In long run . . . it's wrong to take a back with short shelf life.

Publication: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2005 South Florida Sun-Sentinal

Byline: Charles Bricker

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Everyone else on this staff writing football has weighed in on the weighty Ronnie Brown. Now it's my turn, though I'm not interested in beating up on the Dolphins' first-round pick. In fact, this isn't specifically about Brown.

It's about running backs and shelf life and how that directly relates to the selection of Brown with the second pick in this year's NFL Draft.

Players at no other position, including defensive tackle, engage in more collisions than starting runners. and it still confounds me that coach Nick Saban, who can't reasonably expect this team to begin peaking until 2007, would take a player who could be well on his way to being used up by that time.

What does it matter if Brown rushes for 1,000 yards this year and 1,200 next season if the Dolphins finish 6-10 and 9-7. I'd rather see a fresh-bodied runner on this club in 2007 when the Dolphins have expectations of making the playoffs.

There are only a few runners who defy the gravity of time. Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith immediately spring to mind. But even some of...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.