I think this trade would make Saban look like an idiot, and put a ton of pressure on Ronnie Brown. It would be a given that Ricky would become an elite rusher in Denver, and Saban would look like a fool if Ronnie had an off season.
Wow, I disagree 100%. What would make Saban look like an idiot is to use a #2 draft pick on Ronnie Brown and have him languish as a 15 carry RB.
"languish"??? How was Ronnie "languishing" this past yrear while the team was averaging 4.3 per carry, getting 1900 rush yards, and winning 9 out of 16 games after a 4 win season in 2004 in which the run game was puitrid?Considering the end-game for RBs, allowing Ronnie Brown to come alive in year two and then take over in year three would help keep him injury free and runnin gfor the phins a lot longer (unlike the two other top-5 rookie RBs that were drafted this past year and have already suffered injuries that caused them to miss big stretches of time).
The post I was responding to said it would make Saban look like 'an idiot' if he made this trade and "put a ton of pressure on Ronnie Brown." First, do you agree with that? Second, on my use of "languish"... I'm not clear what team rushing accomplishments have to do with a particular player "suffering under" a set of circumstances. Whether you agree the term "languish" applies to a #2 pick being a nice contributing 700-900 yard rusher, it remains asinine IMHO to suggest a coach is 'an idiot' to expect a #2 draft pick he hand picked to be a primary "pressured" ball carrier. Saban himself implied in his season wrap up that Brown's developement was weighing on his mind heading into this offseason. I will agree with you that a plan to keep Ricky 1 more year won't necessarily be bad, but that alternative was not implicit in the post I responded to, and frankly I find it unlikely the Dolphins ever trade Ricky if they pass on a #1 for Ricky right now. That's astounding value for Ricky. I'd have been shocked if they could have received a 3rd round pick given what S.Alexander/Edge were being dangled for last offseason, and your fellow Dolphin fans on this board said they'd be doing cartwheels for a 2nd. And for the record, my opinions are based on the validity of this rumor. If it's a huge lie and the Dolphins are merely being offered a 5th rounder, I too would say Saban is an idiot to trade Ricky.
Lastly, on your throw in comment re: Bush. I don't know how the Bush comment applies to my response. I didn't say a guy should get 25 carries as a rookie, nor did I suggest R.Brown should have received 25 carries as a rookie.
Excluding everything else above, this is your comment:
What would make Saban look like an idiot is to use a #2 draft pick on Ronnie Brown and have him languish as a 15 carry RB.
What makes you think that a 15-carry back is LANGUISHING??? Esp. when the team had as good a season running the ball as they did. How is Brown "languishing" in the Doplphins' offense - from where I am sitting, as a huge Dolphin fan, he was an integral part of the team's rushing numbers and an integral component to their 9 win season.Finally, I was reserving this in case you decided to post a response - Brown has NEVER carried the load, holding onto Ricky as a pro bowl quality backup RB until he sees if Brown can handle a 300 carry season is smart - not an "idiot" move - which makes the Bush comment very appropriate.
Finally, it is highly likely ZBush will go through the early part of his career without getting more than around 15 carries per game - he may go through his ENTIRE career in a Westbrook like role with another RB taking some carries - why can't Brown be the same type of guy for the phins? Maybe Brown is BEST off at carries 5-15 and not carries 20 and up, and it is a good idea to be like Phi8lly and to have a second RB as an integral part of your runnnig game.