Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

It is simple what Brandon Marshall needs to do while he serves his NFL suspension.

He needs to grow up.

Marshall, 24, has used words like "wake-up call" several times after his many transgressions in his two years in the NFL. Apparently, he needs a new alarm clock. Marshall needs to stop talking about getting it together off the field and he needs to just get it together.

Marshall is a brilliant receiver. It's not hyperbole to say that this player has Pro Football Hall of Fame potential. He is an immensely talented player who last year became just the third NFL receiver to catch at least 100 passes in his second full season. Marshall has nothing to work on on the field. He is a superstar.

Off the field, he has been a mess, and that is why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell handed him the suspension. What this is for Marshall is a chance. Goodell has struck quickly enough that maybe this is finally the "wake-up call" that Marshall needs. We all know Goodell's pattern. If Marshall makes another mistake he'll be suspended again.

Marshall has to make a decision. Does he want to straighten up, resume what can be a special career and put the suspension in his rear-view mirror? Or, he can continue his off-field pattern of bad decision-making and find himself out of the league. That is the direction he is heading if he doesn't straighten out his act.