New Ronnie Theory?

[4evaFinz]

Well after the earlier time in the season when everyone questioned why we drafted Ronnie I thought about the reasons myself, but I just came to a new one. I think it is obvious the durability issue now with the injury to Caddy. Which goes hand-in-hand with Ronnie's size and power. As well he is a more overall player with the ability to block and catch out of the backfield.

But this is the new idea I have gotten. Do you think maybe Ricky had privately assured Saban his return, off thew record so to say. Doing this Saban knew he'd have to draft a back who would not be upset if they were not the number one back. Out of the top three I think it would be safe to say Ronnie is by far the most down to earth, and would accept the role of a 50/50 back. Something he has played for many years. Now Caddy on the other hand has as well, but at Auburn he was the major back, and I think not being the major back at Miami may have caused problems between him and Ricky. Ronnie on the other hand can effectively run the next 4 years or so, at about 150 carries a year. Doing that we will still have an effective running game.

So four years down the road, Ricky is on his way out, and Ronnie only really has about 2 years of running under his belt. He'll be all fresh legs in the prime of his career. Without any confrontation between out backs. Saban is a genius?

 

[inFINSible]

Caddy had the same attitude as Ronnie when they spoke about sharing time in the backfield at Auburn. I don't think Caddy would have been a problem if he had to share a backfield with Ricky.

I also think that if Saban knew that Ricky was coming back for sure, then he may have chosen Caddy as a better change of pace back because Ronnie and Ricky are very similar in what they do well.

 

[ohall]

Well after the earlier time in the season when everyone questioned why we drafted Ronnie I thought about the reasons myself, but I just came to a new one. I think it is obvious the durability issue now with the injury to Caddy. Which goes hand-in-hand with Ronnie's size and power. As well he is a more overall player with the ability to block and catch out of the backfield.

But this is the new idea I have gotten. Do you think maybe Ricky had privately assured Saban his return, off thew record so to say. Doing this Saban knew he'd have to draft a back who would not be upset if they were not the number one back. Out of the top three I think it would be safe to say Ronnie is by far the most down to earth, and would accept the role of a 50/50 back. Something he has played for many years. Now Caddy on the other hand has as well, but at Auburn he was the major back, and I think not being the major back at Miami may have caused problems between him and Ricky. Ronnie on the other hand can effectively run the next 4 years or so, at about 150 carries a year. Doing that we will still have an effective running game.

So four years down the road, Ricky is on his way out, and Ronnie only really has about 2 years of running under his belt. He'll be all fresh legs in the prime of his career. Without any confrontation between out backs. Saban is a genius?

Not everyone did.

 

[HULKFish]

Caddy had the same attitude as Ronnie when they spoke about sharing time in the backfield at Auburn. I don't think Caddy would have been a problem if he had to share a backfield with Ricky.

I also think that if Saban knew that Ricky was coming back for sure, then he may have chosen Caddy as a better change of pace back because Ronnie and Ricky are very similar in what they do well.

I don't agree with that statement. Ronnie is a bigger, faster version of Ricky with better hands out of the backfield. He has also proved already that he can pick up a blitz very nicely. Ricky is more of a pure runner than an overall threat.

 

[inFINSible]

I don't agree with that statement. Ronnie is a bigger, faster version of Ricky with better hands out of the backfield. He has also proved already that he can pick up a blitz very nicely. Ricky is more of a pure runner than an overall threat.

:confused: Which Ricky are you talking about?
The Ricky Williams that played for the Saints before being traded to the Dolphins, is excellent at catching the ball out of the backfield.

 

[Ohio Fanatic]

:confused: Which Ricky are you talking about?
The Ricky Williams that played for the Saints before being traded to the Dolphins, is excellent at catching the ball out of the backfield.

Yep look at his numbers every season. I get tired of everyone saying Ricky can't catch. If you have a QB that can throw the ball faster than 2 miles per hour, unlike Jay, then he can be very effective catching the bal.

 

[Trackstar]

:confused: Which Ricky are you talking about?
The Ricky Williams that played for the Saints before being traded to the Dolphins, is excellent at catching the ball out of the backfield.

