Ronnie Brown
- RB
- ,
- 25
- 187 lbs
- 5' 11"
- Shepherd
- N/A
- Full Season Projection
- Dfs Projection
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Ronnie Brown is back, his broken right foot fully healed, his spirit renewed as the Miami Dolphins prepare to open their season at Buffalo Sunday afternoon.
The NFL's original and still foremost Wildcat operator is ready to reclaim the steering wheel.
"I feel like there's some room for improvement in every aspect of my game, and obviously the Wildcat is part of that," says Brown, the Dolphins' star running back.
"Just handling the ball a little bit better, seeing things, recognizing the defenses, the things that they're doing, how they're switching things up on us. As far as recognition, there's a lot I can improve in that area."
The site of Brown's return is fitting, since it was on the Dolphins' last visit to Ralph Wilson Stadium that the Wildcat misfired to the point it was essentially shelved for the rest of the 2009 season.
When Ricky Williams, taking direct snaps in Brown's injury absence, threw an end-zone interception to kill the Dolphins' game-opening drive in what became a 31-14 loss, it set off alarms within the risk-averse minds of coach Tony Sparano and his offensive assistants.
There would be just six more direct snaps to Williams the rest of the season. Those snaps would total just 13 yards of offense, and in four of their final five games the Dolphins eschewed the Wildcat entirely.
With the offseason addition of superstar wide receiver Brandon Marshall, some wondered if the Wildcat would be caged for good, but the preseason seemed to provide the opposite answer.
Fans – and the rest of the NFL universe -- saw at least one Wildcat play in each of the Dolphins' final three preseason games, a stark contrast from the first two years of its existence, when it was broken out only briefly in the second game of the 2009 preseason and not at all in 2008, Sparano's first year.
As long as he can stay healthy, Brown will be a productive fantasy back, whether he lines up in the Wildcat or more traditional looking offenses.
Beat writer Mike Berardino:
The Wildcat is still around, and I suspect we'll still see it here and there in 2010, although probably not as often as in the past two seasons.
The Dolphins ran four Wildcat plays in the second preseason game at Jacksonville, all of them in the red zone. Three of those gained a combined 6 yards rushing no first downs, no touchdowns and the fourth saw a holding call wipe out a 12-yard gain around right end for Ricky Williams.
Against the Falcons last week, the Dolphins ran two more Wildcat plays, both in plus territory (the 38- and 23-yard-lines), but they only gained a combined 5 yards. So that makes a combined six Wildcat snaps so far this season all but one of them going to Ronnie Brown; Patrick Cobbs took the other for a combined 11 yards, plus a 10-yard holding call. No first downs, no touchdowns. Not yet, anyway.
The Atlanta Falcons were stout against the run, dug in on third down and came up with a big interception. Coach Mike Smith will take more of the same in the regular season.
Atlanta gave up only a field goal while Miami starting quarterback Chad Henne was in the game and beat the Dolphins 16-6 on Friday night.
Middle linebacker Curtis Lofton led the Falcons' defensive charge with 11 tackles, two for losses. Erik Coleman intercepted a pass in the end zone, and the Dolphins converted only one of nine third- and fourth-down situations with Henne, who played one series into the third quarter.
Lawrence Sidbury had a sack, two quarterback hits and a tackle for a loss.
Atlanta's Matt Ryan threw his first touchdown pass of the exhibition season. He led scoring drives of 60 and 54 yards, the second of which took more than seven minutes.
Ryan played one series into the third quarter and finished 13 of 26 for 103 yards, with one interception. He helped the Falcons convert eight of 14 third-down situations against Miami (2-1).
Michael Turner was a workhorse for Atlanta in the first half, rushing 47 yards in 16 carries. He lost a fumble.
Henne went 10 of 22 for 123 yards with one interception, and at least three of his passes were dropped.
Henne and Brandon Marshall hooked up for completions of 26 and 20 yards in the final 45 seconds of the first half, giving the Dolphins a first down at the 7. But linebacker Mike Peterson tipped a second-down pass, and Coleman intercepted it in the end zone.
Miami's Ronnie Brown ran for only 9 yards in eight carries, two out of the wildcat. Ricky Williams carried four times for 5 yards.
The Falcons converted three third-down situations on their second possession before Ryan hit Roddy White for an 18-yard score. White later beat Sean Smith on a deep route, but Ryan overthrew him near the goal line.
Smith did not start because he violated a team rule, Sparano said.
Atlanta's first-teamers had two turnovers, both in the first half. Cornerback Vontae Davis forced Turner's fumble, and Dolphins newcomer Karlos Dansby recovered, while Ryan was intercepted by Yeremiah Bell.
Davis made seven tackles, one for a loss, and three passes defended.
Dan Carpenter kicked a 53-yard field goal on Miami's first possession, and hit a 35-yarder in the second half. Matt Bryant made a 26-yarder for the Falcons.
Cornerback Dunta Robinson, the Falcons' major offseason acquisition, did not play because of a lingering hamstring injury. Defensive tackle Peria Jerry , the 2008 first-round draft pick who missed most of his rookie season with a knee injury, made his 2010 debut and had a quarterback hit.
Miami third-string tight end Joey Haynos left the game with a foot injury, and receiver Brian Hartline hurt his left hip.
Miami Dolphins QB Chad Henne probably wishes he could play every game in Jacksonville.
Eight months after picking apart the Jaguars in the regular season, Henne did it again in a preseason game Saturday night. Henne completed 11 of 14 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, and the Dolphins beat the Jaguars 27-26 in a game delayed 1 hour, 45 minutes by a thunderstorm.
Although Henne was sacked on his first play Saturday - Jaguars newcomers Tyson Alualu and Aaron Kampman combined on the tackle - he rebounded and led the Dolphins (2-0) on three straight scoring drives.
Henne got Miami to the 6-yard line, but Gerald Alexander batted down his third-down pass at the goal line. The Dolphins settled for a field goal, but Henne was just getting started.
He hooked up with Anthony Fasano for a 55-yard TD play on the next possession, then found Fasano again for an 11-yard score. Fasano got a big block from receiver Brandon Marshall on the long reception. Marshall took out two defenders on the play, springing Fasano for an untouched sprint to the end zone.
Marshall finished with four catches for 65 yards. He also dropped one, giving him three in two preseason games.
Backup Chad Pennington kept Miami rolling. He found Marshall down the sideline for a 37-yard gain, then hooked up with Ronnie Brown for a 10-yard score with 37 seconds remaining in the first half. That put Miami ahead 24-12.
Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard completed six of eight passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. He hooked up with Mike Sims-Walker for 35 yards, then again for 22 more. Those helped set up Garrard's 2-yard TD pass to Mike Thomas.
It turned out to be Garrard's lone highlight.
Garrard got the wind knocked out of him on Jacksonville's next possession and didn't return.
The Jaguars scored two touchdowns in the second half. Brock Bolen caught a 3-yard pass from Luke McCown in the third quarter, then scored on a fourth-and-goal play from the 1 with about 5 minutes remaining. Fans booed when Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio called for the extra point instead of a trying a tying 2-point conversion.
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