ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—To become the best, Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall figured he had to study the best.
So, last offseason he gathered film from the top five receivers—according to him—and broke down their moves. Marshall credits that film study for his breakout sophomore season. Marshall has 86 catches for 1,136 yards and six touchdowns so far this year.
“You have to see what the best are doing,” Marshall said.
Marshall glanced at hours of footage, trying to glean attributes he wanted to emulate. He studied:
— Indy’s Marvin Harrison for his intelligence in finding seams in different coverages.
— Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald’s ability to bring down the deep pass, no matter who’s on him.
— The precise route running of Cincinnati’s Chad Johnson.
— Arizona’s Anquan Boldin’s aggressiveness.
— The elusiveness after the catch of Dallas’ Terrell Owens.
“You don’t want to be great at one thing. You want to be a master of all things,” Marshall said. “So I watched those guys to see why they’re good at certain things. It’s helped me this season. You’re always learning. I’m not content with where I’m at now.”
Marshall is closing in on exclusive company. He’s on the verge of cracking the top five for most receptions in a season for a second-year wideout. Isaac Bruce heads the list with 119 catches with St. Louis in 1995.
“He had that many?” Marshall said. “That’s unreal.”
Another second-year receiver, New Orleans’ Marques Colston, is pushing for inclusion on the list as well. Colston is ahead of Marshall this season with 87 receptions.
And while catches are nice, Marshall prefers to measure himself through yards and touchdowns. He thinks receptions can be a misleading statistic.
“You can have eight catches on one drive and not get a touchdown or field goal out of it,” said Marshall, who’s currently seventh in the NFL in yards and receptions. “But if you’re getting a bunch of yards, you’re moving the ball and getting into scoring range. I’ll take touchdowns and yards over catches any day.”
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has been impressed with the progression of the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Marshall this season. Marshall had 20 catches for 309 yards and two scores in his rookie year.
“We knew the type of ability that he had, but a lot of people have ability that can’t carry over to game day,” Shanahan said. “You’re always hoping a guy’s going to step forward and make the plays that he made, but you don’t know for sure. He has stepped up and made a number of plays this season.”
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FRIENDLY ADVICE@: Newly acquired kicker Matt Prater has already started peppering 15-year veteran Jason Elam with questions.
Prater, who was signed on Wednesday, is competing with punter Paul Ernster for the kickoff job, and Elam has given him some tips. Elam used to do kickoffs early in his career and explained his approach.
“You’re trying to kill the ball on a kickoff, it’s all out; it’s a driver,” Elam said. “The average field goal is 34 yards. So, you’ve got to get your mind around only kicking as hard as you have to, like using the 7-iron. That’s more along the lines of what I was trying to tell him.”
Prater is eager to learn as much as he can from Elam.
“What a great opportunity,” he said.
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EXTRA POINTS@: Denver’s offense has averaged 353.9 yards per game, which ranks sixth in the league. … The Broncos are one of four teams with two tailbacks who have gained 600 or more yards this season. Travis Henry has rushed for 680 yards this season and rookie Selvin Young has 603. … Denver’s defense has forced an AFC-best 28 fumbles. … LB Jamie Winborn leads the team with 11 tackles on special teams. … LB Ian Gold (knee) and TE Daniel Graham (ankle) missed a second straight day of practice. WR Brandon Stokley (knee) participated on a limited basis Thursday.
