WILL RONNIE BROWN EVER BREAK OUT...? (1 Viewer)

[RamMan]

Was wondering what you sharks think of Ronnie Brown's chances going forward. C-pep has now admitted that he's not 100% (wow - now there's a scoop). Regarding C-pep, Saban weighed in with:

"He still doesn't have total rehabilitation to get to where he was before. Nobody knows if he will get back to that point, but there's certainly the possibility that he will. It usually takes more than a year."

I watched the MIA/PIT game in week 1 and the O-line didn;t seem to be opening many holes, but I attributed that more to PIT's D. This past weekend was supposed to be RB's big breakout vs. TEN. But he only had one long run (27 yards or so). The rest of the game he had 25/63. Coming into the game, TEN was one of the poorest D's in the land.

Between C-pep not scaring anyone and the O-line being pushed around, I'm starting to worry about RB's chances going forward.

I would be interested in hearing from MIA homers....what are the local media saying about the offense, and Brown in particular? Are there changes being considered on the O-line? Is there talk of a QB change (Harrington? God save us). Currently, RB ranks as RB#7 in my league, but he still hasn't had that breakout game that would make me feel better about his future.

 

[dtroitkid]

I'm wondering the same thing, took this guy with the 5th pick.

Miami was supposed to be a playoff team-- They started slow last year, so maybe the best is yet to come??

 

[Marc Levin]

I addressed this in the Miami offense thread, but the RG spot has been a revolving door due to injury - and that has disrupted the team's ability to devleop OL chemistry.

It'll get there. Might take a little time, but it'll get there.

'

More concern to me is the running play calling - seems very vanilla and they either aren't giving RB cutback lanes or those gaps are getting filled very easily by opposing defenses.

 

[Lemmiwinks]

Agree that Mularkey is not calling a good game. It sucks.

But don't give up on Ronnie. The Fins got stronger as the season went on last season... it could happen again.

 

[Blackjacks]

Double digits in all three weeks. 18,12, and 10 isn't a horrible way to start off the year guys. Let's calm it down alittle, as of right now in my scoring he is #5 rb.

 

[Horses Mouth]

RamMan, i'm curious....have you looked at your RB points total in your league? in mine he is #6 RB in one league (PPR Yahoo!) and this is with all this Culpepper/O-Line talk.

 

[mcgregor2k]

I live in miami and go to see the games. The line is horrible, and he has no chance. Lets face it, it's been a down year for backs in the league so far, so being the sixth back is not that impressive. Especially when you get a lame performance against the titans at home. I almost traded willie parker and l. fitzgerald for r.moss and r. brown. Thank god I did not do it! He is destined to be average, I'm sorry to break it to you.

 

[Cookiemonster]

Their O-line coach is concidered one of the best in the league, and the line was playing much better by the end of last year. That said, I thought they would start much better this year. Improvement throughout the year should be expected, but until the QB play improves Ronnie should be the focus of the defense w/ a little extra attention given to Chambers. The evidence needed could be found in the TEs #s. The lower a potential top 5 TEs #s, the more involved he is in the blocking scheme due to a lack of a passing game/protection.

I'm not a Miami homer, so don't take my word as gospel but this is my take on S.Florida @ this point.

 

[RamMan]

RamMan, i'm curious....have you looked at your RB points total in your league? in mine he is #6 RB in one league (PPR Yahoo!) and this is with all this Culpepper/O-Line talk.

As I mentioned in my post, he's RB#7 in my league (non PPR) which is NOT bad considering the offense problems. I guess I'm more worried about his chances as the season progresses. If defenses are not at least kept honest by the threat of a decent passing game and the o-line continues to falter, I fear RB will find tougher sledding ahead. Don't get me wrong - I love RB and I drafted him because I think his skills give him a chance to be a Top 5 (he's got a great schdule as well). I just hope Saban starts to realize that RB is their key to winning and figures out a way to get him more involved in the passing game on a consistent basis and the coaching staff is able to improve the personnel/blocking schemes on the o-line. If they do, the sky's the limit for RB. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will happen sooner rather than later.

