Brandon Marshall can elude the best of NFL cornerbacks, but trouble?
Covers him like grass on dirt.
Perhaps Marshall is beginning to understand how predicaments keep finding him. The Broncos receiver made a brief, but candid, statement to the media Wednesday regarding his arrest early Monday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
“I know the seriousness of it,” Marshall said. “A terrible mistake.”
The day before Marshall’s arrest, the Broncos had someone speak to the players about alternative transportation options in the event they were consuming alcohol outside their home.
“Young kids make mistakes, and hopefully they learn from them,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said at his Wednesday news conference. “There’s probably not a person in this room that couldn’t have been arrested (at) some time for that. It doesn’t make it right, but if something like that happens, hopefully you learn by it and you don’t do it again.”
On the field, Marshall, 23, has emerged as the Broncos’ No. 1 receiver with 33 catches for 439 yards. But he is having a tough year off the field. Multiple reports have said Marshall was involved in a confrontation outside the downtown Denver nightclub in the minutes preceding the shooting death of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams early New Year’s Day.
In March, Marshall was arrested in a domestic violence dispute, although charges were later dropped. In his latest infraction, Marshall was pulled over by police after he allegedly was spotted driving the wrong way on a one-way street in downtown Denver.
Under the NFL’s new personal conduct policy, there’s a chance Marshall could be hit with a one-game suspension, although he would first have to be convicted and it might be a few months before his case is resolved.
Champ back, Henry out. Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey returned to practice and is scheduled to play Monday night against Green Bay. Bailey didn’t play Sunday against Pittsburgh because of strained quadriceps, only the third game he has missed in his nine-year career. Oddly, the Broncos are 3-0 without Bailey, a seven-time Pro Bowler.
Expect running back Travis Henry to be listed as questionable to play against Green Bay. Henry suffered a rib injury late in the third quarter Sunday and did not practice Wednesday.
However, tight end Tony Scheffler practiced after he was able to work out the kinks from the sprained right knee and ankle injuries he suffered while making a 16-yard reception in the Broncos’ final-minute drive Sunday.
Dealing with fire. The San Diego-area fires hit home with some Broncos players. Broncos safety John Lynch grew up in the San Diego area. His mom, dad, sister and in-laws had to evacuate their homes.
“But everyone’s OK,” Lynch said. “No property damage, as far as I know.”
Broncos defensive tackle Amon Gordon said his family was one block away from having to evacuate.
“Hopefully, they won’t have to, but the wind is still blowing and it’s still hot,” Gordon said.
Remembering Max McGee. No franchise celebrates its past more than the Packers, particularly their Lombardi teams. The organization is preparing for the Broncos game this week with heavy hearts as former receiver Max McGee died Sunday after a fall from his roof. Funeral services for McGee, 75, will be Sunday in Eden Prairie, Minn.
“It’s been a brotherhood in the truest sense,” said Jerry Kramer, right guard on the Lombardi teams. “Now, it’s getting tough because we’re starting to lose so many great people.”
