Can Marshall And Beckham Gel Together?

It's no secret that Brandon Marshall is a great wide receiver. He's been a major threat and the top target for every team he's played on so far. Denver, Miami, Chicago and the Jets have all experienced his talents. He's been THE guy on all four of these teams. Now, he';s got to change his attitude just a little. He has to get adjusted from being the top guy to being a role player, something that comes with the territory of being on a contending team.

In Marshall's first year with the Jets, he put up outstanding numbers. He was a big reason why the Jets were able to stay in contention all year for a playoff spot, but they came up just short.  Last year, Marshall had a solid year, but his numbers were down due to injury and subpar play from his quarterbacks. So the Jets let him go. Now he stays in the state and plays in the same building he has the last two seasons, just with the Giants. Now he has to adjust to life, at least for the next two years, as being a number two receiver. The Giants top target is still going to be Odell Beckham jr.

Now the question is, can Marshall adjust to his new role?

He's going to have to if he wants to win. See, going from his team last year in the Jets to what he's got now with the Giants, he's actually got a shot at a title. The Giants are better built for a title run then the Jets, who are a total and complete mess right now. Marshall has a quarterback who can throw, granted he is a little erratic at this stage of his career, but Marshall has the skills to still come down with the football. But there is one little catch, no pun intended. Marshall has to get used to a reduced workload with the Giants.

For Marshall to really be effective, he needs to have about 80 to 100 catches a year. That's not going to happen with the Giants, not with Odell getting 91, 96 and 101 catches in each of the last three years. Marshall will have to get used to not being the go to guy in the receiving game. And he will have to learn to keep his mouth under control about this situation. There's been a couple of incidents where his mouth has gotten him in trouble. First is if he doesn't get the ball enough. Once that starts happening, as good as he is, he could become a negative in the locker room. That's just Marshall, that's the way he's wired. The other is when the team starts to pile up losses. Remember what happened with Sheldon Richardson last year in the locker room after the loss in KC in week three last year? Yeah there's that for one example. Then there's what happened in 2009? Broncos coach Josh McDaniels suspended him for the rest of the preseason after a practice flip-out where he punted a ball away and knocked down passes.

Some say he really has changed over the last few years, and that might be all well and good. But the biggest thing is he has to understand that he's not the top target anymore, Odell Beckahm is. At least on this team and at this time. If Marshall can get that through his head and work well with Beckham, they can make a deadly one-two punch at wide receiver.