The last two games of the season, we were WAY behind at the beginning of the third quarter. That is not the time to feed Ricky the ball for stats. Ricky avg 5.2 ypc all season not including the last 2. He also avg 4.5 ypc from the TB game (when Ronnie got hurt) through the Jacksonville game. That's not what I call running out of gas. That's what I call a great running back doing whatever he can to help his team win. Ricky left the Pitt game in the 3rd qtr with a shoulder injury and who knows how it felt for the last 2 games of the year.
I thought RW looked noticeably slower after his big game in week 14 and there was another drop in quickness after week 15.
He's definitely going to be less effective without Brown and Cobbs. Just like Brown or Cobbs would be less effective without the other two RBs.
We should have used Hilliard a little more to spell Ricky on first and second down toward the end. They only used him on 3rd down mainly. That was a mistake.
I think the whole team w/playing on their last legs by the end of the season, especially the front line. agree w/ Friend KillerPhins should have used Hilliard more in the game to give Williams a break. should remember this is the first time in many years he w/asked to carry the team by himself. Ricky has a lot rubber left on those wheels & will return for the 2010 season capable of carrying the team on his veteran shoulders if necessary. Williams is the RealDeal, the Beast, a phenomenon & will return this season to form, claiming the accolades & breaking records, finishing the work he left undone in style & grace. run ricky run!
The NFL is pretty much a two back league now unless you have a young talented runner like Chris Johnson. With Brown and Cobbs, Ricky gets more of a break and is more likely to bust through for a huge run. Everyone saw the game he had against the Saints, a game which featured the longest run of Ricky's career, plus 3 TDs. Speaking of Ricky, he is only like 240 yards away from 6,000 for the Dolphins, 2nd only to Csonka. Ronnie will also get to 5,000 yards this season to join Ricky and Csonka. Kinda funny that two of our top 3 RBs of all time come from 2002-present, with only one playoff appearance in that time. [2008 of course, which is the only one when both played a full season together, the rest had injuries and suspensions]. Even more proof why you need at least two great RBs and a solid passing game.
IMO Ricky was never the same after the Buffalo game, after the first half specifically. If I had to guess I'd say thats where the shoulder became an issue. We abandoned the run first strategy after that game, and Ricky started having his fumbling issues as well. In the 1st half Ricky is abusing any defender that gets in his way, but by the 3rd qtr, he's falling down at the first hint of contact and looking to the sidelines for a sub. I thought maybe it was fatigue at the time, but it seems as though he hurt himself on one of those bruising 1st half carries. Lex Hilliard IMO, just isnt an NFL running back. His reads are slow, he's slow to the hole, slow through the hole, he lacks speed, lacks quickness, lacks agility etc. And for a guy his size, he doesn't run with much authority. His saving grace is decent hands, and his S.T. work. But as a RB, the run game seems to grind to a halt when he's back there. Also, spelling Ricky was difficult b/c it nullified our play action game, which was the bread and butter of our passing attack. I agree Ricky was overused, but from a coaching standpoint, there wasn't much of a choice.
He was noticably tired. He didn't have the same pop as usual. Ricky is normally very decisive and when he hits a spot, he HITs a spot. He was still running well but just looked tired. I agree with the previous post that they should have used Hilliard more on the early downs than they did.
He looked to be playing hurt, although he says otherwise. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/34610692/sports/player_news
Um, not to nit-pick but he didn't say he was fine, he said " I'm sure I'll be fine" Sounds like carefully controlled press speak to me. Lets not forget the OL was pretty beat up by the end of the yr too. With the hopefully better depth, and maybe if Ronnie can stop trying to kill somebody on EVERY play, those two will be the best duo in the NFL next yr.
RW wore down fellas, as Crowder said, 12-15 carries is his limit. He can carry the rock a bit more, but the curve trends downwards as the season rolls along. RW is on the cusp of being the #1 Rb in Dolphins History surpassing Zonk, I'd really like to see him doing it.
