The Camera Adds 10 Pounds

I actually think I look pretty dapper, I just sound like an idiot…

This is our attempt to step up our game a bit… presenting Episode #1 of the Broncos Stable Video Podcast. I think it’s decent for our first stab at it… but I am not too happy with my own performance.

The idea is simple. We want to present the news surrounding your Denver Broncos in a unique fashion up front, just doing a quick hit on the headlines to let you know where we are at and to set the scene. We then turn to the “Sit Down” segment… this is where I’ll have friends, colleagues and guests come in to take part, converse, answer some questions.

This time around I simply wanted to rant on Brandon. After all, he’s the news of the hour, day, week, month, offseason… he IS the Denver Broncos at this moment. We were lucky in getting news to break our way. Just before the shoot Mrs. Stable sent me a text with the ProFootballTalk.com story stating the Seattle Seahawks would not be signing Marshall to an offer sheet. He spent some time with the team (we presume… to be frank, I’m not sure he did) and was sent home without a definite future.

(This would be Part 2… for whatever reason YouTube wouldn’t let us load more than 10 minutes at a time… I apologize for the abrupt and somewhat annoying cut.)

I adjourned on Sunday only to find another Twitter fight with Frank Schwab, the man on the Broncos scene for the Colorado Springs Gazette, as we both hit the social media to ponder the future for Brandon, the Broncos, and everyone involved. Putting our disagreement about Brandon’s future in Denver aside, in general we agree on our views towards the reactions to the lack of “progress” in negotiating with the Seahawks… and that was the message I wanted to send in this podcast.

I failed.

It was my first time in front of the camera and I did a horrendous job in following my own notes and voicing my opinion, but I will make a brief addendum and clarification here.

Those who proclaim Brandon has no future in Denver are wrong. Those who claim the Seahawks played Denver as the fool are incorrect. Those who claim Brian Xanders and Josh McDaniels have done nothing but paint the Broncos into a corner they cannot enjoy and will not endure don’t base their lives in reality.

The truth is this: the Broncos hold all the cards, the rest of the NFL world is frustrated, and you would be wise, when you hit your knees at bedside this evening, to thank the Almighty for giving this team worthy guidance.

If you aware of recent NFL history I will simply state “Anquan Boldin” and my case is made. If you are not aware we offer the Cliff Notes version. For over three years Boldin has been screaming and yelling for one of two events: a new long-term contract with the Arizona Cardinals or a trade to a new employer. Each season he launches his public campaign for action and each season he is met with frustration. The Cards would hit him with the franchise tag or would offer promise of a new deal once he would hit free agency. The organization refused to relent, offering Boldin the same terms with the arrival of each year’s training camp: this is your contract, we are not going to trade you and we are not going to renegotiate, and you are welcome to sit without pay or you can play under these terms.

He played.

I bring this story back to the stage, I present it to you, and I proclaim, “The Broncos are doing just fine.”

This proclamation is what started the tweet spat between Frank and I, and I would bet it would start a debate between myself and most of the Bronco fans on the planet… and to those that look at today’s landscape in Denver and see nothing but carnage and doom, I offer the same facts I spoke of at the park (in the podcast), that I put forth on Twitter, and that stand as facts today (and I’ll spice ‘em a bit, just for fun).

1) The tender is specific in the demands to make Brandon Marshall an offer. You will be giving your first-round draft pick Denver, you will be giving Brandon a new contract (and based on recent numbers, that means a substantial check will be presented to Brandon right after he signs on the dotted line), and that’s that.

2) Seattle holds no cards in this “negotiation” and proved as much in the way they played the game. They have no desire to give up the 6th-overall pick… they simply wanted to get Denver to the trade table. They did, it didn’t go as hoped, and they backed off. It may be they didn’t care for the requested terms from Brandon. It is clear they care for the requested terms from the Broncos. Some might point to the recent trade Baltimore pulled off to get the aforementioned Boldin and suggest the Broncos are asking too much… I might point to the recent trade between Detroit and Dallas involving Roy Williams and suggest the Broncos could have been asking for too little. Pull those two trades together and you can justify either. The fact remains… Seattle played their cards and failed to convert. The Broncos reacted to the situation (as they have to all of these situations) and I find it difficult to suggest they have lost.

Those that suggest they have lost will point to one fact…

… they still own Brandon Marshall, they’ve made it clear they do not want him, and Brandon doesn’t want to be here. To those folks I point back to the facts and proclaim, without hesitation or qualification…

3) Brandon will play for the Denver Broncos if another team fails to meet the organization’s price. “Brandon will be a pain in the ass”… he was a pain in the ass last year. He posted 101 receptions, 1,120 yards, and 10 touchdowns. “Brandon will hold out and be a distraction in training camp”… Brandon was a holdout in training camp last year, the Broncos withheld his paycheck, he emerged and was a brat… and then he played. “Brandon will not play for us and will simply not show”… folks said the same about Anquan Boldin for three years in Arizona, and for three years he played because Anquan realized the unavoidable truth.

My friends, the unavoidable truth is this…

Denver will wait for their price to be met (whether it’s Cincy, Seattle, or someone else) and won’t be trading him until another team does.

Pat Bowlen isn’t respected as a leader amongst NFL owners for nothing, and you should be placing your trust in him.

If some team sitting in the 1st round wants to sign Brandon to an offer sheet they are certainly welcome to do so and yes, that puts the Broncos in line for 1st-round compensation you may not like (as in a late first rounder)… but those are teams (Saints, Colts, Jets, Vikings, Chargers, Cowboys, Cardinals) have already spent their money on receivers, they are proven by their success and leadership to understand the financial realities of today’s NFL (and thus they value the costs associated with low 1st-round picks), and they are proven in their abilities to maximize those commodities (they are consistently low in that first round yet they continue to draft and develop players that contribute). Nothing is certain but assertions claiming the Broncos will be screwed by one of those teams is nothing more than a paranoid reach… and if the value of the pick coming in return doesn’t match, the Broncos can simply match the offer sheet and move on (that bullets stays in their pocket, just in case).

If Denver doesn’t trade Brandon, he will play in Denver and will be worth the cost paid, both financially and emotionally…

… because Brandon won’t make any money, Brandon’s image won’t improve, and Brandon’s value on the NFL trade market will not rise unless he is on the field and producing… and besides, Denver has already proven they can get work done whether Brandon’s happy or not.

(BTW, I’d like to invite you all to subscribe to our new Broncos Stable YouTube Channel where all of our video podcasts will be featured.)

Thanks for stopping in.

Tags: Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals, Brandon Marshall, Broncos Stable Video Podcast, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Jerry Jones, Josh McDaniels, Pat Bowlen, Roy Williams, Seattle Seahawks