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Ronnie Brown


DemonKnight
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Nice article on RB. I think he has a very real chance at top 5 fantasy #'s this year.

 

Ronnie Brown: It's His Show Now

August 1, 2006

 

If you're looking for the player whose 2006 performance will trail only quarterback Daunte Culpepper in overall significance, look no further than Ronnie Brown.

 

A year ago, we got an excellent look at the highest draft choice (No. 2 overall) the Dolphins have had since their first year (you remember Jim Grabowski, don’t you?) in existence. Ronnie Brown ran like the real deal. He showed power. He showed moves. He showed smarts. He showed great catching ability. He showed plenty.

 

But this year he's going to have to show something else.

 

Durability.

 

There will be no Ricky Williams to share the rushing numbers this season, no Ricky Williams to lean on and confide in, no Ricky Williams to ease his sore, tired bones.

 

It is now Ronnie Brown's show and, in truth, it is an unfamiliar position for him to be in.

 

Brown shared the rushing duties at Auburn with Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and both adjusted well to that role. Then last year Brown and Ricky Williams combined for an excellent one-two punch that always seemed to give the Dolphins a fresh back in the fourth quarter.

 

With Williams now in Canada and serving a one-year suspension, it is up to Brown to demonstrate that he can be the man in crucial rushing situations. Sure, the Dolphins will find a capable back to spell him, probably for five or so carries a game. But the hard cold truth is that Ronnie Brown must play like the No. 2 overall pick is supposed to play. Moreover, he must pace himself like other great backs do so he is strongest late in game and late in the season.

 

This is not an easy assignment. But look around the league. There are feature backs everywhere and not many teams have the two-player luxury that the Dolphins had a year ago.

 

There is a fine line Nick Saban is well aware of as training camp heats up. Give Brown the work he needs, but keep him fresh enough for what could be, conservatively-speaking, a 320-carry season.

 

"I have a lot of confidence in Ronnie," Saban says. "Our goal for him is to be the best player he can possibly be in his second season."

 

I like Ronnie Brown. Like him a lot. I thought all along that he would prove to be a better running back than the Cadillac upstate in Tampa. I just think he’s tougher, stronger and has more of the total package than Williams. I have watched him early in training camp and he is clearly in superior condition. This is a big man, especially for a running back.

 

The only thing I saw last season that concerned me was a tendency by Brown to hesitate too long as he surveyed the line of scrimmage. This caused too many plays that resulted in negative yardage.

 

Assuming a year of experience can cure that flaw, I really expect big numbers out of Brown this season and I'm not concerned that he hasn't been in this position before. I love the way he runs, how he never goes down easily, how he can turn a 1-yard gain into a 4-yard gain. The real appetizing part of his game is his breakaway speed. You look at a player that size and you don’t expect him to be that fast.

 

I remember the run he had against Kansas City last season when he turned the corner, broke a couple of tackles, tip-toed down the sideline and then turned it into another gear, outrunning the entire Chiefs secondary. That was a big-time play.

 

The Dolphins will have an intriguing offense this season. Daunte Culpepper gives them another dimension, both with his powerful right arm and his ability to scramble for key first downs. That will also make the play-action fake far more effective than it has been in recent years.

 

The Dolphins will gain yards on the ground in a variety of ways. Culpepper scrambling. Chris Chambers on reverses. Fred Beasley from the fullback spot. Occasionally a third down run from either Sammy Morris or Travis Minor or somebody else Saban chooses to bring in.

 

All of this will make life easier for Brown when his number is called. But it is imperative he stays healthy and that means both avoiding a serious injury as well as the type of nick that may not take him out of the lineup, but could affect his ability to play at his best week in and week out.

 

That's a tough assignment for a second year player. He carried the ball 207 times last season. He could come close that by midseason this year.

 

The Dolphins drafted a long list of running backs in the 1980s and 90s that either flopped or never quite lived up to their advance billing. J.J. Johnson. John Avery. Sammie Smith. Aaron Craver. Lorenzo Hampton. You know the names. But Ronnie Brown is a different breed. This is a special player who now gets the opportunity to show how special he really is.

 

You just get the feeling it is an opportunity he is not going to let slip away.

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