Ricky Working with 1st Team, Ronnie 2nd
- Thread starter Muck
- Start date
ATL-DOLFAN
Starter
I would say it is not worth it!!! Do you want your first NFL game to be vs the Steelers in Pitt? I would wait until they are home and start him. Let him get a standing O at home.
Ronnie Brown vs. Sammie Smith
Sammie Smith was selected 9th, I believe in the 1991 draft. he was the highest drafted Dolphin running back since Zonk. I was thrilled when the Dolphins drafted Smith : 6-2 225lbs 4.4 40 speed, senior year averaged 7.7 yards per carry including a great effort against UM. I thought he would be awesome. Obviously...NOT!!! Although taller and more angular than Brown, Sammie had all "measurables" going, but he lacked heart. I hope Ronnie has better success. We all do. But, in actuality, Ronnie's college stats were just good. Nothing more. What is reasonable to expect from him? Hopefully, in Linehan's varied offense, he'll get the most out of him, but he was drafted #2, to be the savior, I hope he can handle the pressure. Sammie didn't.
Sammie Smith was selected 9th, I believe in the 1991 draft. he was the highest drafted Dolphin running back since Zonk. I was thrilled when the Dolphins drafted Smith : 6-2 225lbs 4.4 40 speed, senior year averaged 7.7 yards per carry including a great effort against UM. I thought he would be awesome. Obviously...NOT!!! Although taller and more angular than Brown, Sammie had all "measurables" going, but he lacked heart. I hope Ronnie has better success. We all do. But, in actuality, Ronnie's college stats were just good. Nothing more. What is reasonable to expect from him? Hopefully, in Linehan's varied offense, he'll get the most out of him, but he was drafted #2, to be the savior, I hope he can handle the pressure. Sammie didn't.
SF Dolfan
Practice Squad
zonk4ever said:
I don't think Ronnie was drafted to be the second coming of Jim Brown, or even a Ricky in his prime type runner. I don't see Brown as a perrenial 1,500 yard rusher (though i do hope for that.) However, he's extremely versatile. Brown can run, catch, and block-- all of which are extremely important in the Linehan offense. I wouldn't underestimate the importance of size and blocking skills with the uncertainty surrounding our O-line. He will also have lots of opportunity as a receiver. And if Minnesota is the model, he should get some chances to use his speed with big running lanes caused by spreading the field. So I think in addition to his measurables, he's a great fit for our new system. Plus, it's a RB friendly sytem as bennett, moore, williams, and smith all proved. Ronnie's bound to have some success and having Ricky allows us to take it semi slow with him. After week 4 that is!
PHAZINPHINZPHAN
Seasoned Veteran
I see him more like a shaun alexander or marshall faulk (as in having the ability to catch & run with the ball)
popularwar
Perennial All-Pro
I have never thought of Alexander anywhere near Marshall Faulk before. Faulk is one of the greatest to play the game, Alexander's just had a good couple of years.PHAZINPHINZPHAN said:
SF Dolfan
Practice Squad
popularwar said:
Alexander isn't nearly the receiver that Faulk is/was. He also isn't the toughest inside runner in the world. He does use his blocking extremely well and has a knack for getting into the openfield. He breaks medium-big runs better than he grinds it out. I think Faulk could do both, but was bound to break runs w/ his talent. Sealttle didn't control the ball all that well for the number of yards Alexander had last year. Still a hell of a player though.
AZfinfan
Seasoned Veteran
SF Dolfan said:
I think that is exactly what the dolphins drafted Ronnie for. Why would you draft a guy 2nd overall and not believe that he had the potential to hit 1500. IMO they drafted him for all the reasons you listed above plus the fact that they believe he will be a 1500 yd back.
Dang. I was really looking to see Ronnie play this week.Muck said:
Hopefully he at least gets two or three carries.
County Of Dade
I sell chronic to Ricky
I like the Alexander comparison alot better than the Sammy Smith comparison
We did a great job negotiating his contract, it gives us alot of options. If hes going to be a franchise back for us, we can give him the 12mil bonus and use the extra cap space to add players around him, and if hes dissapointing, we can stick with the original salary structure and restructure his deal or cut/trade him.
We did a great job negotiating his contract, it gives us alot of options. If hes going to be a franchise back for us, we can give him the 12mil bonus and use the extra cap space to add players around him, and if hes dissapointing, we can stick with the original salary structure and restructure his deal or cut/trade him.
I think Alexander is a great comparison, though Brown is probably a better blocker and a more physical runner. But Alexander is tough, as he's never missed a game.
Take a look at Alexander's career stats....
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/5048/career
In particular, check out the TDs and receptions.
Alexander has averaged 15 TDs a season over the last 4 years (when he became the starter). 17.5 if you coun't receiving TDs. With Brown's ability as a dual threat, this is the type of production we're looking for. Maybe not 1500 a season. But well over 1000 with lots of TDs and a good amount of receptions.
As for the comparison to Faulk, the only way you compare those two is by (projected) numbers. Faulk and Brown are two different kinds of backs. Similar skill sets. Potentially similar numbers. But Faulk was a small, speedy/elusive back with deceptive power who was a terror catching passes out of the backfield. He was Dwyane Wade off the dribble.
Brown is a big back with speed, but he's not overly elusive. He's a guy that's more likely to run over you than around you.
Faulk was the best in the game for awhile. We'll be lucky if Brown achieves that level of success. Heck, we'll be lucky if he reaches the level of Ricky Williams circa 2002. Both would mean Brown is well-worth his contract. :)
Take a look at Alexander's career stats....
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/5048/career
In particular, check out the TDs and receptions.
Alexander has averaged 15 TDs a season over the last 4 years (when he became the starter). 17.5 if you coun't receiving TDs. With Brown's ability as a dual threat, this is the type of production we're looking for. Maybe not 1500 a season. But well over 1000 with lots of TDs and a good amount of receptions.
As for the comparison to Faulk, the only way you compare those two is by (projected) numbers. Faulk and Brown are two different kinds of backs. Similar skill sets. Potentially similar numbers. But Faulk was a small, speedy/elusive back with deceptive power who was a terror catching passes out of the backfield. He was Dwyane Wade off the dribble.
Brown is a big back with speed, but he's not overly elusive. He's a guy that's more likely to run over you than around you.
Faulk was the best in the game for awhile. We'll be lucky if Brown achieves that level of success. Heck, we'll be lucky if he reaches the level of Ricky Williams circa 2002. Both would mean Brown is well-worth his contract. :)
AlanSaysYo
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I hope they can work Ronnie in for a few snaps. It just doesn't seem like two preseason games would be enough for him to get into the feel of the NFL. Our other options for opening day are Morris and Gordon, and we all know neither will be adequate as a starter. Hopefully Ronnie can get up to enough speed to at least split carries with one of them.
We drafted Sammie in '89 and I hated the pick at the time. I felt then that guys like Lorenzo Hampton could be decent runners if we had better OLineman. The guys I was hoping for were Steve Wisniewski and Mark Stepnoski. I thought we'd be better off going that direction in '89.zonk4ever said:
CanadaPhinsFan
Practice Squad
AlanSaysYo said:
It would be nice if he could get a few plays in the 2nd half...just to get his feet wet so to speak. I guess Saban will do what he feels is best depending on whether or not he thinks Ronnie is ready.