It just took one game for Alex Marvez to figure out that the tandum of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams is a dud. It makes me wonder why the Dolphins didn't hire him, instead of Nick Saban, to coach the Dolphins. IT"S ONLY ONE GAME!!! `R-`n'-R' is a d-u-d By Alex Marvez | Staff Writer Dolphins offensive coordinator Scott Linehan had months to scheme creative ways for tailbacks Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown to become effective playing at the same time. But the "R-`n'-R" combination already looked like it needed a vacation after debuting in Sunday's 27-13 loss to Tampa Bay. The Dolphins ran 11 plays with Brown and Williams together on the field and totaled 38 yards, 20 of which were gained on catches of 13 and 7 yards by wide receiver Chris Chambers and tight end Randy McMichael. That Brown and Williams could draw attention to help their teammates get open is one of the positives of using both tailbacks simultaneously. But not even their presence could help the Dolphins make headway against Tampa Bay's top-ranked run defense. In fact, Williams and Brown were used more as receivers (eight plays) than runners (three). Brown lined up as a wide receiver on five plays and as the up-back in an offset I-formation on five others. Williams was deployed in a traditional tailback role on every play. Williams had two runs for 6 yards, including a fake reverse with Brown that failed to fool the Buccaneers' defense and netted a 2-yard gain. Williams also caught four of his team-high six passes for 12 yards. Brown had only one of his nine carries while playing with Williams and was stuffed for no gain. There are some mitigating factors besides the quality of Tampa Bay's defense that might explain why "R-`n'-R" was KO'd. Williams suffered a hip pointer midway through the second quarter and missed the rest of the half. The Dolphins already were being cautious not to give Williams too great a workload in his first action of the season since finishing a four-game drug suspension. And the Dolphins used Brown and Williams together only three times in the second half. The most curious aspect of Linehan's game plan was the continued use of Sammy Morris as the third-down back even with Williams back in the fold. Coach Nick Saban said Williams may receive third-down snaps in the future. The Dolphins have to decide whether Williams and Brown being on the field so much together is better than using them in rotation. "Obviously, I can't be as productive if I'm not touching the ball as many times," Williams said Monday. "If we actually could get some rhythm, we could really cause havoc, especially late in a game."
Marvez is basing the future of this tandem on 1 game against a really good D. Idiot! I guess it was a real slow sports news day in S Florida. The Marlins were done long ago and the Heat haven't gotten under way.
Hey said that 2 of the plays they ran with R n R in the backfield were 13 yards and 7 yards gains. That is a good thing, it made the defense focus on what was hapening in the backfield and not who was lined out at receiver! They fooled the defense with the help of R n R!
If you can make a judgement after one game, the failure of both backs tell me that the offensive line isn't really doing it's job. It's still early in the season and I'm sure Hudson Houck is doing all he can to get this group going in the right direction, but it takes time. I wish I could pick Houck's brain and find out if he thinks he can make a good group out of the players that he has or is he going to need more talent and how much more.
I don't think the OL is doing all that bad. I had heard that it is easier to pass block than run block. This may be part of the reason for the "lack of success" during the Marino era. FWIW, Miami is averging 4.5 yards per carry. Granted, its only on 119 attempts. Further, The phins are only running 39% of the time. Compared to the Vanilla era when Miami averaged roughly 3.4 and ran 52% of the time.
for someone to make that opinion about a rookie and a guy who hasnt played football in a year and a half is idiotic
