Last year Chad Pennington and Michael Turner (Falcons) came in a [distant] second place tie for MVP behind some guy named Peyton Manning.  At that point there was no doubt in my mind that Chad meant as much to the Dolphins as any other single player in the league meant to his team.  The greatest team turn around in wins and tie for the lowest turnover total in season history go a long way in supporting this assertion.  I began this year with the same mindset: Without Chad Pennington the Dolphins will not only miss the playoffs, but struggle to win a quarter of their games.

After Chad’s injury and the fins week 4 performance I have done a complete 180 on the player who is most valuable to Miami’s odds at making the playoffs this year and challenging as AFC East champs.  His name is Ronnie Brown and he is a horse.  We hear all the time about Marion “the barbarian” Barber and Brandon Jacobs, but Ronnie is usually left out of the discussion as a physical presence and vital cog to his team’s success.  Blame it on the lack of exposure in Southern Florida.  The fact of the matter is that Ronnie made the pro bowl last year…a debatable decision to say the least…mostly because he led the flashy wildcat offense.  This year he is averaging 5.1 yards per attempt and is set to break his own marks in both attempts and yards while sharing carries with Ricky Williams.

With Chad out for the season it is ever more important that Ronnie and the wildcat take pressure off of Chad Henne as seen perfectly in last week’s win against the Bills.  Imagine this Dolphins squad without Brown in the line up.  Not only would the most physical back be lost, but he wildcat would be anemic.  Pat White has shown the inability to run or pass against NFL defenses, while Ricky William’s fumbling issues (improvement noted) and lack of practice in the wildcat would make him ineffective.  Essentially, defenses would be able to stack the box against a predictable run and the pressure would be put on Henne to win games with the pass.  Note that the upgraded offensive line has made its money in the running game in 2009, but has struggled in pass protection.

With a pro bowl caliber Ronnie Brown healthy the Dolphins have a chance to continue last years success and this year’s domination of opponents both physically and in time of possession.  Without Ronnie Brown the Dolphins revert back to a team that is waiting for the draft to stockpile more talent to make a run in 2010.