And you Dolfans thought things couldn't get any worse this year.
As if the 0-7 start and the bombardment by the Patriots weren't bad enough, Miami learned Monday that Ronnie Brown, the one bright spot in a dreary South Florida season, is out for the year with a torn ACL.
Brown's been a fine fantasy performer this year, much better than expected. Entering Sunday he led all players in yards from scrimmage and had five straight 100-yard rushing games, along with five total TDs. I was a little higher on him that a lot of prognosticators out there, but even I didn't see that kind of consistent production from the kid, and he was obviously a big boost for anybody who took him in the second round or later
And what's with the Auburn RBs getting hurt? Cadillac Williams, Browns' former Tigers teammate, is done for the season too. Maybe it's just bad karma for all those bogus classes they used to take.
So anyway, now what for the Fins? Well we pretty much know Jesse Chatman is the No. 1 guy. He took over for Brown on Sunday and did a decent job overall (seven rushes, 73 yards, TD). Cam Cameron even toyed with the idea of giving Chatman the starting job during the preseason, but who knows if that was really just a smokescreen by the new coach to motivate Brown and the rest of his guys.
So Chatman's pretty much a must-add for anybody who had Brown, or anybody in a league where starting RBs are hard to find. We can be fairly confident Chatman will get the bulk of the touches for Miami over Patrick Cobbs and Lorenzo Booker. The Fins are at least going to try to run the ball a lot with Cleo Lemon at the helm. The only problem is this: of Miami's remaining nine games, six are against teams ranked in the NFL's top 10 in rushing defense, beginning with the Giants this Sunday in merry old England. I see three nice matchups, at least on paper, where Chatman should excel: Week 10 against Buffalo, Week 13 against the Jets, and Week 17 against Cincy when you might not be playing anymore. So good luck with that.
