Don't read between the lines: Ronnie Brown is Miami's starter

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Robert Henderson
MDBW Staff Writer
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Cam Cameron sure knows how to make the South Florida press drool. Did anyone ever think that Cleo Lemon and Trent Green were in a quarterback battle? Come on, Trent Green has been in the league for 13 seasons and is entering his 14th with the Miami Dolphins. He has started in 107 NFL games and at one point 81 of those starts were consecutive. Cleo Lemon on the other hand, who to his credit has made tremendous strides since being traded to the Dolphins and replacing A.J. Feeley, has 1 NFL start and has never been ranked higher than the third team.

Cameron, who has not coached a regular season game as a Head Coach yet, named Trent Green and Cleo Lemon as “co-starters” before the Miami Dolphins first pre-season game against Jacksonville. He explained also that the only reason Green was listed before Lemon was because Green wears number 10 while Lemon holds the number 17.

Let’s backtrack a little here. The Dolphins were in trade talks with the Chiefs for about 2 months trying to land this “co-starter” Trent Green. Green wanted to go nowhere else but Miami, saying he would not renegotiate his contract for any other team. The Dolphins seemed to want no one else but Green. They had a chance at young quarterbacks Matt Schaub and David Carr, but didn’t even mention them. The signing of Green was imminent, and the Dolphins’ only consideration.

Yet, somehow, this “co-starter”, politically correct, nice-guy business fooled both the Miami media and its fans. 38% of MDBW voters said that Cleo Lemon did have a legitimate shot at being the Dolphins starter on September 9. This was coupled with 14% saying they were unsure. The poll was obviously unscientific, but it does illustrate what most Dol-fans were choosing to believe.

Trent Green has since been named the Miami Dolphins starter before the third pre-season game. This hasn’t happened since Dan Marino left after the 1999 season. Green brings the Dolphins leadership, experience, an accurate arm, and a quick release.

Now, Cameron seems to be doing the same thing with the running back position. Ronnie Brown was the Dolphins first round pick in 2005, and the number 2 selection overall. “He's a young back in terms of carrying the football with experience,” Cameron said. “That's hard for everybody to swallow because he was the second pick of the draft, but he didn't make himself the second pick of the draft. Somebody drafted him.”

I understand what Cameron is trying to say, but to be honest it isn’t a very good point. Ronnie Brown was drafted number 2 overall because of his performance in college. Ask any Auburn fan and they will tell you that Brown was their RB of choice, not Cadillac. He was a bruising running back who stayed healthy while Cadillac always had some sort of injury.

Now, take Brown’s NFL career (behind a lack-luster line): In 2005, Brown gained 907 yards and scored 5 times while averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He only carried the ball 207 times because he was sharing the load with Ricky Williams. He also only played in 15 games that year. In his second season last year, Brown gained 1,008 yards and scored 5 times in only 13 games. Although there was below average quarterback play, and much less production from the offensive line than in his rookie season, Brown still managed to average 4.2 yards per carry.

Had Brown played all 16 contests last year, he would have gained 1,241 yards. What other running backs had between 1,200 and 1,300 yards in 2006? Brian Westbrook, Chester Taylor, Travis Henry, and Thomas Jones. Then, you have Rudi Johnson who had 1,309 yards. Thomas Jones and Travis Henry landed big contracts with new teams; Rudi Johnson and Brian Westbrook are Pro Bowlers, yet Ronnie Brown has the chance to be demoted to 2nd string in favor of Jesse Chatman?

This just doesn’t add up. As I’ve said, in his two NFL seasons, he has averaged 4.3 yards per carry behind below average offensive lines and poor quarterback play. Not only that, but he carried 13 times for 57 yards against the Chiefs last Thursday after his 8 carries for 8 yards performance against the Jaguars (in a game that was not game planned, and against the league’s 2nd ranked defense last season). Didn’t Ricky Williams stink up the pre-season in 2002 and then go on to rush for 1,853 yards and 16 TD’s during the regular season? Pre-season doesn’t matter, it’s for experimenting and learning. Let Brown return kickoffs, heck, let him play linebacker! It’s pre-season, don’t read into it.

“The evaluation of Ronnie Brown is far from over,” Cameron said. “He's an ascending player. My focus on Ronnie Brown is what he is, and let's see how much he can get incrementally better.”

“Don't read anything between the lines, I can tell you that right now,” Cameron said. “But I will tell you this—our best running back will play. That hasn't changed, and that's consistent with what I've always said. Our best running back is going to play.”

Does this seriously mean Jesse Chatman will be the starting running back? The Miami media likes to think that this, coupled with the fact that Brown was “demoted” to kick returner against the Chiefs are reason to believe so. Chatman has looked very good this pre-season, but let’s be serious, Ronnie Brown is the Miami Dolphins’ starter. Do exactly as Cameron himself said: Don’t read anything between the lines.