Breakdown: Ronnie vs. Ricky 2008 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Breakdown: Ronnie vs. Ricky 2008

ciscoholgate

ciscoholgate

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*WARNING: VERY LONG READ!

Statistical Analysis:

I decided to do a breakdown of what Ricky and Ronnie were able to do this year. Obviously the Wildcat played a major role in our rush offense and it showed in the breakdown. A lot of yardage was racked up on the right hand side of the line. This is to be expected as the Wildcat has Jake, Vernon, a TE, and an extra RB lining up to the strong (right) side.

What I did is I used the stats from my previous post about the linemen breakdown and made those stats easier to understand (here is that post: http://www.finheaven.com/forums/f2/2008-miami-rushing-breakdown-249302.html)

Here is the breakdown:



Ronnie Brown: Stats for 2008, 214 carries for 916 yards and 10 TDs, 4.3 ypc.
  • 1st Quarters: 56 rushes, 221 yards, 1 TD, 3.9 average.
  • 2nd Quarters: 47 rushes, 238 yards, 4 TDs, 5.1 average.
  • 3rd Quarters: 39 rushes, 168 yards, 0 TD, 4.3 average.
  • 4th Quarters: 72 rushes, 289 yards, 5 TDs, 4.0 average.
It seems Ronnie was strongest in the second quarter. The fact that he had the most carries in the 4th Quarter means we were protecting a lead. It is nice to know he was still getting very good yardage against defenses that knew we were going to run.



Here is a break down of how he did on certain downs:
  • 1st Downs: 107 rushes, 451 yards, 4 TDs, 4.2 average.
  • 2nd Downs: 80 rushes, 388 yards, 4 TDs, 4.9 average.
  • 3rd Downs: 25 rushes, 73 yards, 1 TD, 2.9 average.
  • 4th Downs: 2 rushes, 4 yards, 1 TD, 2.0 average.
It seems Ronnie was his strongest on 2nd Downs as he averaged nearly 5 yards per carry. He saw his most touches on first down and was very successful at a 4.2 average per rush clip. This is the stat that was a very big eye opener and gave a lot of insight in how Miami was able to keep teams from seeing the field late in games:

4th Quarter 1st Downs: 39 rushes, 208 yards, 3 TD, 5.3 average.

This is a great stat. Ronnie was able to get very good yardage in the 4th quarter to help put things away. Although he did struggle on 2nd downs in the 4th quarter (3.1 ypc), he did make 2nd downs a lot more flexible for Henning.



Next I broke down where he ran best inside or outside. What I constituted an inside rush is anything behind the LG, C, and RG. For an outside rush it was behind the left and right T and outside both tackles. Here are the numbers:
  • Inside (LG, C, RG): 119 rushes, 507 yards, 7 TDs, 4.3 average.
  • Outside (LE, LT, RT, RE): 95 rushes, 409 yards, 3 TDs, 4.3 average.
Ronnie seemed pretty consistent average wise when he ran inside or outside. He did see about 25% more touches inside than he did outside. I think Ronnie is a true, complete back, and has the skill set to dominate inside or out.




Next I looked at which side of the line he had greater success with, left or right. A rush to the left was anything behind the LE (outside LT), LT, or LG. A rush to the right was a rush behing the RG, RT, or RE (outside RT). Here are the numbers:
  • Left Side (LE, LT, LG): 76 rushes, 280 yards, 2 TDs, 3.7 average.
  • Right Side (RG, RT, RE): 72 rushes, 350 yards, 4 TDs, 4.9 average.
Ronnie had much more succes running to the right side of the line averaging nearly 5 yards per carry. This can be attributed to a number of things. I think the Wildcat had a lot to do with this as well as having 350 lb Vernon Carey making an edge on the right side. I guess Vernon did deserve that big contract for his run blocking abilities (although he needs to work on the pass blocking skills).

Ronnie was very good considering he was just one year removed from major knee surgery. He was very strong in the 2nd and 4th quarters of games. He also scored all 5 rushing TDs for the Phins in the 4th Quarter. I think Ronnie will bounce back even better this year and I really think we will see him possibly average close to 5.0 yards per carry. He has the talent and I think we made enough improvements on the front line for him to accomplish this. I think he makes the Pro Bowl and the FO will make sure he gets his payday. Contract year for Brown, so you know he is gonna have a breakout year!




