ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Brandon Marshall, the former Broncos’ standout receiver who now has his own media venture, attended his former team’s training camp session Saturday morning.
"The squad?" he said, repeating the question. "It’s a very good team. People may not be ready for that. It will depend on two things. Health. And clutch."
Clutch. Meaning pulling out close games at the end.
"And we’ve got the guy who’s one of the most clutch to ever play," Marshall said.
The Broncos and all their observers and fans – and Marshall, who did use the pronoun, “we,” -- have now had two weeks of training camp at UCHealth Training Center with Russell Wilson. The excitement is often palpable, even if it hasn’t always been perfect. Wilson hasn’t hit every throw. The ball doesn’t always come out as quick as Nathaniel Hackett’s offensive system wants it to.
But where Wilson has been almost unfailingly impressive is during the clutch situations. The end-of-practice, 2-minute drills. The situation Saturday was stifling heat, a berm gathering of 4,705, game tied, 1:42 remaining, ball on the Broncos’ offense’s own 35 yard line. On third-and-5, Wilson connected with Brandon Johnson for a 35-yard gain setting up first and 10 at the Denver D’s 25. A first down later, there would be a short field goal for the lead at the buzzer.
Two days ago, facing third-and-15 and down 14-10, Wilson on three consecutive pass attempts hit Jerry Jeudy for 11 yards, Courtland Sutton for 34 on a fourth-and-4 heave, and Trey Quinn for an 18-yard touchdown. Ballgame.
"That’s genetic, man," said running back Melvin Gordon III, who played with Wilson at Wisconsin. “It’s a gene not everybody has. Fortunately, he was blessed with that.
"The man’s clutch. You don’t just show up on game day and do it. He does it out here. I always felt when I was a young kid, coming in the door at Wisconsin, he’s got that aura that you’re always in the game. You could be down 14 points with 30 seconds to go, I felt like if I’ve got Russell Wilson, I’ve got a shot."
Perhaps one reason why Wilson is so good when it counts is he believes in all things positive before they happen. The man has so much faith in so many ways.
"It is very unique from the standpoint of his positivity," said head coach Nathaniel Hackett, himself a bubbling optimist. "It’s absolutely fantastic. Also, because if or whenever he gets mad I think we’re going to know it. But between the two of us the amount of positivity that is surging through the building and on the field is a pretty great environment."
Broncos podcast: Klis' Mike Drop
Denver Broncos headlines, game previews and interviews with our 9NEWS insider Mike Klis.
HOW TO LISTEN
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Sports