Among the most encouraging Dolphins stories has been the accelerated recovery of Ronnie Brown, who is optimistic he will be 100 percent by the start of the season. But other standout running backs who also tore their anterior cruciate knee ligament have been reaching out to Brown with cautionary advice.
''Don't rush,'' said Edgerrin James, who speaks often to Brown. ``You can't go out there expecting to be exactly the way you were in the beginning. