.

Rohirrim · 09-01-2009, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDave

Normally when the greatest WR to ever play the game calls you out, it would leave some sort of impression.

With Brandon... I doubt it.

If Rod Smith couldn't get Brandon's head straight, I doubt that words from Jerry will do it.

TailgateNut · 09-01-2009, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool Breeze

I'm waiting for the Rastaman spin...

He's currently hitting his BONG!

SonOfLe-loLang · 09-01-2009, 10:52 AM

I keep forgetting Jerry Rice wore a broncos uni..even if it was just in the preseason

rastaman · 09-01-2009, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool Breeze

I'm waiting for the Rastaman spin...

Okay Summer Breeze....here's Rasta's spin:

Jerry Rice's comments aside. Ready to play for Brandon does not mean he plays at his 07 & 08 caliber of play! For one, he may not want to do it out of protest over his contract. Second, the offense is in such disarray and the caliber of Qb play is a big drop off since Cutler was traded, Marshall couldn't duplicate his 07 & 08 seasons of production even if he wanted to!

All Brandon needs to do is run good routes and catch the catchable passes, look for someone to hit and allow one person to tackle him on every play....and he can't get suspended by that method of play; and he still gets paid. Its not like playing at his 07 and 08 levels of excitment and determinatiion where it took 2 or 3 players to bring him down.

He can go back to allowing 2 or 3 players to bring him down when Denver or another team are ready to pay him at least "Roddy White" type salary. Mean while, expect "Randy Moss" type of production out of Bmarsh when Moss was with Oakland and stinking up he joint.

So what good would it do to suspend Marshall out of frustration and b/c he couldn't duplicate his 07 & 08 seasons. How stupid is that idea!!

Meanwhile, when reporters interview him about his contract and his situation in Denver......Brandon can continue to reply "My agent and I are looking forward to leaving Denver and making a trade happen".....what can you do about that strategy

Remember, Bmarsh isn't the type of player you rebuild a team around. He's most effective and impactful on a team surrounded by talent, has a top 5 QB throwing the ball to him and on a team ready to win immediately.

Now of course Brandon will make a great scapegoat and a human target for a fan depository of frustration-hate-and smear. But when the dust all settles, we will all find out Denvers problems are more than just Brandon not returning to 07 an 08 productions.

Lastly about Jerry Rice comments. Lets remember Rice never had the likes of Orton or Simms throwing him the ball when he was in his prime. Rice had the luxury of having two consecutive HOF QB's throwing him the ball.
Orton-Simms don't equal Montana-Young. Not to mention Rice played on a team surrounded by talent!!! So had Rice found himself in the situation talent-team wise as Bmarsh finds himself in, maybe his attitude may have been different. After all we are talking over 20 years ago.

BroncoMan4ever · 09-01-2009, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDave

Normally when the greatest WR to ever play the game calls you out, it would leave some sort of impression.

With Brandon... I doubt it.

hell when the greatest receiver in FRANCHISE history tries to help you grow a brain it should leave an impression.

Bob's your Information Minister · 09-01-2009, 11:01 AM

Rice played for Denver? I have forgotten that already.

BlaK-Argentina · 09-01-2009, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BroncoMan4ever

hell when the greatest receiver in FRANCHISE history tries to help you grow a brain it should leave an impression.

If you think Marshall gave a **** about what Rod had to say, you're crazy.

Bronx33 · 09-01-2009, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MileHighMagic

I hope our idiot WR hears about this article.

Brandon could read it ten times and not learn a thing.

DomCasual · 09-01-2009, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McOSKIE!!!

22,000 + yards is a lot more than 4.5 miles dipdong!

That's pretty funny.

If we were Canadians, we wouldn't have those mistakes.

jutang · 09-01-2009, 11:49 AM

What I don't understand from Marshall is at this point he is costing himself millions. His entire gripe is about being paid and now with his tantrums and unprofessional behavior he's not going be paid like a top 5 receiver anymore... unless Al Davis is writing the check.

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09-01-2009, 10:16 AM	#1
crowebomber Ring of Famer Old School Sucka Fool Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: P-Town Posts: 1,517 Adopt-a-Bronco: Frank Tripucka	Jerry Rice rips Marshall Per FOX: Jerry Rice saw the same clip everybody else did: Brandon Marshall walking while his teammates ran. Brandon Marshall punting a ball he should've handed to the ball boy. Brandon Marshall dropping passes on purpose. "That's something you don't do," Rice said Monday morning. "You don't drop footballs. What if your teammates see you do something like that?" Suffice it to characterize Rice's reaction as offended disbelief. "I never thought it would come to this," he said. By "it," he means the state of wide receiver-dom, something he takes very seriously. "I don't think the love of the game is there anymore. It's all about me, me, me and getting that big payday ... Things have gotten out of hand with the wide receivers." The position has a deserved reputation for having the flakiest, most selfish and egocentric players in all of American sports. And Marshall, whose antics earned him a suspension for the duration of the preseason, isn't even the latest in the parade that began more than a decade ago with Keyshawn "Gimme the Damn Ball" Johnson. Already, there are knuckleheads lined up to take his place, beginning with Michael Crabtree, who's still pissed off he wasn't picked in the top five. "When I came in the league it was about earning your money, justifying your job," said Rice. "I always believed once you sign a contract, you're obligated to it. Or you work it out in-house. Michael Crabtree wants the money up front — before he ever puts on the uniform." Don't mistake Rice's reservations for resentful ravings of a retired man. He's fully aware of, say, Larry Fitzgerald's old-school virtue. But he also knows that for every Larry Fitzgerald, there's a T.O. or an Ochocinco or a Plaxico, or, before his improbable second act with the Patriots, a Randy Moss. Wide receiver is the new reality show, a production infected with pathological narcissism. "We're divas now," Rice said wistfully. The NFL's all-time touchdown leader, Rice had 1,549 catches and 22,895 yards (almost four and a half perilous miles by my calculation) spread over 20 seasons. While some players brag about their thousand-yard seasons, Rice got a thousand (in just 10 games) on Deion Sanders alone. Rice is more than the best receiver in history. Given the fact that Jim Brown played just nine seasons, he's arguably the best player. That's not to say he couldn't be selfish. Or ego-driven. In fact, he had to be. They all do. To do the job properly, one must reconcile himself with the certainty of the blindside hit, with the defender's intent to decapitate. You must need the ball, as the need has to outweigh any fear or doubt. (In that respect, I understand, even admire, Keyshawn's self-proclaimed ethos. I'll always give him that: he never cared about the hitter, only the ball). "It takes a special man to tell himself, 'I'm going to catch this ball no matter what, no matter the guy trying to take my head off,' " said Rice. "You have to be willing to jeopardize your body. You have to want the football, and you have to want it when everything is on the line. Like Michael Jordan in basketball. A receiver has got to be like that. "You have to be selfish." The issue, then, is the expression of that selfishness. "I demanded the ball in game situations," recalled Rice. "But I didn't tell Joe Montana or Steve Young to throw me the ball. They could tell just from my body language. You don't distract the team." You don't drop passes in practice. You don't embarrass yourself. And that's what so many of these guys have become: embarrassments. The Brandon Marshall case seems particularly galling to Rice. He saw Marshall up close, just a couple of months ago at Fitzgerald's training camp for receivers in Minnesota. "I didn't realize the kid was that big," said Rice. "And unbelievably talented." Rice had a little aptitude for the position as well. But the greatest component of his talent — like Jordan's — was the ability to work harder, longer and more precisely than the other talented guys. "It was all about technique to me," he recalled. "You don't see that anymore at the wide receiver position." Such insistence on technique was partly born of necessity. In 1985, when Rice was a rookie, defensive backs were still allowed to manhandle receivers, bumping and chucking them all over the field. Perhaps the new generation of receivers have been emboldened by the rules. I wonder if they'd talk so much if they were hit like, say, running backs? Rice considered the question, but only for a moment. "Nah," he said. "Guys like Ocho and Terrell Owens still would've been the same." And here, Rice finally seized on an explanation, or at least the beginnings of one. Perhaps it's not the players who have changed so much as the coaches who've indulged their expensive vanities. Brandon Marshall, he figures, wouldn't have dared to drop balls under Bill Walsh. There'd be no suspension, said Rice. "He'd have been on the first Greyhound home."

09-01-2009, 10:19 AM	#2
Bronco LB52 Perennial Pro-bowler Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 758 Adopt-a-Bronco: Dale Carter

09-01-2009, 10:19 AM	#3
Cool Breeze Ring of Famer Broncos Rock! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: south of town Posts: 1,221	Gotta love Jerry Rice!!!

09-01-2009, 10:21 AM	#4
Broncoman13 Broncoholic JT #80 Join Date: May 2001 Location: Colorado Posts: 16,961 Adopt-a-Bronco: Orange Julius	22,000 + yards is a lot more than 4.5 miles dipdong!

09-01-2009, 10:21 AM	#5
PRBronco FML less Join Date: May 2004 Location: North Vancouver Posts: 4,206 Adopt-a-Bronco: I'm so alone	Good article

09-01-2009, 10:23 AM	#6
MileHighMagic Ho-Slayer Rise and grind! Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 1,436 Adopt-a-Bronco: Dave Logan	I hope our idiot WR hears about this article.

09-01-2009, 10:26 AM	#8
Rohirrim Partisan Human Cannonball Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Twixt Hell & Highwater Posts: 48,841	Listen to the man, Brandon.

09-01-2009, 10:28 AM	#10
TheDave Sauced... Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 15,120	Normally when the greatest WR to ever play the game calls you out, it would leave some sort of impression. With Brandon... I doubt it.

09-01-2009, 10:30 AM	#11
Cool Breeze Ring of Famer Broncos Rock! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: south of town Posts: 1,221	I'm waiting for the Rastaman spin...

09-01-2009, 10:40 AM	#12
Smiling Assassin27 STOP! KIPER TIME! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a van down by the river Posts: 10,976 Adopt-a-Bronco: Von Miller	Jerry did, on occasion, cry to the media about not getting the ball. But on the practice field, the guy was a legend. Watching clips of him in practice, he would catch a slant in a drill and, though everyone else was catching, making a first move, and getting back in line, Jerry would catch, make a first move, and sprint to the endzone on EVERY rep. There aren't too many WR's that are justified in giving advice to others about the position but Jerry Rice is #1 on that list...and probably #2 as well.

09-01-2009, 10:43 AM	#14
DrFate Lord of Order Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Tower of Fate Posts: 4,388	feet != yards

09-01-2009, 10:52 AM	#18
SonOfLe-loLang Young Buck Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 13,219 Adopt-a-Bronco: Thunder (RIP)	I keep forgetting Jerry Rice wore a broncos uni..even if it was just in the preseason

09-01-2009, 11:01 AM	#21
Bob's your Information Minister Chiefs > Broncos Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 25,920 Adopt-a-Bronco: CHRIS KUPER!!!	Rice played for Denver? I have forgotten that already.

09-01-2009, 11:49 AM	#25
jutang Pro Bowler Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 648	What I don't understand from Marshall is at this point he is costing himself millions. His entire gripe is about being paid and now with his tantrums and unprofessional behavior he's not going be paid like a top 5 receiver anymore... unless Al Davis is writing the check.