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Rivers: Brandon Marshall May Control His Own Fate

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Jul 26, 2008 9:15 am US/Mountain

Rivers: Brandon Marshall May Control His Own Fate

Written By Reggie Rivers for cbs4denver.com

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DENVER (CBS4) ― It's not a good sign that Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall was summoned to New York last week to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but there are also reasons to be hopeful that Goodell will not suspend the Broncos star receiver.

Marshall has been arrested three times in the past year, so it will not be surprising if Goodell hits him with a four-game suspension. The commissioner has proven that he's willing to act quickly and harshly with players who routinely get in trouble with the law.

But I believe that there's a good chance that the meeting in New York could serve as a "final warning" to Marshall.

That seemed to be the approach that Goodell was taking with former Titans cornerback Pacman Jones (now with the Cowboys). Goodell flew Jones to New York to talk about his late night activities and club-hopping, and Jones promised the commissioner that he was avoiding clubs and had a self-imposed Midnight curfew.

Jones made these statements in the belief that if he policed himself, Goodell wouldn't have to.

But the night before his meeting with the commissioner, Jones was spotted at a New York strip club, and about a month after the meeting, Jones got a speeding ticket at 12:45 a.m., which proved that he had violated his midnight curfew.

So Goodell suspended him. It could be that Goodell was planning to suspend Jones anyway, but the chronology of the events suggests that Jones may have been able to save himself if he'd made better choices immediately before and after his meeting with Goodell.

For this reason, I believe that Marshall may still have hope. The Broncos receiver took veteran Rod Smith with him to the meeting in New York to prove to Goodell that he has a good mentor into his life. Plus, Marshall is a charming and likeable young man.

During their face-to-face meeting, Goodell had to notice the earnestness with which Marshall speaks, and the tremendous potential that he has to become a positive influence in the NFL. Goodell seems to be the type of man who would allow players to police themselves as long as they demonstrate the ability to do so. He steps in only when they prove that they're unable to do it themselves.

So while the Broncos wait to hear back from the NFL front office about Marshall's suspension, I believe that the receiver's fate may still be in his own hands. If he stays out of trouble throughout training camp, there's a good chance that he can avoid further sanction from Goodell.

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