MVN - Most Valuable Network

Stokley’s Wallet Heavier; Shanahan’s Lighter

A couple of Broncos stories are hitting the news feeds at the moment. First, Mike Shanahan has been fined $25,000 by the NFL for his involvement in the Travis Henry appeal. The infraction stated is as follows: “inappropriate comments about the league’s substance abuse program.”

One can assume this relates to the fact that Shanahan revealed he subjected Henry to a lie detector test and a hair sample to prove his innocence—as well as being worthy to be one of the 53 Denver Broncos. To be fair, there has been some outside criticism of Shanahan’s use of a lie detector. Soon after subjecting David Kircus to the device earlier this year, some observers, including in Denver, felt that the usage might have gone astray of federal regulations.

However, read the quoted phrase in the first paragraph closely. Shanahan was not fined for his actions, but his comments regarding the actions. Why would that be? One can simply deduce that Henry’s successful appeal arises from some sort of flaw in the way the NFL conducts its drug testing policies. Now, we don’t know whether the tests conducted by Shanahan had any influence (if any at all) on the ruling not to banish Henry. However, by punishing the comments instead of the actions, it curiously casts suspicion that the league might be trying to cover up any possible deficiencies in its system that Shanahan may have exposed.

As I said on the onset of the Henry case, I feel it’s not the league’s place to test for substances unless they are performance enhancing (and thus undermining the integrity of competition). My beliefs would become stronger in that regard if the league is uncertain of what tactics it should take in testing for such substances.

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On a lighter and more important subject, the Broncos have finally been proactive in securing the future services of proven players before the open market can compete. Specifically, the team extended the contract of Brandon Stokley by three years.

It’s clear that any earlier doubts about Stokley’s health have been quashed. Personally, I had faith that Stokley would prove to be a solid asset, and that proof came when he was slaying Broncos DBs as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. As long as both Javon Walker and Brandon Marshall are both healthy, I look forward to seeing Stokley (along with tight end Tony Scheffler) abusing the slot against opposing defenses.

Speaking of Marshall, meanwhile, he has also proven that he will be a valuable player in the league. I can only hope that the front office will do whatever they can to lock up Marshall as a Bronco for the future. Remember, the sooner you sign a player, the cheaper it is as they are not competing on the open market. The Philadelphia Eagles know this well when they quickly extended guard Shawn Andrews and defensive tackle Mike Patterson. One way Marshall could avoid the negative connotations to his “Baby TO (as in Terrell Owens)” moniker is if he isn’t looking for the most spectacular deal out there.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 7th, 2007 at 10:02 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.