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The NFL 2009 season finally came to an end last Sunday with the New Orleans Saints’ 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.  Given that the Super Bowl was held in Miami this year, it’s fitting to reflect the career of Miami Dolphin standout Ronnie Brown. 

Ronnie Brown has spent 5 years as a professional football player, all with the Miami Dolphins. He was a highly anticipated running back from Auburn where he shared ball-carrying duties with Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, who ended up being drafted #5 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the same year the Dolphins picked Brown as the 2nd pick overall. In 2004 the Auburn Tigers finished the season 13-0 but were denied the opportunity to play for the BCS Championship. They went on to win the Sugar Bowl 16-13 against Virginia Tech, arguably having had one of the best backfields in college football between Brown, Williams and Jason Campbell, now with the Washington Redskins.

Ronnie began his NFL career splitting carries with Ricky Williams.  In 2006, however, Ronnie got his big break with Ricky serving a season-long suspension, and he responding by rushing for over 1,000 yards despite missing 3 games with a broken hand.   2007 wasn’t as kind to Miami.  While the Patriots almost ran the table, the Dolphins narrowly avoided a 0-16 record winning just 1 game.  Ronnie was on fire in the early going, but suffered a season-ending knee injury in week 7. 

Ronnie bounced back big in 2008, playing in all 16 games but again splitting carries with Ricky Williams.  It’s no coincidence that the Dolphins won the AFC East that year, with Ronnie being voted to represent the AFC at the Pro Bowl.  It was also the year new head coach Tony Sparano introduced the Wildcat offense, a system Ronnie Brown was familiar with at Auburn.

2009 put an early end to Ronnie Brown’s season once again when he suffered a foot injury in the 9th game of the season.

Ronnie Brown by the numbers:

Year	Games	Rush Yds	AVG	TD	Record
2005	15	907	4.4	4	9-7
2006	13	1,008	4.2	5	6-10
2007	7	602	5.1	4	1-15
2008	16	916	4.3	10	11-5
2009	9	648	4.4	8	7-9

 

Two things become apparent, the Wildcat formation suits Ronnie Brown very well. In fact, he may just be the most important piece in this system; and the Dolphins are more successful the more games he plays.

If Ronnie Brown can stay healthy in 2010, you should expect a very competitive AFC East.

This editorial is exclusive for CurvSports.com in partnership with NovaFantasySports.com