 

[The Moz]

Ronnie cannot break out if Daunte doesn't come out of it !

These nuts saying Daunte isn't healthy are full of #$%# ! Daunte is messe dup n the headd as he is just playing the samee way he was last season before he was injured !

Bring in Harrington

 

[footballguide1]

I was thinking of trading him for McNabb in my league having only Bulger and Pannington as my QBs plus it is a 6 pt TD league so QBs are big. I will still have Portis, Chester, KJ, Dillon, and Foster. Plus the guy who has McNabb also has Alexander, and just got Betts to fill in for him off the waiver wire.

 

[Eagle Eye]

I was thinking of trading him for McNabb in my league having only Bulger and Pannington as my QBs plus it is a 6 pt TD league so QBs are big. I will still have Portis, Chester, KJ, Dillon, and Foster. Plus the guy who has McNabb also has Alexander, and just got Betts to fill in for him off the waiver wire.

Keep us posted.

 

[One]

wow, i figured RB owners would be pretty happy with his production. The guy's had some pretty nice games.

 

[C-Pod]

wow, i figured RB owners would be pretty happy with his production. The guy's had some pretty nice games.

Not enough for a 1st round pick, which he was in most leagues. And only 90 yds with no scores at home against a TERRIBLE Tennessee team is giving us the willies.

 

[sinatravolta]

Going back to the original question - my guess is if he is ever going to break out - it's this week against the Houston Texans. If he can't have a big day against the Texans - you can pretty much throw in the towel. Portis AND Betts had huge games against the Texans this week.

And yes - I know he played the Titans last week and didn't break out and that wasn't a good sign. If he can't do it against the Texans - stick a fork in him.

 

[One]

wow, i figured RB owners would be pretty happy with his production. The guy's had some pretty nice games.

Not enough for a 1st round pick, which he was in most leagues. And only 90 yds with no scores at home against a TERRIBLE Tennessee team is giving us the willies.

I can think of a few RB's who went 1st round and now look terrible. Brown isn't one of them. I don't even own the guy, but he's doing better than I'd anticipated.

 

[PatsWillWin]

wow, i figured RB owners would be pretty happy with his production. The guy's had some pretty nice games.

Not enough for a 1st round pick, which he was in most leagues. And only 90 yds with no scores at home against a TERRIBLE Tennessee team is giving us the willies.

I can think of a few RB's who went 1st round and now look terrible. Brown isn't one of them. I don't even own the guy, but he's doing better than I'd anticipated.

#6 RB "isn't enough for a 1st round pick"?

 

[BoulderBob]

He's been producing fairly well for playing on a team with a debacle of an o-line. Lets hope Hauck can get things under control.

 

[Ignoramus]

wow, i figured RB owners would be pretty happy with his production. The guy's had some pretty nice games.

Not enough for a 1st round pick, which he was in most leagues. And only 90 yds with no scores at home against a TERRIBLE Tennessee team is giving us the willies.

I can think of a few RB's who went 1st round and now look terrible. Brown isn't one of them. I don't even own the guy, but he's doing better than I'd anticipated.

#6 RB "isn't enough for a 1st round pick"?

Unless you took him in the top five picks I think you should be happy.

 

[Bri]

The Ds don't respect the passing game enough.

Pats grabbed a page from the Niners playbook under Weis as the OC and used to throw immediately to the WR every now and again. Eventually everyone is cheating to stop the run and that simple play helped them play the pass a bit more. This is but one example, really been alot of super quick outs over the years that did this too.

Saban has to work something in like Weis did. Force the D to respect the pass, then run.

As Marc pointed out, the Fins interior line has some issues. The interior isn't good enough to just go mano y mano against all the defenders keyed up for the run. Not many NFL lines are these days. Saban/Mularkey have to get them to respect the pass

 

[Cixelsyd]

The o-line play hurts as does the questionable play calling, but wow... Culpepper is horrible. I'm not sure if he can throw the ball more then 10 yards.... his deep attempts are almost commical. So the focus of D's is more on the run... If Culpepper could man up and play football then maybe Ronnie could find some room.

