Schwartz NYP: Inside Marshall's orientation to Eli

We'll agree to disagree.

As I said, I'm optimistic. But I think it is OK to question how much a 33-year old receiver - who has said he only wants to play two more years tops - has left in the tank.

I'd feel a bit more sure of my optimism if Marshall had made one of those many "best of OTA/mini-camp" lists from the half-dozen reporters who cover the team.

There is a very good possibility that he is "pacing" himself. But I heard that same argument with Cruz.

My prediction - which will be in my WR preview - is one that you will like. But it's OK to be a tad not too pollyanish.

Of course you can question what he has left in the tank. It's normal for anyone to wonder that about a player his age.

I just thought the Herman Moore comparison was fairly ridiculous. Moore was like 4 years removed from his last good NFL season by the time he got here. He obviously had nothing left in the tank.

Marshall is obviously not in his prime anymore, but I am very confident that he does still have some gas in the tank and will give us more than Cruz did. Marshall didn't suffer the same patellar tendon injury that Cruz did. Cruz also relied on his short burst and shiftiness to create space. Marshall utilizes a much different skillset.

Is if Marshall will accept the "Toomer" style role in 2007. If he runs the routes that are called for him well and he has sure hands, he can thrive in this offense. He may just have to wait until his number is called some games.

Then Shepard and Engram up the middle... We are going to rip pass coverages apart! This is going to be a great season. I said at the very least 10 wins last year and I don't see how we can have a worse record than last year. I expect a huge year.

Don't underestimate him because of his age. This guy has produced big time carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders for a lot of years. His experience, skill, and size is going to prove out over many secondaries and don't be surprised to see
him bounce off contact and break a play for a big gain. Marshall is a very smart player and this can only help us especially in the red zone.

the OBj, SS, Marshall, Engram and Vereen tandem looks awesome......but we have said the same thing a few times since 2011, and it hasn't panned out.....so there has to be some cautious optimism.....

Main thing is staying healthy, and giving Eli some time to throw.....

The one thing I want to see, is some execution by Eli and this offense in the preseason, which we never seem to see.....it's hard to come out of the starting blocks at the start of the season, when it seems you are just going through the motions in preseason....

Quote:

"I never had a quarterback be so precise with his preparation and also just ball placement and getting the ball out quick."

...especially, shortly after Bennett's comment that Cutler is a better QB than Eli. Suddenly Cutler's long time "football soul-mate" is now call Manning his best QB, even though they haven't played a game together?

It seems to me that Brandon is still in the "say whatever the team needs me to say" mode. We will see if his attitude changes as the season goes on, but his size and skill is still an upgrade over Cruz and he should be a valuable target for Eli.

First, that's Beckham. Second he's a huge target. He doesn't need to make things look spectacular with his size and reach. He also will be more of a possession guy than earlier in his career so his style will reflect that.

The question coming in from anyone is how he will mesh and that's been excellent so far.

will come as a blocker and Red Zone target IMO. Two things we were lacking last year. He'll contribute, but may not still be the same receiver he was 2 years ago. He doesn't have to be. Especially with the other threats at receiver we now have (ie. S Shepard, OBJ, Vereen, Engram).

There's a reason he was hand-picked as the priority free agent this year: whether he's lost a step or not, we need him to be a reliable target on the backside when D's overplay Odell, and we need a red zone target for fades.

He can do both.

It's a great fit, especially when you consider how well Eli works with tall receivers. Not concerned one bit about a loss of effectiveness and I thought he still looked very good last year in the areas we need him to look good in.

In comment 13512813 Eric from BBI said:

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only thing that makes me nervous is we didn't hear a lot of "oohh" and "ahh" plays from reporters this spring on Marshall.

We don't need oohhs and aahhs. Just take some attention away from Beckham, along with Engram.

That said, the risk in signing an old veteran is you never know if this will be the year his body gives up.

He is not quite on the same page with Manning yet. There were a lot of drops and he said "The Giants probably think I am a bad investment right now". The dude is doing all the right things and putting in all the necessary work to get on the same page with Manning.

I dont think its a physical issue as much as it is a mental issue. Once he gets the reps and timing down, the proverbial "ooo's" and "ahh's" will come. I truly believe that.

