Tuesday, May 06, 2008 | Posted by Hugo Guzman

Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown is coming along well in his knee rehabilitation and could be back on the playing field as early as Week 1 of the 2008 regular season.

But that doesn’t mean he should be.

Despite the fact Miami's new regime preaches power football, and despite the former Auburn standout’s impressive recovery, the franchise's powers-that-be should consider shelving Brown in the early stages of the season and gradually working him back into a featured role. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done; after all, the second overall pick of the 2005 draft is now entering his fourth NFL season and the team's Bill Parcells-led brain trust is in a hurry to assess all of its inherited talent so it can continue to mold the roster into its image.

Still, there are several clear reasons why patience might pay in this situation:

1) History has shown that it usually takes roughly a year and a half for a running back to fully recover from an ACL tear.
2) Brown is just 26 years old and still has plenty of time to develop into the Pro Bowl-caliber workhorse fans and media pundits witnessed through seven games in 2007.
3) Holding Brown back will give Ricky Williams and a host of other backs an opportunity to prove their worth.
4) Barring an absolute miracle, the Dolphins will not be competing for a postseason berth in 2008.

Interestingly enough, controversial Web site profootballtalk.com recently published an article chronicling the top 16 picks of the 2005 draft and labeling each individual player as a bust or a non-bust. The author withheld from labeling Brown as a bust, but suggested that his 2008 would be the deciding factor.

Only another injury would make that analysis valid, though, in all honesty.

The truth is that if the coaches gradually work Brown back into the rotation and he turns in a subpar statistical effort but manages to stay healthy and contribute consistently, 2008 will have been a huge step in the right direction for both the player and the franchise.

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