It's amazing that guys like Chambers and Moss aren't being utlized more

 

[Daggeth]

The Fins OL started to improved towards the end of last season and down here in Miami we figured it would continue. This year though it looks like the line has taken a couple steps back and they're either simply missing blocks, not running the scheme correctly or the opposing defenses are figuring out what plays we're calling in the huddle. The injuries that Marc mentioned, coupled with Culpepper not performing up to the level I think even the coaches were expecting has hurt things too. I can only assume that they'll improve as the year goes on, but I don't think they'll wind up any better than they did at the end of last year.

Also, there was a lot of talk on sports radion and such before the season started about running more two back sets with a fullback in there to block for Brown to help things out. The plays I remember seeing a FB in there seem to feature said FB flaring out on a dump route though instead of blocking. Not sure if the coaches are trying to psych opposing defenses out with this or what but I just don't think they're utilizing the FB to block like they seem to need to do with the line play the way it is.

 

[j3r3m3y]

wow, i figured RB owners would be pretty happy with his production. The guy's had some pretty nice games.

Not enough for a 1st round pick, which he was in most leagues. And only 90 yds with no scores at home against a TERRIBLE Tennessee team is giving us the willies.

First of all, he is the #6 ranked RB in my league. Around here they call that "good enough for a first round pick".Secondly, your season is not won in the first round. He is putting out enough production that if you darfted a good team he should not be holding you back.

Lets see what happens against Houston.

 

[Horses Mouth]

Daunte is messe dup n the headd

 

[Todem]

Ronnie cannot break out if Daunte doesn't come out of it !These nuts saying Daunte isn't healthy are full of #$%# ! Daunte is messe dup n the headd as he is just playing the samee way he was last season before he was injured !Bring in Harrington

Go have another drink.Our OL is atrocious. It is down right scary how bad they are playing. They allowed 26 sacks last season. We have allowed 15 already through 3 weeks. I am at the games. Our plays have a nano second to develop. That is why there is no downfield passing or any running lanes. The line flat out stinks. Until they get their act together it will be like this all year. Daunte is not 100% but when he get's right and that line get's some real talent at RG and LT look out. LJ Shelton has been a huge bust for us thus far. Carey is playing much better, Hadnot is playing decent. Jeno james is underachieving again. They are not playing together as a unit. Not even close.

 

[Marc Levin]

Ronnie cannot break out if Daunte doesn't come out of it !These nuts saying Daunte isn't healthy are full of #$%# ! Daunte is messe dup n the headd as he is just playing the samee way he was last season before he was injured !Bring in Harrington

C-Pepp is NOT healthy - he had major knee injuries that take over a year to correct - he's at under a year and he's showing the signs of injured knees - end of games, his passes tend to tail off and fall short, he is not stepping into his throws, and he can't outrun defenders to the corners like he used to be able to do.The mental problems are certainly there, but to call C-Pepp 100% healthy and/or to discount the fact that he is not healthy as a factor in his poor play is being blind to the facts.

 

[Marc Levin]

wow, i figured RB owners would be pretty happy with his production. The guy's had some pretty nice games.

Not enough for a 1st round pick, which he was in most leagues. And only 90 yds with no scores at home against a TERRIBLE Tennessee team is giving us the willies.

you folks are nuts - RBrown is #8 running back in FBGuys.com scoring. in PPR leagues he's higher - some said 5, some said 6. That's about where he was picked in most drafts - 8th overall.He's giving back zero-sum value - and things shuld actually IMPROVE over the course of the year. I hope the owners in my leagues feel the same as you all. I'll make a play to buy Brown now. He has "buy" written all over him.

 

[j3r3m3y]

wow, i figured RB owners would be pretty happy with his production. The guy's had some pretty nice games.