In comment 13513509 gmen9892 said:

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He is not quite on the same page with Manning yet. There were a lot of drops and he said "The Giants probably think I am a bad investment right now". The dude is doing all the right things and putting in all the necessary work to get on the same page with Manning. I dont think its a physical issue as much as it is a mental issue. Once he gets the reps and timing down, the proverbial "ooo's" and "ahh's" will come. I truly believe that.

Yup. Just read that in Defenderdawg's thread.

Quote:

"I think I dropped every other ball the first two weeks. I was like, 'These guys probably think they made a bad investment right now,' " said Marshall, who signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Giants in March. "I'm still trying to figure out the timing of the hitch route. I think our last practice Eli just threw it at my feet and said, 'I'm just going to throw it so you get the timing. I'm just going to do my job and you've got to do yours.' "

link - ( New Window )

A) He and Eli have talked already about how they're still feeling each other out.

B) He's a vet. He's not going hard every play like a guy fighting for his NFL life.

C)

I don't view Marshall's role here as the guy we're gonna expect ooh and ahh plays from. If he all he ever does is out-muscle defenders for 7 yard gains on 3rd and 6, we'll be thrilled with the signing.

In comment 13512919 Doomster said:

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has anything left in the tank, he could be the biggest steal in FAcy..... Marshall was a #1 WR.....he is no longer that, and doesn't want to carry that burden, so this is a perfect fit for him.... I hope Eli does not get "gidifored" back there, wondering which open guy he should throw to....

All Marshall has to do is eek out one more big year, one more productive season. He's always been a bona-fide #1 so seeing him with single coverage, age 33 or not, may prove to be quite interesting. I mean, what if he has lower-ebb #1 ability still and ends up feeding off OBJ to the tune of 90-1200-12 type numbers! The offense would be Top 10. LOL

Ahh, just remembered that is pretty meaningless...

I'm not concerned by the lack of love during OTA's. I always thought it was odd that the Marshall signing came with very little skepticism. The friendly contract makes this low risk, but he is a 33 year old receiver coming off a down year. It's not guaranteed that he plugs into this offense as a key cog.

I think the growth of Shepard, Perkins & Flowers along with the addition of Engram end up being more meaningful than the Marshall signing.

In comment 13512923 JohnF said:

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He may not have that many yards, but he's going to be Eli's favorite target down there. Defenses have to put their #1 DB's on OBJ, so Marshall is going to feast on #2's and #3's. Add to the fact that he's big enough to block for the running game...something we really haven't had out of our WR's in quite a long time.

I just hope McAdoo runs more than fades to Marshall and Engram down there.

I had (have?) questions and concerns about signing Marshall. But, even mentioning him in the same sentence as Herman Moore is nuts. Talk about apples and oranges.

In comment 13512970 Go Terps said:

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He's probably been asked a million times about playing with Beckham, and he's smart enough to say exactly what the fans want to hear. It means nothing.

Dude.

In comment 13518949 aimrocky said:

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I'm not concerned by the lack of love during OTA's. I always thought it was odd that the Marshall signing came with very little skepticism. The friendly contract makes this low risk, but he is a 33 year old receiver coming off a down year. It's not guaranteed that he plugs into this offense as a key cog. I think the growth of Shepard, Perkins & Flowers along with the addition of Engram end up being more meaningful than the Marshall signing.

I tend to disagree. If Marshall is "Cruz 2" where he can no longer accelerate to get open this offense will struggle. But Marshall has a "physical" game and I totally expect he'll produce 80-900-9 or thereabout type numbers as he'll be getting single coverage for the first time in his career.

And last year, the Jets were a mess at QB so while targeted the passes weren't always there for him to haul in. I also think that the Jets mindset was down and so was Marshall's so subconsciously the effort may not have always been 100%.

B. Marshall is a physical freak who was a #1 and now will be a #2, drawing single coverage against likely the 2nd best corner on a team. I believe he'll make his fair share of snags and he'll be a redzone presence that Eli will go to as he likes the big guys.
Finally, at age 33, he's matured some and won't likely be a guy you don't want around. Remember, we should have a winning team and that tends to keep guys happy and content.

And honestly, if he put up 85-1100-10 type numbers no one should be surprised either. He draws the #2 corner, likely, and should eat those guys up on many routes that he flourishes at due to his size. We shall see, it will be interesting indeed.