http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/football/miami-dolphins/story/642996.html I could see Ricky starting at the spot while Ronnie is eased in. It wouldn't surprise me to see Ronnie start later in the season, when he feels good about his knee and etc.
I was about to say Ricky, but then I read this: Energy is something you don't get out of a starter, you get production. Perhaps this is the reason why Marion Barber, who reminds me a hell of a lot of Ricky, was the #2 behind Julius Jones, who served as the workhorse. I hope they wind up starting Ricky, though. Or perhaps they could pull a Linehan and switch out on every series, with Parmele and Cobbs serving as third down backs depending on the series.
Coach went into that De.. said that every runningback is different and that some come in ready to go, some need some reps to warm up. He was trying to place Ricky and Ronnie into one of those catagories. He went on about how Barber would come in with great "energy" and "energize" the entire offense. Most running backs warm "into" a groove, some are just ready.. "I" think we have one each, with Ricky being the any ol time guy. This commentary from Sparano may explain why Dallas had those two in the rotation they did.. maybe JJ was the "i need reps" guy, whereas Marion came in fired up and nasty. Last year, Chris.. CK, did some great number crunching about running back carries, and how the got better/worse by the amount of reps. Maybe he'll pull them out for us.
Ronnie should start and get most of the reps. My feelings about Ricky aside, he has the ability to come in at the drop of a hat and be successful. Ronnie needs those early carries to punish opposing defense and wear them down. It pays off come the fourth quarter when he is just bouncing off tacklers and seemingly stronger with each play.
If it's during the preseason, I'd like to see Cobbs, Parmele and Hilliard get most of the rushes. Of course we'd like Ronnie to get on the field to shake the rust and nerves off and to be honest, we know what we should have in Ricky. Like in the first game, I'd like to see him on one or two drives and sit down. But we need to determine who will be that third back first. After we determine that, starting Ricky while Ronnie gets used to regular season NFL hits and tackles sounds smart to me. That way, if Ronnie takes 3 or 4 games to get back in motion..by the time we come back from our bye week, our two headed dragon should be in effect.
I wonder where he is mentally right now. He took a few hits in the preseason game against the Buccaneers. I think mentally ready will be the bigger obstacle for him than physically ready. I wouldn't be surprised if he started getting comfortable come week nine or ten.
Fair enough... That means Ricky would get the bulk of the rushes. Which is fine by me. Other fans wouldn't like that though. It'll be interesting to say the least. Ricky, with all the stigma he brings, running hard(or not) while everyone is up in arms about Ronnie being ready. I can't wait....
I'm not sure who those fans are that would be upset but would they rather have Ronnie back earlier and possibly risking not being the same in the future? I rather Ronnie be patient with this and take his time. Its not like we're Super Bowl contenders.
i love ronnie, but ricky is more of a natural. i think it takes ronnie a lil bit to get going. i can see ricky starting, and the defense has to worry every play from down 1. and as the drive moves on or fatigue sets in, a fresh 235lb ronnie comes in as the DBs gasp. both guys are super freaky talents, with great speed and power. dont really need a change of pace when you got that going for you.
Ricky has always been the same way, though. Both of them throughout their careers have been punishing runners that give out a lot of punishment and get stronger as the game goes on, so I don't know to what extent Ronnie would really be needed to do the dirty work. The difference, as Sparano noted, might be the "energy" Ricky would bring coming into the game cold.
If I recall the numbers correctly, they're both about the same when it comes to "getting going". In fact I seem to remember Ricky's numbers improving substantially as the game went along.
Agreed, but Ricky is a different type of runner now. He is smaller than when he rushed for 1800 yards. He is quicker now and less bulky. I don't know if he can grind players down as much as Ronnie can and will at this tage of his career.
I thought he was just as big as he was in his previous years? I think Ricky can still do the job of grinding down players.
I did an analysis on how Ricky and Ronnie generally do in various points of the game, I dont remember where the post is now, but my conclusion was that both backs needed carries to get going, but Ronnie Brown spiked in the 10-20 carry range, and Ricky was a better finisher where Brown didnt really get stronger as the game concluded.
He's a little smaller, but I'm not sure it's all that substantial. And from some of the reports coming out of camp, he certainly isn't shying away from contact.
I disagree, he's about the same size as he was in his prime here. He was in the low 200's in 2005, though.
I can't wait to see (a healthy) R&R in action this year. They were the key in our 6 game winning streak a few years ago. Throw in a Chad Pennington with his dink and dunk aproach and you have a clock killin' offense to be certain.
Disgus.. bro.. my apologies. I gave Chris credit for what was prolly your work.. I recalled "someone" post the numbers up.. my thanks.
I think they both did separate ones. CK, I know, had one on how Ronnie was slow at the beginning of games going into Year 3, but he improved a lot last year. And Disgustipate is correct on Ricky being the stronger finisher in games to this point in their careers. Although, I do think it should be stated that Ronnie's first year was not one in which he got a lot of carries, and his average cpg I think is still relatively low. So sample size might factor.
Ronnie played fullback in college and is the much better receiver of the pair, although neither are bad. He'd be more in line for the FB position when they're both in the same backfield. Just don't make the mistake like we did in their first year together of only throwing when they're in the same backfield. Ronnie can block. Use that. His all-around package (running, blocking, receiving, size and speed) is hard to beat, and I mean that for any back in the NFL. I'm as big a Ronnie fan as you'll find on the board, but I have no problem with Ricky being the focal at the start of the year. Sort of the Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson package that KC ran (although there are some role-reversals there) in Johson's second year, I think it was. Sparano wants to maximize, and I'm all for that. Still, if we go wrong at all, I think it's in the margins, and it's going to take a heckuva backfield to equal what we have with Ronnie and Ricky, regardless to the point if they hit their acmes.
You know, I've always wanted to see Brown and Williams on the field more at the same time. I don't think you would see a ton of straight I-formation, lead-blocking type plays, but there are enough trick misdirection running plays to make it worthwhile, I'd think. I would tend to think that Ronnie Brown would be the FB. They both have experience, but Brown is the much better pass blocker. Actually, in retrospect, I don't remember who said what and I can't really find the post now. I think what Finrunner said is basically right.
