Maybe the media outlets that hire retired NFL types have finally stumbled on a way to break the cycle of former players who won’t say anything bad about current players.
The answer? Hire strong safeties.
We say that because two former strong safeties -- one who’s destined for Canton and one who’s destined to pout about not getting there for the rest of his life (i.e., John Lynch and Rodney Harrison, respectively) -- have shown that they’re not going to shy away from saying what needs to be said as they embark on broadcasting careers.
And maybe that attitude arises in part from the fact that, during their playing days, they didn’t shy away from hitting what needed to be hit, as hard as they possibly could.
Harrison has pulled no punches in his public comments about the game he played for so long, and Lynch is now getting in on the act, too. Appearing Friday on ESPN 1000 in Chicago, Lynch was candid about Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall, Lynch’s teammate for two seasons in Denver.
“I don’t like saying [buyer beware], but you’ve got to call a spade a spade, and I think it’s a dangerous proposition,” Lynch said, regarding the prospects of signing Marshall to a big-money, multi-year contract. “I don’t think you’ll see the Broncos sign him to a long-term deal, because right now the behavior he’s demonstrated off the field, I don’t think you’d feel comfortable doing anything long term.
“As I said, on the field, he’s very comparable to a guy like Terrell Owens. He’s that good of a player. But being a professional in my mind . . . takes doing it on the field and off the field. You can’t have all choir boys. I believe in first and second chances, but when you’re talking about 13 or 14 . . . I think at a certain point you’ve got to say this guy’s got some issues that he’s got to work out before you can trust him.”
Meanwhile, I got a chance to eyeball the words and demeanor of Marshall during a recent appearance on NFL Network, about which Aaron Wilson wrote on Thursday night. It’s clear that Marshall wants out of Denver, and that he has opted not to hold out of training camp because he doesn’t want to owe the team a five-figure daily fine.
So while we’re not yet saying Marshall will eventually be doing situps in his driveway or that his agent will be repeatedly saying “next question” during a press conference on the front lawn of Marshall’s house, things could get ugly soon in Denver, and that’s why we included the Broncos within our list of ten potential hot spots as training camps open.