I bet Ronnie does better this year than Reggie Bush. With his 200 lb. size, if Reggie doesn't have some good blocking he's probably not going to do all that well. The most talented running back in the NFL isn't going to look good if he has a mediocre or bad offensive line. The NFL is more of a team game than ever. You can't have many weak links or you won't go very far ...and that includes the 2nd and 3rd stringers too. Just look at how Belichick can get his 2nd and 3rd stringers to play at fairly high levels when one of their 1st stringers gets hurt.
Reggie Bush has some things that Ronnie needs to work on like making those sharp cuts and getting good at spotting holes developing in the line. Ronnie has a lot of things that Reggie might never have ...like the ability to take that big hit he took in last year's KC game and then turn on the 4.40 speed and haul azz 65 yards to the goal line. Ronnie can run hard inside AND bust a big one outside with his speed.
I bet Ronnie's actually running below 4.40 these days after his offseason training program at places like Athlete's Performance (
http://www.athletesperformance.com/). I think I heard him say he was a bit leaner and trying to stay around 230 lbs. ...to get a little more speed and quickness. I heard that Rudi Johnson with the Bengals is doing the same thing. Larry Johnson is playing at 230 lbs. too.
With a little more practice on hitting the holes, bursting at just the right times and doing some of those Reggie Bush-style cuts, I bet Ronnie's going to be a Top 5 back this year. He'll have a lot of carries this year to get good at it. He ought to be practicing his burst and sharp cuts in practice and in his back yard .... doing those 20 and 40 yard shuttle runs WITH the football, etc.
Ronnie also ought to find somebody to throw him the ball on a regular basis to keep his receiving skills sharp. I bet Ronnie will probably be driving defensive coordinators nuts this year with his receiving skills ... I hear Daunte likes to throw to his tight ends and backs when he's getting pressure.
I read that Darian Barnes was carrying around a tennis ball everywhere he goes to keep his hand-eye coordination and focus sharp. I think all the guys who might be catching the ball ought to be doing things like this. They should be practicing all those little details of their positions just like Tiger Woods does in golf ...getting a little better every week. A bunch of those little things done really well together can add up to BIG performances on the field this fall.