He wore down, yes, but thats not the whole story. We lost the wildcat when we lost ronnie. Meaning we lost the only thing we had that 'scared' defenses. This year we get Ronnie back, AND we have Brandon Marshall. Meaning we now have more than one way to scare defenses. Ricky can get back to being a role player (and a darn good one at that) where he should be at this point.
Don't forget the O-Line was banged up too, which wasn't helping matters. And there was no Marshall to stretch the field, so one 32 year old RB couldn't do it alone, and they had to pretty much abandon the run in the 2nd half of those last 3 games since they gave up so many points in the 1st half.
No disrespect but I dont feel like we're watching the same player. IMO Lex's strong suits are: his burst to and through a hole (thanks to his impressive 10 yard dash time); his vision, patience, and ability to set up his blocks; he runs hard, trucks defenders with authority, and seems to thrive on the physicalness of the game; does have agility; and plays pass-pro with aggressiveness & attitude where he does a nice job of getting under pad level, sets himself quickly with nice balance and jolts his defender IMO. You're also leaving out the heart, fire, and fearlessness he exhibits. Yes, he doesn't have top end speed, but that means a hill of beans at RB. If there's a knock on him, it's running too upright and exposing himself (making him appear at times less agile and less "authoritative"), but that's coachable. As far as "slow reads"- I don't think we've seen enough snaps from his young self to say his reads are slow.... however he reads and reacts well in pass-pro for a 2nd year player. IMO Lex offers more potential than Cobbs hands down and could see him becoming a quality #2 back. Of course, you can judge for yourself with the following clips. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMWZpM0TxbI&feature=PlayList&p=9479C0C6E13BE877&playnext=1&index=8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMWZpM0TxbI&feature=PlayList&p=9479C0C6E13BE877&playnext=1&index=8[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c39jG2HJXHE&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c39jG2HJXHE&feature=related[/ame]
I think that's a very good point. In the NFL, you have to be able to scare defenses. Last year the Dolphins executed at a very high level (a credit to the offensive coaching), but they lacked the ability to scare defenses. All we had was the WC for part of the season and that was it. Even that provided limited big play potential. A healthy RB and the addition of Marshall along with Henne's and maybe Hartline's development combined with the same level of execution can make this offense a monster.
I don't think Ricky can be an every down back over a half season. He most certainly wore down. He's best taking 12-16 carries a games where he can punish defenders with his physical style. Five years ago being an every down guy with 25-30 carries a week was ok because he could physically handle it. He's old for a rb now so preserve him as much as we can because there are few as talented. As far as lex goes....I'm not sold he can be a backup at this level. He is slow to the hole. He's solid in blitz pickup and has ok hands but beyond that...not a fan. Quite frankly running back scares me as much as any position aside from Fs on the team because should something happen to Ricky or Ronnie we are in deep poop.
None taken. I reserve the right to be proven wrong at any time . But you're right, I don't think we're watching the same player. Aside from decent hands, pass blocking skills, and S.T. work, I haven't seen anything from Lex to suggest he's capable of being anything more than a 3rd/4th stringer. He's no Pat Cobbs for sure, and if Cobbs is healthy, I doubt he'll have any trouble getting his job back.
Decent hands, pass blocking skills, and ST play should be reason enough to keep him, despite the fact that we disagree about his running ability and comparison to Cobbs. Outside of 2 plays for 124 yards, Cobbs has amassed 365 yards of total offense through 4+ seasons. He also averages less than a TD a season. If he were something truly special, surely he would've had greater production or seen the field more considering all the games Ronnie has missed. Lex had 247 yards this season alone for 3 TDs. Through Cobb's 2nd season he still had a giant goose-egg up in every category. Year 3 was a whopping 67 total yards. I'm not against Pat, but I also don't think he's the best 3rd string back in football just waiting to set the league ablaze.
I don't think so... but running on a full tank as he enters the 2010 season that's what's really important
