Donald Brown

[GatorsRock]

Everyone seems very high on Brown in the Colts organization. How are you expecting he will be used this season?

[|(evin|(olb|(ritik]

Short yardage, goalline and redzone. Brown will be used more as a complimentary back to Joseph Addai rather than as the workhorse he was in college. Its for this reason that i'm not particularly high on him like many others are. He's kind of an average guy in terms of overall athleticism (speed, strength, etc) and I think that's going to show if you put him on the field too much. In a more reduced role though where he can concentrate on specific assignments and tasks he could excel. He's very similar to Mike Hart in that way that he doesn't wow you but he doesn't really do anything bad.

From that perspective, I think from 20 to 20 the Colts are going to want to go with their more versatile playmaking back in Addai.

[Texecutioner]

Short yardage, goalline and redzone. Brown will be used more as a complimentary back to Joseph Addai rather than as the workhorse he was in college. Its for this reason that i'm not particularly high on him like many others are. He's kind of an average guy in terms of overall athleticism (speed, strength, etc) and I think that's going to show if you put him on the field too much. In a more reduced role though where he can concentrate on specific assignments and tasks he could excel. He's very similar to Mike Hart in that way that he doesn't wow you but he doesn't really do anything bad.

From that perspective, I think from 20 to 20 the Colts are going to want to go with their more versatile playmaking back in Addai.


I think it's going to be completely the opposite. I think that Addai will be used more in short yardage situations and GL situations. I think Brown has more HR potential than Addai does, and Addai might be better for the more power hand offs.

And Brown is a WOW kind of player in my opinion. He's got more speed than Addai and has bigger play potential than Addai does.

I think that it will be a straight up committee with Addai getting more of the carries early on, but as the season goes on I expect Brown to get more and more carries as he'll continue to impress.

[|(evin|(olb|(ritik]

I think it's going to be completely the opposite. I think that Addai will be used more in short yardage situations and GL situations. I think Brown has more HR potential than Addai does, and Addai might be better for the more power hand offs.

And Brown is a WOW kind of player in my opinion. He's got more speed than Addai and has bigger play potential than Addai does.

I think that it will be a straight up committee with Addai getting more of the carries early on, but as the season goes on I expect Brown to get more and more carries as he'll continue to impress.

To the contrary, Addai is considerably faster than Brown is. Brown is a 4.5+ 40 yard dash guy, he ran a 4.51 at the combine which was faster than just about everybody thought but still not head turning at all. Addai though ran a 4.37 at the combine. Strength tests on Brown were also rather average, which wasn't suprising really.

That isn't to say that he's not going to be a very good player, just that he isn't faster or more versatile than Addai. He may be a better workhorse and better suited to handle a heavy load but this team with that passing game isn't concerned about having a workhorse back. They're going to use their backs to the best of their specific abilities.

[Texecutioner]

To the contrary, Addai is considerably faster than Brown is. Brown is a 4.5+ 40 yard dash guy, he ran a 4.51 at the combine which was faster than just about everybody thought but still not head turning at all. Addai though ran a 4.37 at the combine. Strength tests on Brown were also rather average, which wasn't suprising really.

That isn't to say that he's not going to be a very good player, just that he isn't faster or more versatile than Addai. He may be a better workhorse and better suited to handle a heavy load but this team with that passing game isn't concerned about having a workhorse back. They're going to use their backs to the best of their specific abilities.

Did you watch that first Colts game though??? Brown looks like he's going to be able to pull the trigger on some big plays man. He's got some wheels on him.

I'm saying you're wrong about Addai's times or anything, but he's never seemed to have that kind of speed that you're citing. His strength as a back to me has always been in his hips and shake and bake moves on defenders and running well within their system. I think that Brown is going to have a higher ceiling of potential actually, but Addai's been damn good when healthy. They're going to be one hell of a duo and another one of those fantasy nightmares of not knowing which one to pick really because it could go either way points wise.

