Denver dishing heavy dose of red-hot Marshall

Even teammates and coaches are in awe at Marshall's start.

"The things he does ... he's a freak of nature," tight end Tony Scheffler said.

"I wouldn't trade him for anybody," coach Mike Shanahan said.

The Saints doubled Marshall on some plays, and an opponent eventually will sell out and focus on taking the playmaker out of the game. That won't be easy to do because the offense uses so many spread formations, and the coaches have confidence in other receivers.

"Teams have to play fair," Marshall said. "You've got Eddie Royal on the other side and Tony Scheffler running down the middle and you've got the backs in the backfield. They have to play fair. If they want to double me and roll coverage to me, it's still going to be the same outcome."

Plenty of factors are helping Marshall. The other receivers keep defenses honest. The aggressive play-calling of quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates has put Marshall in position to make a lot of plays. The offensive line has given quarterback Jay Cutler plenty of time to throw, which allows Marshall to beat his defender. And Cutler has been fantastic delivering the ball.

Also, Marshall has pushed to get better after catching 102 passes last year. He worked on his deep game, which paid off on a 35-yard touchdown against New Orleans in which he got past the secondary. He also explained after Sunday's game that he added a "late hands" technique, which he utilized on one catch. By not raising his hands until the last possible moment, he doesn't tip off the defensive back that the ball is coming. And by the time the defensive player responds, it's too late.

Marshall has played so well at a young age it's easy to forget he is in his third season and has a lot of tricks to add to his arsenal.

"I'm a guy that sets my goals pretty high, and I play with a chip on my shoulder every day - even in practice," Marshall said. "I want to be the best and I want our team to be the best, and whatever it takes."

Shanahan said with the receiver's 6-foot-4, 230-pound frame, Marshall will add more power to his game. He thinks Marshall will start to run over defensive backs in the open field instead of putting moves on them - which Marshall is adept at as well - and that will open even more options.

"I think he's just starting," Shanahan said. "I think you are going to see him break a lot more long runs as time goes on. I don't think he has even scratched the surface with his big plays, and I think you started to see that Sunday."

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