Broncos filling Marshall's void with group effort

Broncos filling Marshall's void with group effort
Others will need to produce more in Marshall's absence
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News

There is what is said. There is what is done.

And the Broncos certainly say they know they will have to get by without Brandon Marshall in their offense for as long as the NFL deems necessary.

Yet, how they do that remains to be seen.

"We have to, we know we have to," Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler said. "We don't have any control over that, we can't stop it, we can't change it, we can't make it different. We just have to deal with it. It can't be any other way, we have to deal with it."

"With him out, we're losing a lot," said Brandon Stokley, who finished behind Marshall in most big-play categories last season. "Other guys have to pick up their games. We have no choice. We have to kind of pretend he's hurt for a couple games and he's going to be out."

So they will.

Marshall, who Tuesday made his final appeal to NFL officials for a reduction in his suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy, still is expected to face a penalty to open the season.

Unless his appeal strategy was successful and his penalty is trimmed significantly, he is slated to miss the first three games of the regular season, though that total can be reduced to two games if he complies with league guidelines in the suspension.

Under the penalty, which begins Saturday, Marshall cannot practice with the Broncos or use their facilities.

The loss of Marshall also means the loss of some big numbers. He had 31 percent of the team's receptions last season (102), 35 percent of the team's receiving yards (1,325), 31 percent of the team's receptions of 20 yards or longer (13) and 33 percent of the receiving touchdowns (seven).

That leaves a significant void in an offense that hasn't always shown explosiveness in the passing game away from Marshall's familiar catch-and-run efforts. And the Broncos face a September schedule that includes two AFC West games - at Oakland and against San Diego in Denver - right out of the gate.

"In my mind, you treat it like an injury, something you can't control and have to deal with," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "You have no choice, so you can't stand around and worry about it, but then you're spending a lot of time and energy with something you can't control. And I don't believe you should spend that much time worrying about what you can't control.

"To me, that isn't productive. So it's happened, you deal with it. Those are the only choices. Nobody is going to feel sorry for you, people are still going to try and line up and beat you, they don't really care who you have or don't have."

On the field, it means the Broncos can lean on their running game more, try to shorten the game and limit possessions all around. But against the Chargers, in particular, the Broncos have lost their past four to San Diego and haven't rushed for at least 100 yards as a team against the Chargers and won since the final game of the 2005 season.

Or they can discover a receiver who lifts himself up. Darrell Jackson has been a starter in the league for some time but has had only one 100-yard receiving game in his past 34 starts.

Eddie Royal, who has elevated himself to a starting spot, is a rookie and will open his first NFL season likely getting most of the attention from opposing defenses that Marshall was going to get.

That's a lot to ask of a first-year player, especially at a position where rookies have routinely struggled against the more physical cornerbacks they find in the NFL who are just as fast, or faster, than they are.

Cutler consistently has mentioned Brandon Stokley as an important option in Marshall's absence, but Stokley is most often a third-down receiver - or second-and-long when the Broncos go to a three-receiver look - and Shanahan has said he'd like to keep Stokley in that role to ensure the veteran stays healthy throughout the year.

They could use their tight ends more in the passing game, but against the Chargers, the Broncos routinely have battled San Diego's 3-4 defense with a two-tight-end look much of the time to help bulk up at the line of scrimmage, not add more to the passing game.

"We have a lot of weapons," Cutler said. "I feel that way. We should be able to move the ball. We all have to get that done."

If they don't in the week-to-week world of the NFL, where the division title is the only sure way into the postseason in the hypercompetitive AFC - the 10-6 Browns missed the playoffs in 2007, the 10-6 Chiefs missed in 2005 and the 10-6 Dolphins missed in 2003 - the opening month of the season will tell at least part of the tale.

Four games hath September for the Broncos, and three of those are in the AFC West.

"We have no choice," Cutler said. "So we shouldn't act like we do. Go out there make plays and try to win some games."

"In this league, nobody cares what your problems are, so it doesn't matter," Stokley said. "You go out there and play with what you have. There are no excuses. Oakland and San Diego really don't care who we put out there."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/27/broncos-filling-void-with-group-effort/