[|(evin|(olb|(ritik]

Did you watch that first Colts game though??? Brown looks like he's going to be able to pull the trigger on some big plays man. He's got some wheels on him.


I hate to say it but it was preseason man.



I'm saying you're wrong about Addai's times or anything, but he's never seemed to have that kind of speed that you're citing. His strength as a back to me has always been in his hips and shake and bake moves on defenders and running well within their system. I think that Brown is going to have a higher ceiling of potential actually, but Addai's been damn good when healthy. They're going to be one hell of a duo and another one of those fantasy nightmares of not knowing which one to pick really because it could go either way points wise.


Its that stretch play they run in Indy, it makes backs look slow. No back can have good shake and bake moves without the quickness, speed and agility to sell it. When a dude has those kinds of jukes its a sure sign that he's fast.

Then there are other guys who just have straight line speed, guys like a Shaun Alexander or a JJ Arrington, but saying a guy has straight line speed is basically just another way of saying he doesn't have many moves and is tight in the hips and runs high.

[Texecutioner]

I hate to say it but it was preseason man.



Its that stretch play they run in Indy, it makes backs look slow. No back can have good shake and bake moves without the quickness, speed and agility to sell it. When a dude has those kinds of jukes its a sure sign that he's fast.

Then there are other guys who just have straight line speed, guys like a Shaun Alexander or a JJ Arrington, but saying a guy has straight line speed is basically just another way of saying he doesn't have many moves and is tight in the hips and runs high.

I would say a guy who has straight line speed is more like a guy like Darren Mcfadden. Sean Alexander had some pretty good moves and could shake some guys out of their shoes when he was in his prime.

And pre season is one thing, but just watch, Brown is going to be a dam ngood back.

[|(evin|(olb|(ritik]

I would say a guy who has straight line speed is more like a guy like Darren Mcfadden. Sean Alexander had some pretty good moves and could shake some guys out of their shoes when he was in his prime.

And pre season is one thing, but just watch, Brown is going to be a dam ngood back.

I disagree that Alexander had good moves. He had a good bounce outside and that was about the extent of his moves. The guy was a fast straight line runner who once he found that cutback lane was lethal in the open field because he was tough to catch. He was also a good sized back which made him naturally difficult to tackle. That isn't to say that he was a powerful back by any means, just that once he had a full head of steam you weren't going to bring him down with an arm tackle the way you would a smaller back running at 210 lbs. Alexander played at 230+. For his size he was fairly agile but didn't have the quickest feet to make those juke moves. He also didn't play with the best leverage in the world. All of these shortcomings of his combined to contribute to his severe dropoff once he suffered some repeated foot injuries and lost that straight line speed. He didn't really have another aspect of his game to lean on.

[r5d3]

I'm not sure which Addai you're watching TEX, but it can't be the one in Indy. He is certainly the faster, more elusive back out of the two.


Phil, you kind of nailed it on the head in one post, even though that's not how you see it, you did mention it.

Brown is the better workhorse back, and I think he will become that. Maybe not workhorse to the point some others have been in years past, but certainly workhorse for Indy standards. Addai will become a change of pace guy, but he'll still see quite a few carries of his own, their not going to evaporate.

I think they'll both end up with around 750 yards, but with Addai running at a better clip per carry.

[|(evin|(olb|(ritik]

I did mention that Brown is likely the better workhorse type back, but to assume that INdy is going to use him that way is to first assume that Indy is interested in having a workhorse type back and im not sure they are. There are many teams around the league, my own included, who prefer playmaking ability and the ability to hit the longball over a workhorse. I believe Indy falls into that category.

[GatorsRock]

How do you think they split the carries? 75/25?

[Champ]

Think it depends on his development, if he is doing enough with limited carries I could see him getting about 35-40% of the carries.

[r5d3]

I'd say they start the season 80/20 Addia, but if Brown plays well, that number could be close to 50/50 by season's end.