(MCT) — CHICAGO — Brandon Marshall is able to rattle off his up-to-the-second prolific receiving statistics, as well as the existing pass-catching records for the Bears franchise.
Just tune in and he will keep you posted, whether you ask him to or not.
In the third quarter of Sunday’s 28-10 Bears victory over the Vikings, Marshall sidled up to quarterback Jay Cutler along the sideline with his latest sports update.
“I leaned over to Jay and said: ‘That catch puts me at 1,000 yards for six seasons in a row,’” Marshall said with a smile. “And he looked at me and said: ‘You’re disgusting.’
“So, yeah, I’m aware of it. It’s social media, man. So when you look at your ‘mentions’ (on Twitter) and people give you heads up ... that’s how I know stats and records because of the guys who follow me on Twitter. It’s every day they are tweeting me things I’m not aware of. So in the third quarter, I definitely went over to Jay and told him I was over 1,000.”
By the end of the day, Marshall had 12 catches for 92 yards after being targeted 17 times by Cutler.
“He played well; he played great. He’s a guy I can count on,” said Cutler, who returned Sunday after missing the Bears’ Monday night loss in San Francisco because of concussion symptoms.
Marshall now has caught passes for more than 1,000 yards in a season with three different teams — the Broncos, Dolphins and Bears.
“I definitely take pride in it,” Marshall said. “There is a great quote out there that says: ‘Don’t confuse activity with production.’ You have to be productive in anything you do in life. This is what I do now for a living. I hope that this is the last place that I catch 1,000 yards. I’m really proud to be a Bear and when I look back on my legacy as a football player, I want it to be as a Bear.
“This is a great opportunity for me, my family ... and I just need to continue to work. I’m not there yet, on and off the field.”
Marshall was especially aggressive Sunday when it came to snaring passes while being double- and triple-teamed by Vikings defenders. When offensive coordinator Mike Tice mixed in a healthy dose of running plays and play-action passes, Marshall was able to take even greater advantage of the situation.
“We come to expect that from him each week,” coach Lovie Smith said. “If you have that commitment to the run, teams have to gang up on the run a little bit and most of the time Brandon will be in a one-on-one situation. But a lot of those he was double-covered also.”
With five regular-season games remaining, Marshall has 81 catches for 1,017 yards and eight TDs.
For anyone wondering who holds the Bears single-season receptions record and what year it was set, just ask Marshall.
“One hundred and one, Marty Booker, 2001,” said Marshall, apparently mindful of how many it would take to break the record. Booker had 100 catches in 2001.
“I hear it from you (media) guys all of the time and Twitter is amazing social media. I told Jay that (Bears record) too. And he also called me disgusting.”
Marshall is the first Bears receiver to reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark since Booker in 2002 (1,189). And he is the ninth player in franchise history to reach 1,000 yards (12th time).
Tweet that.
