The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Giants Brandon Marshall laments bad start to season
Wide receiver has one of worst two-game stretches in career
NEW YORK — Brandon Marshall interrupted his chess game with teammate J.T. Thomas on Thursday to talk to reporters. The wide receiver was asked which piece on the board would best represent him on the football field.
“Pawn,” he said quickly, “because I’m getting smacked right now.”
It has not been an auspicious start to the season for Marshall, who came to the Giants as a free agent this offseason. In his first two games, he has caught two passes on nine targets for 27 yards. That is the worst production he has had over a two-game span in any season since he played sporadically as a rookie. The only stretch that comes close was in 2014 with the Bears when he caught three passes for 25 yards over two games, but one of those was for a touchdown.
“It is an unusual position,” Marshall said. “In the past I always kind of started decent or hot and have been able to help the team. So far I haven’t been able to help the way I wanted to, or to meet expectations. But we’ll figure it out and we’ll get it going.”
Marshall insists that he does not have to catch a lot of passes to be effective, so he does not consider his one-reception performance in the opener to be a bad game. Monday’s loss to the Lions, though, was a different story. He had an opportunity there to make a big catch down the right sideline and dropped it.
If the rest of the offense were humming along, such a miscue might be barely noticeable. On a team that is starving for any positives on offense, it stands out as a squandered opportunity.
“The team needed a big play, I had an opportunity to make a big play, and I didn’t,” Marshall said. “You need that type of play-making ability, you need that type of excitement, and things will change.”
Marshall is confident he can still provide that. At 33, he pointed out that the tracking devices the team uses to monitor player
speed in practices show that he is faster than he was over the last two seasons with the Jets. He feels like he is the same player he was for most of his career, one of the top receivers in the league, even if the numbers don’t reflect that so far.
“No one cares about your past,” Marshall said. “Every year you have to prove yourself; that’s what makes this game so special. It doesn’t matter if you are an All-Pro or make the Pro Bowl, win a Super Bowl, you have to come back out the next year and do it all over again and do it better. So far I haven’t been able to do that.”
This week would be a good time to start. The Giants are 0-2 and facing as close to a must-win game in mid-September as there can be. Their sputtering offense has shown few signs of life. Odell Beckham Jr. will be
back and closer to full strength for them, and the Eagles’ secondary is riddled with injuries. Both would indicate an opportunity for Marshall to shake off his slow start.
The answer to all of it, Marshall insisted, is straightforward and simple.
“Make a play,” he said. “That’s it. That’s all you have to do is make a play. Good players need to play good and elite players need to play elite. Big-time players need to make big plays in big situations. That’s what it’s about.”
That’s how pawns quickly become kings in this town.