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October 18, 2007

Patriots must focus on stopping Miami's Ronnie Brown

FOXBORO -- If New England is going to be successful on Sunday, the Patriots will need to find a way to slow down Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown, who Patriots coach Bill Belichick said is the "best player I’ve seen this year offensively.”

Brown ranks third in the NFL in rushing with 526 rushing yards. He has rushed for at least 100 yards four games in a row. Brown also has a team-high 34 receptions, putting him on pace for 91 which would break O.J. McDuffie’s team record of 91.

“He’s having a great year and offensively they move the ball, they score points, and they create a lot of problems for you both in the running game, the passing game and the play-action game as it certainly sprouts off the running game, so they’ve gotten a lot of big plays on their play-action passes,” Belichick said.

“They can throw the ball to their backs, their tight ends, their receivers and the quarterback is athletic. They have, I think, pretty good balance on their offense and I think that’s shown up in the production.”

The Patriots have had success stopping Brown in the past. In three career games against the Pats, Brown only has 124 yards rushing on 39 carries.

Brown has a lot to play for this time around. Not only is he trying to lead the Dolphins (0-6) to their first victory of the season, but with a 100-yard game against the Patriots, he would become just the second Dolphin to post five straight 100-yard rushing games, joining Ricky Williams, who did it in Weeks 10-14 in 2002.

Brown said that the Dolphins are playing for pride.

"We're sitting her at 0-6, but you still have to come out and compete, and that's what this game is about -- being competitive," Brown said. "A situation like this shows the type of character you have."

Check out tomorrow's Providence Journal for more news on the Patriots.

-- Robert Lee

Posted by Rob Lee  at 5:03 PM | Permalink