Brandon Marshall – Big Target

Brandon Marshall has been one of the most electric receivers in the game since he came to the NFL in 2006.  What makes Marshall different than other receivers is his size.  He has been referred as “a defensive lineman playing receiver”.  And when you look at his size he stands out frm other players which makes him very hard to cover.  He is 6ft 4 inches and 229 pounds; and even with that size he is very quick and strong.

Brandon Marshall was born March 23rd, 1984 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Later in his life he was moved to Florida where he played high school football at Lake Howell High School.  In high school he played both offense and defense and was named to the All-State team.  He also liked playing basketball and excelled in track.  As a senior, Marshall won the Class 3A state triple jump championship by landing a jump of 48-feet, six-and-three-quarter inches.

Brandon decided to play his college ball at the University of Central Florida (UCF).  In college he played in 44 games as a wide receiver and by the time he ended college he wracked up 112 receptions, 1,674 receiving yards, and 13 touchdowns.  His best season was in 2005 as a senior where he hauled in 74 receptions, 1,195 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns.  His best college game was in the 2005 Hawaii Bowl where he finished the game with 11 catches for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns.

In the 2006 NFL Draft the Denver Broncos selected Marshall in the fourth round (119th pick).  In his rookie year he was nursing a slight PCL tear in his knee but still played in 15 games.  The next season was a nice breakout for Marshall as he recorded 102 receptions for 1,325 yards and 7 touchdowns.  Since that season Marshall has been a dominating force.  he went 3 consecutive seasons with at least 100 catches and he has had at least 1,000 receiving yards for 6 consecutive seasons.  In 2009 Marshall broke the receptions in a game record which was previously held by Terrell Owens.  Marshall had 21 receptions in a single game, which is still the record today.  Marshall had a few off-field issues, but he was a consistant player for the Broncos so it really surprised me when they traded him to the Dolphins in 2010.

The Dolphins were happy to have Marshall in Miami and quickly signed him to a 4 year, $47.5 million contract.  His first season as a Dolphin was not his best, but that mostly had to do with the QB situation in Miami.  He was still able to catch 86 passes for 1,014 yards and 3 touchdowns.  His second season in Miami was much of the same.  There were mixups at the QB position so it was hard to get Marshall the ball.  He still made the Pro Bowl; and in the Pro Bowl he was the MVP.  I think had the Dolphins had a solid QB to throw to Marshall that he still might be there, but in 2012 he was traded to the Chicago Bears.

The Bears were very excited to have Marshall since they were reuniting him with his former QB, Jay Cutler.  Even with Marshall being the only main weapon in Chicago, Cutler was able to feed him the ball a lot.  He ended his first year with the Bears with 118 receptions, 1,508 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns; all three of those numbers are personal records for Marshall.  Marshall is now entering his second year as a Bear and he has no signs of slowing down.

In his career so far he has totaled up 612 receptions, 7,755 receiving yards, and 45 touchdowns.  He has also been named to 4 Pro Bowls, 2012 Pro Bowl MVP, and was the 2005 Hawaii Bowl MVP.  Marshall has a handful of NFL records as well; such as Most Receptions in a game with 21, most receptions in a 5 game span with 55, and the first player since 1960 to record 8 career games of at least 10 receptions in his first 4 seasons.

Walter Payton – Sweetness

There will never be another like Walter Payton; he was truly the best running back to ever play in the NFL.  His hard work ethic, his love for the game, and his determination has yet to be matched by any other player.  Even though some of his records have been broken, he will always be considered by many to be the greatest.  When I watch running backs today, I always look for the “Sweetness” factor in running backs in the hopes that someone in my generation will be able to follow in his footsteps; but I am yet to find it. 

Walter Jerry Payton was born on July 25th, 1954 in in Illinois.  He was one of three children and his father was a semi-professional baseball player.  Payton loved music and played drums in his marching band; he was also active in his church and in Boy Scouts.  He did not start playing football until he was a junior in high school, because he did not want to compete with his older brother.  He earned instant success as a running back; even though he was smaller; he had speed that was unmatched against any of the teams he played.  He earned All-American honors as a senior in high school.

Going into college, he did not receive any athletic scholarships and originally planned on going to Kansas State.  He did receive a scholarship to play at Kansas University, but turned it down to go to Jackson State University.  Payton had an amazing college career rushing for 65 touchdowns, over 3,500 rushing yards, and averaging 6.1 yards per carry during his college career.  He broke the NCAA touchdown record and was selected as an All-American his senior year.  He also earned is college degree in communications, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. 

In 1975, Payton entered the NFL Draft as one of the best college players in the country.  The Chicago Bears drafted him in the first round (4th overall).  At the time, the Bears were not doing so well after the retirement of Gale Sayers, and Payton had a rocky rookie season until the final game of the season.  After his rookie season he just kept getting better and better, and was consistantly going over 1,000 yards rushing almost every year.  There was no quit in Payton, just when you think you had him down, he would keep running.  He had serious finesse, but he could also run you over like a steam engine.  In 1977, Payton set a single game record by rushing for 275 yards in a single game, and that record stood for decades until it was broken 23 years later. 

Payton played for 13 seasons, and in 10 of those seasons he rushed for over 1,000 yards.  His best season was in 1977 when he rushed for 1,852 yards  and 14 touchdowns.  In his career he totaled 16,276 rushing yards, 110 rushing touchdowns, 21,264 yards from scrimmage, and played in 190 games.  He also was selected to 9 Pro Bowls, 6 All-Pro selections, 1977 NFL MVP, 1977 Offensive Player of the Year, selected to 2 All-Decade Teams, and has been ranked as the 5th greatest player of all-time.

In 1999, Payton was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis.  He was too far along for any kind of transplant, and on November 1st, 1999 Walter Pyton died from complications; he was 45.  The Bears retired his #34 jersey and there was a ceremony honoring him in every football game that week.  Players also wore a #34 patch to honor his passing.  There is also an award now given to an NFL Player every year called the Walter Payton Award.

There are many things that we can remember about Walter Payton, and I remember how classy he was at all times.  You never saw Payton getting bad press, or going to jail.  All you saw him do was be a perfect role model for the youth.  Almost every NFL player is playing football today because of Walter Payton, he truly is one of the players that changed football.  I was too young to actually watch a game with Walter Payton, but I have seen enough highlight reels to know that he was something special.