Not enough for a 1st round pick, which he was in most leagues. And only 90 yds with no scores at home against a TERRIBLE Tennessee team is giving us the willies.

you folks are nuts - RBrown is #8 running back in FBGuys.com scoring. in PPR leagues he's higher - some said 5, some said 6. That's about where he was picked in most drafts - 8th overall.He's giving back zero-sum value - and things shuld actually IMPROVE over the course of the year. I hope the owners in my leagues feel the same as you all. I'll make a play to buy Brown now. He has "buy" written all over him.

 

[Marc Levin]

Secondly, your season is not won in the first round. He is putting out enough production that if you darfted a good team he should not be holding you back.

VERY VERY If your team sucks and Brown was your first round pick, Ronnie Brown is not the reason your team sucks. Your drafting from rounds 2 down, your play of the WW the first two weeks, or your choice of starting players is the reason your team sucks.

 

[Ilov80s]

To all those down on Ronnie, take a look around the league. Look at LJ, Edge, McGahee, SJax, Tiki. Its been a very slow start for RBs. Seriously, study the stats and you will find that Brown has performed at expectations.

 

[Duke1948]

To all those down on Ronnie, take a look around the league. Look at LJ, Edge, McGahee, SJax, Tiki. Its been a very slow start for RBs. Seriously, study the stats and you will find that Brown has performed at expectations.

i agree with the abovebut let me add that when you have been sacked 15 times and have been called for 17 penalties(probably at least half are holdings) in just 3 games, you are not putting your RB at an advantage.

 

[JBTV]

I think the bottom line for me is that the offense has played terrible to epic proportions, and Ronnie is still playing to his draft position. It's been ugly, but he's been there, and he's been consistent. It's not like he's had one 125 yard 2td game to make him look better than he's been.

That said, I can't imagine how it's possible that the offense could stay this bad the entire season. Heck, the law of averages would say they've got to be better at least a few times in the next 13 games, especially with their schedule. I'm not saying he's going to take off and be a top 3 back (although I think it's a possibility), but I am saying I don't see how it can get worse than it is, and as it is, he's performing to his ADP. Look at the bright side...you could have taken Caddy in that spot

 

[Jetdoc]

Facing Houston's terrible run defense this week is a great panacea for Brown's ills.

 

[gregjcross]

As a ronnie owner in my legacy league im only dissapointed in Saban right now and his inability to assess Culpepper and call better plays though this is far from a time to panic. Brown would be better if he had breakwaway capability but frankly he is just a strong runner that can do a lot and will get the yards one way or another

Facing Houston's terrible run defense this week is a great panacea for Brown's ills.

 

[sentr]

The Ds don't respect the passing game enough.Pats grabbed a page from the Niners playbook under Weis as the OC and used to throw immediately to the WR every now and again. Eventually everyone is cheating to stop the run and that simple play helped them play the pass a bit more. This is but one example, really been alot of super quick outs over the years that did this too.Saban has to work something in like Weis did. Force the D to respect the pass, then run. As Marc pointed out, the Fins interior line has some issues. The interior isn't good enough to just go mano y mano against all the defenders keyed up for the run. Not many NFL lines are these days. Saban/Mularkey have to get them to respect the pass

Exactly my thought. His perceived struggles are a function of several things, not the least of which is the poor and predictable play calling. I've watched all three games thus far and can now almost perfectly predict if the Fins are gonna' run or pass based on down and distance. I am sure D coordinators know as well.......Was Mularkey the O coordinator last year? I honestly can not remember. It seemed that the play calling was much more varied last year and kept D's off balance.

 

[tehzig]

[delete me]

 

[jzygmunt]

I think Saban should seriously consider scaling back the offense for an entire quarter, only to see what it opens up later. Run ultra-quick short routes, like slants or screens to try to shallow up the secondary. They have a guy that can cut and run in Welker, and two other solid options with good hands that can catch balls over the middle and on short curl and stop routes.

Everyone knows Culpepper has a cannon, but he Saban shortens up the playcalling, the defenses will slowly compress. Assuming they can put together some sort of ground game, which has been difficult for the Phins thus far, I think that the short routes will be able to work for Pep, much like they did in '04 when Moss missed chunks of time. Then when they get greedy and play up, you try to catch them napping.