Ricky Williams: Stats for 2008, 160 carries for 659 yards and 4 TDs, 4.1 ypc.
  • 1st Quarters: 35 rushes, 97 yards, 0 TD, 2.8 average.
  • 2nd Quarters: 44 rushes, 243 yards, 1 TD, 5.5 average.
  • 3rd Quarters: 37 rushes, 134 yards, 3 TD, 3.6 average.
  • 4th Quarters: 44 rushes, 185 yards, 0 TD, 4.2 average.
Ricky seemed to take to his role very well. Keep the rush offense rolling when Ronnie needed a rest. He did a very good job of this as he averaged 5.5 yards per carry when Ronnie needed a rest. He had about the same amount of carries as Ronnie in the 2nd Quarter this past season. He seemed to struggle in the 1st Quarter and I think most of this had to do the first few games when he was starting. Ricky is obviously not the Ricky of old, but he was still very solid this past season.



Here is a breakdown of how he did on certain downs:
  • 1st Downs: 88 rushes, 401 yards, 3 TDs, 4.6 average.
  • 2nd Downs: 64 rushes, 249 yards, 1 TD, 3.9 average.
  • 3rd Downs: 8 rushes, 9 yards, 0 TD, 1.1 average.
Ronnie saw the bulk of his work on 1st and 2nd downs. He did not get a lot of touches on 3rd downs and none on 4th. He was very successful on 1st downs and averaged nearly half a yard more than Ronnie. It seems Ricky is still very good at making the most of his opportunites and the coaches showed their faith by giving him nearly as many touches as Ronnie on 1st downs.



The thing that jumped out at me most was Ricky had 27 rushes and 182 yards and 1 TD (6.7 average) in the 2nd Quarter on 1st downs. This is very well and he gave us an excellent 1-2 punch behind Ronnie. Next I broke down his rushes similar to Ronnie's above:
  • Inside (LG, C, RG): 59 rushes, 229 yards, 1 TD, 3.9 average.
  • Outside (LE, LT, RT, RE): 101 rushes, 430 yards, 3 TDs, 4.3 average.
  • Left Side (LE, LT, LG): 51 rushes, 188 yards, 3 TDs, 3.7 average.
  • Right Side (RE, RT, RG): 81 rushes, 356 yards, 0 TD, 4.4 average.
Ricky still had enough speed to be a good threat on the edge. He averaged 4.3 yards rushing from the edge. Ricky also had 4.4 yards per carry running to his right. This is understandable as he often took a hand off from Brown in the Wildcat running to his right.

Ricky still has a lot of ability left, but just how much may become more clear this season. I think it will be very hard for Ricky to duplicate this season because of his age. Regardless of the time he spent out of the league the fact is he is over 30 years old and that seems to be the time you see a lot of decline from the RB position. I think he can still run for 4 yards per carry, but I can see less touches for him this year with a healthy Brown and Pat White seeing more snaps in the Wildcat.

My Conclusion:​

In conclusion I think we still have two very good RBs. I also think Vernon is a very good run blocking RT. Ronnie and Ricky combined for 153 rushes, 706 yards, 4 TDs, and a 4.6 average on the right side. Of course some of this is attributed to the Wildcat, but Vernon is a big guy at about 350 lbs. He obviously needs to work on his pass blocking, but he has a good chance to make his first Pro Bowl this coming year.​

In conclusion I think Ricky and Ronnie complemented each other very well. I do think Ronnie will be better this coming year after being two years removed from a major knee injury. I expect to see a lean, strong, and rested Ronnie come to training camp and he will wreck havac on teams this year. Mark my words, Ronnie will lead up to another playoff birth. He is everything you look for in a RB, big, strong, quick, can block, can catch, smart, and very versitile. He will get a lot more touches and I can see him pushing 1500 yards. Not sure if he'll get more because Ricky is still very solid and the coaches will want to keep Ronnie fresh as the season progresses.​

Well that's it guys, enjoy!​

*EDIT!​

Lousaka Polite -

I just decided to take a look at Lousaka Polite's number's as well. He was a very reliable back and was money on short yardage situations.​

Here are his stats for the year: 23 rushes (15 for 1st), 87 yards, 0 TDs, 3.8 average.​

65% of the time Lousaka got a rush, he went for a first down.​

Here is a breakdown for each down:​

1st down - 4 rushes, 22 yards, 1 first down, 5.5 average.
2nd down - 6 rushes, 23 yards, 4 first downs, 3.8 average.
3rd down - 10 rushes, 36 yards, 7 first downs, 3.6 average.
4th down - 3 rushes, 4 yards, 3 first downs, 1.3 average.​

