News Hubris Before Potential

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Hubris before potential
By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 10/14/2008 12:09:50 AM MDT


Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall are too young to understand. That's not a football in their hands. It's a city's heart.

So when they drop the ball and leave us shattered, these two wild, free and untamed stars of the Broncos can rub fans the wrong way.

Despite having the best job in town, Cutler too often acts as if he is five minutes late for something better, which apparently is happening anywhere but here.

"I'm not a lion. I can't run all day," Marshall will say after a loss, feeling sorry for himself, displaying a lower lip so pouty it could have been stolen from Terrell Owens.

These errors of youth do not make either Cutler or Marshall a punk.

But when will they understand what it truly takes to be big winners in the NFL?

That's the real challenge for the 25-year-old Cutler and 24-year-old Marshall.

Mike Shanahan is old enough to be their dad.

He must not only coach up Cutler and Marshall, but also teach them to grow up.

They have more talent than 99 percent of NFL players. Marshall and Cutler are the future of this franchise. But, like their team, both young stars have a long way to go before they can lead the Broncos back to a championship.

Hey, I'm rooting for Cutler and Marshall to connect on a touchdown so long it carries them all the way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Right now, the main thing that stands in the way of unstoppable greatness for Marshall and Cutler is their own stubborn insistence on doing things the hard way, whether it's a quarterback forcing a throw into double coverage to No. 15 or a receiver acting insulted if No. 6 throws a pass to anybody else on the field.

Isn't that pretty much the definition of being a rising star in your 20s? Cameras adore you. Life is lived best at 2 a.m. in a glitzy Las Vegas club rather than at 6 p.m. next to a barbecue grill. Living large means there are huge perks and magnified mistakes.

Is it any shock the costliest turnovers in losses to Kansas City and Jacksonville were committed by Cutler and Marshall? They are this team's playmakers, for better and worse.

Hubris before potential - The Denver Post