FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- If Brandon Marshall has a monster season for the New York Jets, he might credit Geno Smith's eating habits and an infomercial on St. Barts television as the reasons behind his success.
Marshall revealed Monday he's down to 230 pounds, his rookie playing weight -- 13 pounds lighter than the start of the offseason. The veteran wide receiver decided to drop some pounds before training camp. He was inspired while on vacation, hanging out in his hotel room in St. Barts. He and his wife were intrigued by an infomercial on the 21-day Fix Diet.
"Pretty cool," he said.
So they tried it, buying into the portion-control philosophy. She lost 20 pounds and he feels like a young Marshall, which is good news for the Jets. They haven't had a 1,000-yard receiver since 2007 (Jerricho Cotchery), and they're counting on Marshall to be a legitimate No. 1 target in their passing attack.
It sounds like Marshall gained a little weight while living with Smith during the offseason program.
"Geno had a lot of pizza at his house," Marshall said. "Young guys."
At 31, Marshall is no spring chicken, but he recognizes the importance of nutrition and conditioning, especially in the latter stages of his career.
"I heard Michael Strahan, in his Hall of Fame speech, say when you get older, you've got to lose a little pounds," said Marshall, who weighed 229 pounds at the 2006 scouting combine. "I think they say for every pound (of body weight) equals five pounds of pressure on your joints. So (losing weight) is great for recovery. I think that's the key, fighting inflammation in the body. When you can do that, recovery is night and day.
"You can control what you're putting in your body. You can control whether that's the wrong foods, fried foods, how much food you're putting in. The more you're aware of that and the better you take care of your body, you put yourself and your team in a better chance to win."
Just watch, any minute now, Marshall will be introduced as a new spokesman for the Fix Diet.