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PLANTATION — Wearing an orange Miami Dolphins' ball cap, a long-sleeved team T-shirt, and carrying baggage as a diva wide receiver, new $50-million wide receiver Brandon Marshall wanted to set the record straight.
"This may shock you guys," Marshall said, flashing a smile, "but I'm no prima donna."
A day after Miami's blockbuster trade with Denver brought one of the game's most-talented and troubled players to South Florida, Marshall introduced himself Thursday during a press conference at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale-Plantation Hotel.
He talked about a number of issues, avoided others, but made it clear that, despite a spotty past with off-the-field legal issues and on-the-field antics, he knows his place and won't be a problem.
High-profile, high-maintenance wide receivers may make news, but they also can kill the kind of team chemistry Dolphins football czar Bill Parcells and head coach Tony Sparano want to create.
Parcells didn't see eye-to-eye with Terrell Owens in Dallas, questioned Terry Glenn's toughness in New England and needed time to warm up to Keyshawn Johnson in New York before the two forged a lasting friendship.
Marshall, 26, said he knows Parcells has little tolerance for so-called "diva" wide receivers.
The two-time Pro Bowler with three straight 100-catch seasons and an NFL-record 21 catches in one game, insists he doesn't fit the profile of the pampered wideout that demands the ball — sometimes to the detriment of team chemistry.
"I like to get dirty. I'm going to get in there and mix it up a little bit," the imposing, 6-foot-4, 230-pound Marshall said. "I just don't want to catch a lot of balls. I'll do whatever, if it's hit a D-end or cracking back on a linebacker.
"Mr. Parcells is the type of guy if you bust your butt and do your job you'll get along fine."
As he produced on the field, Marshall had four rocky seasons in Denver that included contract squabbles, a testy relationship with coach Josh McDaniels and frequent appearances on the police blotter.
But Marshall said the Dolphins "did their due diligence" and the turbulent times are behind him.
"I continue to look myself in the mirror and continue to better myself," he said. "I'm excited about my future. The past is exactly what it is, the past."
A native of Pittsburgh who grew up in Orlando, Marshall returns to the state he considers home. On April 1 he married Michi Nogami, exactly one month after the couple was embroiled in a domestic dispute in Atlanta.
"She taught me what true love is and what life is all about," he said.
Besides settling down, Marshall said his love of football is going to make him a good teammate and worthy of the five-year deal that made him the highest-paid skill position player in team history.
"At the end of the day if you're not playing this game for the love or the passion, you won't be productive," he said. "When you turn on the film, you can see I play with a lot of passion, a lot of emotion.
"I love this game. I cry over this game. It's a lot of ups and downs."
Marshall said one of the most emotional days of his NFL career came against the Dolphins.
Miami held Marshall to two late catches for 23 yards during a 26-17 win in Denver on Nov. 1, 2008. Marshall got into a war of words with former Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter and left the field after the game without shaking hands with any of the Miami players.
"It probably had to be one of the most frustrating games for me," he said.
He also noted that he made fast friends Thursday during his first workout with his new teammates. "They welcomed me with opens arms," he said.
He also praised Sparano, calling him "my type of coach, my type of guy" because of his passion for the game.
"I watch coach on the sideline get all red sometimes and just fiery," Marshall said. "That's the kind of coach guys like myself want to play for. At the end of the day when it's fourth quarter, you'd be willing to run through the wall for (him)."
Marshall is willing to give up the No. 15 jersey he wore in Denver because it's the number worn by Dolphins two-year veteran Davone Bess, who has 75 fewer catches than Marshall the past two seasons.
"That's his number," Marshall said. "I'm coming into his locker room. I'm just worried about the number of wins."
Marshall admits he wants to stand out, to become the face of the Dolphins' franchise, but said he understands it comes with a price.
"I play this game not just to be another guy on the field or another guy in the NFL," he said. "I play this game to be one of the best, one of the greats.
"With that comes with responsibility."
Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports...-after-trade-to-miami-dolphins-im-570044.html
