Brandon Marshall Wants To See More From Broncos Backups

By Romi Bean

LANDOVER, Md. (CBS4) - We're getting our first extended look at the Broncos starters Friday night.

Coach Vance Joseph said he could play the starters in preseason game No. 3 against the Redskins into the third quarter depending on how the game is going. And whenever it is that the starters put on their baseball caps and call it a night, that's when the competition will really heat up. Because everyone on the field after the starters knows they have only two games left to make the team.

Friday night is their second-to-last chance to state their case and put something on film. A former player once told me, the injury rate in the NFL is 100 percent, making depth one of the most crucial factors to a team's success. Backups need to step in at a moment's notice, and need to perform at the level of a starter. Broncos starters like Brandon Marshall know what it's like to step in as a backup, and he wants to see more from the team's backups.

"You have to have depth. Starters can only play so much, but your depth has to come in and there can't be a dropoff. Last week we had them up 23-10 with 3 minutes left and it went downhill. They scored two touchdowns. That's unacceptable. We've got to get our young guys acclimated and get them going because you never know when you might need them," he said.

Romi Bean is a sports anchor and reporter at CBS4. Connect with Romi on Twitter @Romi_Bean.