Players who Must Step up in 09: Richard Marshall

We all know about the Panthers key cogs in their hunt for a championship. Little has changed in the offseason, as the Panthers will (barring injury in Preseason) return 21 of 22 starters from last season's 12-4 team. But, with a new Defensive Coordinator (and, pretty much new Defensive staff), the Panthers will add a few wrinkles in 2009. Despite there being virtually no new starters, there are still players who must step up in the coming season if the Panthers are to repeat as NFC South Champs and go beyond. I'll be highlighting those players throughout Training Camp and Preseason, before talking about the other key players.

First, let's talk about Richard Marshall. Marshall, entering his 4th season, has been forced to play second fiddle to Ken Lucas and Chris Gamble throughout his career so far. But, with the cap casualty of Lucas, Marshall will get his shot and will be the only new starter entering 2009. Despite being the "Nickle" corner for the Panthers, Marshall is far from inexperienced. He's started in several games thanks to injuries to Gamble and Lucas, and he's made some big plays along the way. Down the stretch in 2007, he outplayed both Lucas and Gamble in the final games. When Marshall has been put in to play, he's made the most out of it.

But, now as the starter, he's going to get a lot more exposure. During the final half of the season, when the Panthers defense absolutely fell apart, Marshall appeared to get lost on defense, giving up big plays. One game that comes to mind is the Tampa Bay game, where he and Lucas got burned down the field several times. Marshall needs to avoid such lapses now that all eyes are on him as the 2nd starter opposite Gamble.

Marshall has all the tools to succeed, though. He's got amazing athleticism, as he put on display last Preseason, intercepting an attempted pitch back to the kicker on a fake FG attempt by the Eagles. Marshall appeared to be a blur as he raced into the Eagles backfield, taking the intercepted pitch all the way for 6. And, again, he's made some big plays in relief of Gamble/Lucas when his number was called in 06 and 07, scoring a defensive TD in both seasons.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d80a847a5/Panthers-Defense-Highlight-WK-P03-vs-Eagles-2008

I, for one, am extremely excited to see what Marshall can do as a starter. All due respect to Ken Lucas, I felt all along that Marshall was the better corner. He's faster, more athletic, but just lacked the experience that the veteran Lucas brought. Lucas was much more physical, but as evidenced late last year, no longer had the athletic tools to be the shut down corner that he was in 2005. I've been waiting a while for this, and I can't wait to see what Marshall can do.

In the next few days, I'll be spotlighting Rookie DE Everett Brown as another key guy who must bring his A game every Sunday. In the meantime, Training Camp starts Monday. Get excited.