New York Jets

Brandon Marshall: Ex-coach told me to stop helping opponents up

Published Dec. 9, 2015 10:41 a.m. ET

foxsports

By Steve DelVecchio

Brandon Marshall says he was a “great guy” when he first came into the NFL, but apparently former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan told him to cut the crap.

On Tuesday’s edition of “Inside the NFL,” Marshall and the rest of the panel were discussing how nice of a kid Marcus Mariota seems to be. Marshall says he was like that at first until Shanahan scolded him for helping opponents off the turf.

“There’s a lot of great guys out there. I was a great guy when I first got in the league,” he recalled. “I remember helping a guy up and then Coach Shanahan pulling up film in the team meeting room and saying ‘Hey, don’t ever do this again.'”

Personally, I think criticizing a player for helping up opponents is ridiculous. You can still compete at the same level as a guy who refuses to extend a hand to an opponent, even if it looks like you’re being a “nicer” guy on film.

As we know, Buccaneers defensive lineman Gerald McCoy has also had to defend himself for helping opponents off the ground, and he is one of the best in the game at his position. Like Marshall, McCoy had a coach who didn’t want him showing a “softer” side during games.

Should a player help an opponent up during the two-minute drill? Probably not. But does it hurt to do it with 12 minutes remaining in the first quarter? Come on…

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