WR BRANDON MARSHALL
On being surprised by Coach Shanahan’s order to practice today
“I was scared, but that’s what it takes. Coach has about 30 years of experience. This is my second year so of course I’ve got to sit back and listen and go with the process.”
On what Coach Shanahan said
“Basically he just challenged me to see if I was mentally strong. I mean he knew that I was in pain and it hurts, but he also knows it’s one of those things where you have to get out there, push yourself, and just be mentally tough. I challenged myself. I was kind of hesitant at first, but you see that I have a smile on my face, so I’m kind of happy about that.”
On respecting Coach’s experience and knowledge
“Oh absolutely, you know sometimes you have no choice. If it was up to me I wouldn’t have went, but coach got me out there.”
On scaling how he feels and his current ability
“Good enough to go out there and catch a few balls.”
On Coach his catch over CB Champ Bailey
“That’s just second nature. Champ, you know, he’s probably the best corner out there, but with the great play calling and Jay putting it right there, it wasn’t that tough of a catch.”
On his soreness
“Oh, it’s definitely sore but it’s part of the process. It’s probably going to be sore for the next week or so, but I’m going to keep pushing myself, keep practicing, being aggressive on it and one day I’m going to wake up and the pain’s going to be gone.”
On being injured for the first time
“Absolutely, I told you guys last year when my PCL was injured in preseason, that was the first time I was ever injured or missed any football since I was in Pop Warner. It’s more mentally challenging for me. That’s probably all it was, and it probably took Coach Shanahan and Greek (Steve Antonopulos) to get me out there and push me to be able to be aggressive on it and not be so gun shy.”
On the MRI showing no muscle damage
“They could have shown me and told me anything they wanted, but I know how my leg felt, and like I said this was my first time ever being injured, especially pulling a muscle. It was just one of those things I know how my body felt, it wasn’t feeling good and it wasn’t one hundred percent. Sometimes I’d walk up the steps wrong and I’d feel it, but I guess it’s that scar tissue that’s built up in there that you’ve got to break up and work through that.”
On comparing today to riding a bike
“Well, yeah, but you know I’m still rusty a little bit, but we’ve still got a month before the regular season so I’ve got a couple preseason games to clean it all up.”
On the pressure to come back
“Absolutely I felt pressure. I was getting a little frustrated and the organization as far as coaches and players. We’re a team. We’re a family, so I’m just one part to the puzzle, but I was missing practice so everybody was getting frustrated.”
On the last MRI taken
“It was a couple days ago. I thought I had a minor set back last week, but it was just scar tissue in there and like I said it was just me not being mentally tough. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a day when I’m feeling a little down and it’s just one of those days I’m going to have to push through.”
On the pain of going in and out of cuts
“It felt great when I first got out there and we were just jogging and running fade routes in the end zone. I’d try to do a route and I felt like, ‘Why the heck do they have me out here?’ but as I went, just listening to coach, it warmed up perfect, and I was actually supposed to be done after the first 20 minutes, I was just supposed to do the warm up, but it warmed up so well I just kept jumping in there. They were like, ‘Did you just go in there?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah’ and they’d say don’t go in there anymore, and then I’d go back in there. Finally, Greek (Steve Antonopulos) had to grab me and say don’t go back in there anymore.”
On how far he pushed himself
“I didn’t open up to 100 percent, but I opened up to where I could compete, and actually get some wins under my belt and get my confidence going.”
On watching WR Domenik Hixon and WR Brandon Stokley and his expectations
“I’m excited to get back I think personally we have the best receiving corps in the league and I think if we get healthy and stay healthy, I think we won’t be stopped. I mean we have Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham, Nate Jackson at tight end. We’ve got the big beast in the backfield, Mike Bell, and Travis Henry, and even Cecil Sapp. I think we have a lot of weapons, and if we stay healthy I think we’re going to be really good and probably be the best offense in the league.”
Clearly not his fault, but Sigmund's comment leads me to believe his rope is getting shorter in Denver. Solid production and no more run-ins with the law is the prescription for Marshall this year. 
