Boydy,

Heartily endorse your comments.

Like most Bronco fans, I loved Rod from the moment he made the team and grabbed his first pass from The Duke. Why is it that fans always take to the unappreciated or under the radar players? Maybe we see a bit of ourselves in their struggles to get noticed, I don’t know. But what I always loved about Rod – and it’s happening less and less in all sports across the globe – was his humility and dedication to being the absolutely best professional he could be. Not like half of these prima donna football (UK!) players, who seem to command astronomic salaries and give less than the required effort. Nope, that’s a charge you could never level at #80, and I feel fortunate to have watched his career with the Orange from day one.

In response to your thread though, it seems like we are developing that sort of attitude – possibly with the exception of BMarsh (unfortunately – and I really can’t imagine losing both him and Cutler in the one offseason – but I don’t want this to become a rumour!). Eddie Royal, Peyton Hillis, Ryan Clady, Spencer Larsen, Alphonso Smith – from what I hear and read, they all seem to at least have the right attitude, and let’s face it, most of the athletes playing in today’s NFL are at a similar level, so it’s things like attitude and offseason dedication and preparation that make the biggest difference in my eyes. And no-one encapsulated maximising their talent more through dedication and application than Rod. We could do a lot worse than cloning him as PosterNutbag suggests!

Viva la Broncos!

This is a unique sitution to be in if you’re Brandon Marshall. It seems everyone wants to offer their advice without being in the room when things were discussed. There’s always so much more to the story than what we hear and if a player is having discussions or a "stand off’ with management teams that govern the nfl-they normally have a valid reason. There is no such thing as a team that doesn’t have any problems most just don’t make it to the outside world.I still support him and look forward to him playing-regardless of where he may land. Players should be heard on their jobs just like anyone else and if Jay couldn’t work with Josh I don’t fault him for that. He had the right to move on and find a place where he felt he could be heard. Marshall should have the same opportunity- if he feels its needed then move on. I’d rather have a player leave and go find happiness than stay and be miserable. They make more money than most of us, but they have some of the same work issues that we have. No one knows what is exactly going on in the front office of any franchise so I want players to be able to get their problems resolved and move forward.