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Marshall looks to improve, admires Jeffery
August, 20, 2012 Aug 20
3:13
PM CT
By Jeff Dickerson | ESPNChicago.com
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AP Photo/Nam Y. HuhAlshon Jeffery may follow in the foosteps of Julio Jones and A.J. Green as impactful rookie receivers.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Brandon Marshall is his own toughest critic. Two days removed from electrifying the Soldier Field crowd with a pair of catches for 61 yards in the Bears' opening drive against Washington, Marshall said the film from that night told a much different story.
"I'm actually looking forward to this (next preseason) game (versus the Giants on Friday), and one of the main reasons was seeing how bad I played," he said. "You guys wouldn't be able to tell, but there were some things I did out there that weren't technically sound and I want to just build off that and get better."
Marshall went on to detail the mistakes he made during his first game with quarterback Jay Cutler since the two were teammates in Denver in 2008.That year Marshall hauled in a career-high 104 passes for 1,265 yards and six touchdowns.
"Route depth ... being in the right place ... being on the same page with the quarterback," Marshall said. "It's little things. It's things that if you catch it now it won't hurt or affect us once the season starts. Luckily it didn't bite us, but I'm just trying to catch it before it hurts us in the future."
The Pro Bowl wideout did have kind words for rookie receiver Alshon Jeffery, who leads the team in the preseason with seven catches for 97 yards. Jeffery continues to receive more time with the first team and is on track to be a contributor once the regular season rolls around next month.
"What does (Bill) Parcells say, 'Let's not induct him into Canton yet,'"Marshall said. "But if he continues to do what he's doing he'll have a chance to be great in this league. I'm really impressed with his game and I'm really impressed with his ability to take in what we are trying to accomplish and the playbook. You can tell he has been really coached. I look forward to big things out of him this year.
"It's different for everyone. I'm seeing guys like A.J. Greene, Alshon, Julio Jones, come in and make an immediate impact right away. For me, I wasn't the professional right away I should have been, and you see a guy like Alshon, he's a guy who gets it early. He's ahead of schedule."
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