The bombshell has landed.
According to Jason La Canfora of NFL.com, Broncos COO Joe Ellis apologized to receiver Brandon Marshall due to the fact that a “junior member” of the team’s P.R. staff was telling players on Friday “not to express too much joy or emotion” if asked by the media about Marshall’s acquittal on battery charges, which occurred that same day.
(Owner Pat Bowlen apparently followed that advice, giving a tepid sound bite in response to the news. “He obviously will have to come down from
what he’s been through and get his head straight, but it’s good for him
that he was exonerated,” Bowlen said at the time.)
Marshall reportedly met with Ellis face-to-face, along with lawyer Harvey Steinberg, who won the acquittal for Marshall and previously represented former coach Mike Shanahan in a flap with Yahoo! Sports.
Per La Canfora, Marshall believes the P.R. employee was carrying out the directives of management, and the team contends that the employee was acting on his or her own.
Hey, the answer here is simple. If the P.R. employee would make such a bizarre move without the express or implied consent of someone with a nicer office, then the Broncos should promptly fire the person. If they don’t, then it’s fair for Marshall — and anyone else — to conclude that the team fears that the employee would then claim publicly (or judicially) that he or she was merely doing what he or she had been told.
Meanwhile, maybe our expectations were higher than they should have been, but this really isn’t a “bombshell.”
It’s an oddity, but not a bombshell.
they should apologize for trading Cutler or firing Shanahan..not this “bombshell”
I am absolutely floored by this news. This might be the biggest sports story of the year and Jamie Dukes can claim that he knew it before everyone else. I am soooo envious of him. He must know how it must have felt when Woodward and Bernstein met with Deep Throat in the parking garage because this news is that big.
Lame.
Jamie Dukes has nothing to offer that I care to listen to. Not just in this instance, but on NFLN in general. There are so many other great personalities on NFLN, he is the lone dud.
How did management get so awful? And is Marshall as much as a cry-baby as Lil’Baby Cutler (waaaaa! [interception] waaaaaa! [hurt my fewings!] waaaaa!]? What does mgmt care if Marshall is upset that they were coaching on what to say?
THEN DON’T BE IN COURT (or swinging at McDonalds bags) and PLAY. Fool.
We’re talking about Jamie Dukes, not Adam Schefter. It’s the best he can do.
Jamie Duke is a moron…zero credibility.
Dud. Brandon Marshall is the one that should be apologizing, especially to the fans.
Dukes is the worst commentator on the NFL Network. Annoying and clueless.
What a bombshell!!! LaCanfora hears a boo and Dukes eats a Horton (in one sitting).
How gay is this?
You can’t call “bombshell” and not actually have a bombshell.
Awesome, the NFL is turning into Gossip Girl….
x o x o….
Florio you should buy one giant boxing glove( so you don’t damage your girly fingers) and punch Jamie Dukes in the face for this.
So, if Jamie Dukes recommends a pizza shop because their pie is mind-blowingly awesome and transcends mere food into a full body experience the likes of which I can’t possibly imagine… Then when I have a slice of that pizza, it’s pretty much just a slice of pizza…
Put down your dukes, Jamie.
Florio, looking back on the Cutler situation with hindsight, isn’t it pretty clear that Jay Cutler figured out rather quickly what we are all discovering about this new Broncos front office? The Broncos left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing nor the head from the (donkey). Xanders points at McDaniels, McDaniels points at Bowlen, Bowlen blames early on-set Alzeimer’s, and they all blame the “junior PR employee”. Most importantly, don’t let your prise keep you from missing an emerging story here. As the season progresses and the Broncos get demolished by their insurmountable schedule, these Three Stooges in the front office will be pointing at each other once again when their rabid fans discover they traded away their own 1st round pick (not the 1st rounder from the Bear’s in the Cutler trade) for 5’7″ CB Alphonso Smith. Yes, as the Broncos plummet to the bottom of the league and their fans try to reassure themselves that Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford will come to their rescue next year, they will soon discover that their 1st pick in next year’s draft will be determined by the fortunes of Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears not the hapless Broncos. The front office, in their infinite arrogance, traded away their own 1st round pick in next year’s QB-heavy draft to Seattle.
Rather than digging in your heels, much like you did in the McNabb/Vick fiasco where you accused McNabb and Reid of colluding and lying, you should get out in front of this, save credibility, and follow Cutler in leaping from that Broncos trainwreck.
It would only be a bombshell if Florio had reported it. He is an oversensationalizing false rumor mongerer. By the way, this is a bombshell. Team campaigning against its own player to its own players??? WTF.
Jamie Dukes is a guy? Now that’s news.
That wasn’t a bombshell. Jamie Dukes simply queefed, but reported it as a fart. This was the most desperation filled case of twitter abuse that we’ve ever seen. Totally lame.
Jamie “Bombshell” Dukes…catchy.
Wow, what a bombshell. Next thing you know Jamie Dukes will join all the other former players and coaches who use incoherent sign language to make their points on television. Wait.
How old are these people? 12? Oh … right … McDaniels.
It’s bad enough when the media (PFT is the media) calls for coaches and GM’s jobs, but now you want lower level employees fired? And for something that is not exactly a big deal. Come on, people have to make a living it’s not right to try and get people fired.
I thought Marshall to Ravens a done deal ? lol Ravens fans are so full of shit . They are grasping that getting marshall might get them over the Steelers hump .
You can get Marshall . Harrison , hell get Jerry Rice cause it wont help . Sorry ravens you still suck lol
Dukes is a tool.
Sounds like something mcdaniels would suggest from what we’ve heard from him
The only “bombshell” that came out of this announcement was the one that Jamie Dukes clogged the toilet with the next time he had a sit down.
Yawn.
Brandon Marshall continues to show what a turd he is. Unexpected ? Nope.
I thought the “bombshell” was going to be that they have finally found Josh McDaniels brain which he lost shortly before attempting a trade for the one-year wonder Matt Cassell.
From what I have been hearing on ESPN is that the Broncos continue to refuse to give Brandon Marshall a new contract or trade him. With the news of Denver’s H.R. flop this may give him all the ammunition he needs to either get a trade or in order to get this taken to a “Special Master” to force a trade.
Wow! What a bombshell. LOL
The PR guy should be fired? The only thing worse than armchair coaches are armchair execs. Maybe you should leave the decision of the future of the PR guy to people who know what the hell they are talking about. A non-story made even worse by little quips about firing someone for essentially nothing.
I can’t even figure out why Brandon Marshall would care about this far less you or me Florio. But you got your comment and 3 page clicks congrats.
You should tweet about this too.
I have to agree with Kengland1975 on this one. The new Broncos front office continues to try to fix what isn’t broken. They already ran Cutler out of town now they are going to run Marshall out of town next. This latest gaffe has already drawn the attention of Marshalls lawyer and will lead to him being traded. As a Bears fan I would love it if they sent him to us but thats probably just wishful thinking, If the Broncos tank his value enough we might get him for a 2nd rounder next year and a 1st in 2011. I didn’t realize that the Broncos traded their own 1st rounder next year for Smith. Really doesn’t make sense since they would use that on a QB next year since they will most likely be picking in the top 10. Looks like Seattle will get one of the top QB’s next year instead. And if the Bears improve on a 9-7 record and they will the Broncos will be picking in the late twenties. Maybe we should hire Shanahan next year and take advantage of all the Broncos mistakes. Don’t get mad at the Bears or Cutler or Marshall your front office is to blame on this one.
A Jamie Dukes “Bombshell”. What a joke. This guy should stick to slobbering over Favre and Vick. He along with this Jason character are combining to make the NFL channel not worth watching.