by Edgar Thompson


Marshall
PLANTATION — At one point during his impromptu news conference Thursday, new Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall insisted, “This may suck, you guys, but I’m no prima donna.”

To which one reporter jokingly replied, “Darn!”

Diva wide receivers can make good copy, but also can kill the kind of team chemistry Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano have spent plenty of energy creating.


Marshall plans to fall in line and make headlines for his superlative play on the field, not for moodiness or his testy relationship with his coach — like Marshall did in Denver with Josh McDaniels.

“I like to get dirty. I’m going to get in there and mix it up a little bit,” Marshall said. “I just don’t want to catch a lot of balls. I’ll do whatever, if it’s hit a D-end or cracking back on a linebacker.

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Brandon Marshall: I'm not going to blow this opportunity

At the end, Marshall didn't just shake the hand of every media member who approached him. He repeated each person's name and looked them in the eye, as if committing the information to memory.

It will be interesting to see how many of those names he remembers the next time the media comes around.

My guess is he'll recall more than a few.

Vonnie Holiday: 'Brandon Marshall is no prima donna'
Vonnie Holliday, who played for the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos, told me on the show Wednesday morning that Brandon Marshall is misunderstood and that he should have no problems living up to the hype surrounding him.

"Man, that is a tremendous pickup for the Dolphins and their fans," Holliday said. "You here all the things about him . . . . He's a guy that can take over a game. And when you stand next to him, he's as big as I am. Man, is he big (6-4, 230). And he has great hands. He's a great receiver and he can run. I saw him take over a game at Indianapolis last year, where he had an NFL-record 21 catches."

Holliday also said Marshall has come a long way as a player and a person.

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