ESPN Not On the R&R Express

Jeremy Green of Scouts.Inc recently wrote a piece for ESPN ranking the Running Back position for each team. I have to say I have always preferred Rivals to Scouts.Inc, reason being that Scouts.Inc inexplicably ranks certain players on their pre draft big board way too high. I always figured this happened because of some personal opinion on a player getting in the way of an honest assessment. Judging from this recent list, which ranked the Dolphins Running Back tandem the 25th best in the league, I would not be shocked if that was actually the case.Now I'm no Homer, and I can sort of understand if the Dolphins dont crack the top 20, however, right in front of the Dolphins, at spot 24, is the Seahawks. Green says, and I quote: "The Seahawks added what might become a nice combo in Julius Jones, who is more effective on the perimeter, and T.J. Duckett, who can pound it between the tackles. Neither Jones nor Duckett is a legitimate No. 1 back, but together they give the offense something the Seahawks have been missing lately -- a little consistency." Then he says about the Dolphins: "Starter Ronnie Brown is coming off a season-ending knee injury and backup Ricky Williams has never been dependable. If Brown plays this year, he may not be 100 percent healthy. There are a lot of questions here." First of all. Ricky Williams has never been dependable? I'm assuming he's not talking about Ricky when he is on the field, because if he is than that is a flat out lie. Secondly, history has proven that Ronnie can bounce back from his injury. So honestly, is there really "A Lot" of questions here? Back to the Seahawks at 24, how do, by his own admission, 2 backs that are not a legitimate number one, who might be a good combination, get ranked over TWO legitimate number one proven runners? Green ranks the Bengals, Titans, Packers over the Dolphins, which is laughable. But lets take a little deeper look. He ranks the Chiefs at 9. He rightly calls out Larry Johnson for not being the same back he was 2 years ago, and then mentions unproven, and the not overly impressive in college, Jamaal Charles. Ronnie Brown was the best Running Back in the league last year until his injury, and Ricky is also, again, a proven Running Back. How is Larry Johnson and Jamaal Charles ranked so much higher? Now at number 6, the St. Louis Rams. Steven Jackson has the ability to be a top 3 running back, but was not healthy, he says. Ronnie Brown proved he was a top 3 Running Back last year. Brian Leonard provides solid backup, he says. Better than Ricky Williams? Really? I do not know where Green's biases lie, but if this article isn't a homerish piece of crap, than it is simply a piece of crap. more...