Just to add to that. I don't think Ronnie is any faster than Ricky. I remember Rick outrunning several DB's in his two seasons in Miami.

 

[JBinSD]

Ricky can do it all too. Yes, I think that Saban knew that Ronnie wouldn't mind sharing carries. Of course he picked him for all those reasons that you mentioned. The thing is -- not one of those "theories" is a new one.

 

[BigDogsHunt]

So four years down the road, Ricky is on his way out, and Ronnie only really has about 2 years of running under his belt. He'll be all fresh legs in the prime of his career. Without any confrontation between out backs. Saban is a genius?

If Ricky plays 4 more years I will be shocked!

 

[Namor]

The X-Factor to me me is that Ronnie is a great blocker,
so he could block for Ricky in the 2 back set.

 

[NYFINNER]

Not a bad theory. I do think Saban believed Ricky was coming back & not going to be a mental case, but I also think that if he believed Ricky was coming back, that he would have drafted a QB. No one knows if they can trust him... I certainly still don't. I hope he comes in & plays w/heart. But he could come in & shatter his 03 year, work all of the financial issues out & then hit the road again. You just don't know! Again, why Saban "The Great" took a RB, IMHO. Ronnie is the future though!!!!!!

 

[tdelliott]

Saban already stated why he picked ronnie

Saban has already said that when LSU played Auburn Ronnie would punish his team physically which fits into what Saban is trying to create witht he Dolphins. He wants to beat up the other teams with physical play. Ronnie brings that more than Caddy. I believe Caddy is a great back but TB is pushing him too much. He is going to break down before the end of the year.

 

[dw4real]

ronnie faster than ricky? are u sure?

 

[LarryFinFan]

Just to add to that. I don't think Ronnie is any faster than Ricky. I remember Rick outrunning several DB's in his two seasons in Miami.

Well, Ricky can do most anything you'd want a back to do, but Ronnie is faster than Ricky ever was. That said, straight ahead speed doesn't mean much unless you are past the LBs. And even tho RW can catch the ball well out of the backfield, Brown offers much more than a dump-off recieving back. Brown is more like a Marshall Faulk-type back, a back that can be split out as a WR, slot WR, TE, FB or RB. (I am not saying that Brown is in the stature of Faulk or that he is as or will be as good as Faulk yet but the comparisons of the types of backs are legitimate since Brown is a bigger, faster, just as capable of recieving type back than MF.)

I doubt seriously that Saban had any assurances from RW about his return until later in the year, and even then how believeable would RW have been ?? Afterall, he quit the year before at a time when the Fins couldn't replace him and in various statements since then has said that his reasons were anywhere from wanting to smoke ganga, to wanting to find himself, to not wanting to be confined by the NFL life, to being overused by the Fins, to who knows what....besides that, Saban didn't even know what the legal stances would be or whether the league had different feelings on whether he could return at the time of the draft...so, no, there could not have been any kind of agreement between Saban and RW except that IF Ricky did certain things to get back to the NFL, if the legal issues could be worked out, if the RW satisfied the league mandates, if he could regain his playing weight, etc then Saban would accept him back...

All that said, the combo of Brown and RW could be quite an exciting one...RW will be able to take enough carries away from Brown to keep his legs fresh in case there is a late p/o run. (I know, it's not likely, but possible).

As to drafting Caddy vs. Brown...I think it was clear cut...Brown offered more, bigger and better than Caddy. To top it off, Brown is just a better fit in Linehan's offense than Caddy is...Gruden's O is a lot like Norv Turner's offense with a little more downfield passing, but basically a 3 yards and cloud of dust type of O... Linehan wants his backs to be as active in the short passing game as the TEs and slot reciever. He also want's his backs to be good at draws and delayed draws. He likes to use a combo of backs..different personnel, but same plays to throw off the D...there are a lot of advantages that Brown's skills give him vs. Benson, Caddy or any of the other backs.

 

[Fin-Loco]

ronnie faster than ricky? are u sure?

I'd be interested to know the answer to that too. I thought they were comparable in just about every way besides catching and age.