10 of his 13 rushes on third and fourth downs resulted in a first down. This is a conversion 77% of the time.​

Even more impressive is on any down, with four yards or less to go, he was 14 of 15, a 93% conversion rate. He was 3 for 3 on fourth downs and had only one unsuccessful first down attempt on a third down with four yards or less to go.​

It is very obvious Lousaka Polite has a nose for the first down yard marker. He was a very successful inside rusher behind an interrior that was beat up for most of the time he played as a starter. He had zero fumbles which makes his accomplishments even more astounding.​

It is obvious the FO thinks highly of Polite and know we know why he got his extension.​

GO PHINS!​
 
Last edited by a moderator:
very impressive. I do wonder how much of our success running to the right was from vernon or the wildcat. Good to see and i cant wait to watch as ronnie kicks butt for another season. is he still gunna take snaps as wildQB?
 
Friend Ciscoholic: nice read, excellent thread
the Tandem from Hell will burn the turf running behind the Orca-5 in 09
Ricky should be able to break the all time rushing record held by Czonka this year.
I believe this will be an especially good year for Williams.

Orca-5 + Tandem fom Hell = Passing Game:hump:
 
Holy cow.. how long did this research take you?? Good work dude.. and good post..
 
MDFinFan06 said:
very impressive. I do wonder how much of our success running to the right was from vernon or the wildcat. Good to see and i cant wait to watch as ronnie kicks butt for another season. is he still gunna take snaps as wildQB?
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention that because I went back through and found out for you:


Ronnie Brown non-wildcat -
  • RG - 21 carries, 91 yards, 0 TD, 4.3 average.
  • RT - 17 carries, 68 yards, 1 TD, 4.0 average.
  • RE - 8 carries, 48 yards, 0 TD, 6.0 average.
Ricky Williams non-wildcat -
  • RG - 13 carries, 48 yards, 0 TD, 3.7 average.
  • RT - 23 carries, 102 yards, 0 TD, 4.4 average.
  • RE - 27 carries, 125 yards, 0 TD, 4.6 average.
Totals non-wildcat -
  • RG - 34 carries, 139 yards, 0 TD, 4.1 average.
  • RT - 40 carries, 170 yards, 1 TD, 4.3 average.
  • RE - 35 carries, 173 yards, 0 TD, 4.9 average.
It seems very clear that the most succes came from running directly behind Vernon and outside to his side. Vernon is a very big guy and according to these stats, he is a very good run blocker. Rushes directly behind him or to his outside garnered an average of 4.6 yards per carry. This is a very good stat and if Vernon can improve just a bit in pass protection, I think he will be a Pro-Bowler next year.

The stats don't lie and I think we resigned a very good RT. I am begining to like the looks of our front five.
 
Flame said:
Holy cow.. how long did this research take you?? Good work dude.. and good post..
Click to expand...
Well I work as an operator at a hopsital on the weekends and it gets slow sometimes. So It took me one work day (10 hours) to get all these stats catagorized and one work day (another 10 hours) to interpret them and catagorize them.

I'll tell you what breaking them down and making sure the numbers equal up right is a pain in the ***, because if you mess up just once, it takes forever to find the mistake and fix it.
 
ciscoholgate said:
Well I work as an operator at a hopsital on the weekends and it gets slow sometimes. So It took me one work day (10 hours) to get all these stats catagorized and one work day (another 10 hours) to interpret them and catagorize them.

I'll tell you what breaking them down and making sure the numbers equal up right is a pain in the ***, because if you mess up just once, it takes forever to find the mistake and fix it.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for taking so much of your time to put this together.

Excellent work! :hi5:
 
:thanks:This is a great example of a good fan-based analysis. Factual, with the ability to make rational comments and judgments not based on opinion. Bravo!
 
like to see them double that yardage running behind the Orca-5
the Tandem from Hell will burn the turf in 2009:up:
 
Rio said:
Friend Ciscoholic: nice read, excellent thread
the Tandem from Hell will burn the turf running behind the Orca-5 in 09
Ricky should be able to break the all time rushing record held by Czonka this year.
I believe this will be an especially good year for Williams.

Orca-5 + Tandem fom Hell = Passing Game:hump:
Click to expand...
Your really pushing these nicknames aren't you? I love the enthusiasm! :proud:

Do you really mean Ricky? Ronnie is more likely IMO.



Also to the OP :goodpost:
 
this is a great post and showed me that our run game wasn't as bad as i thought, good work!
 
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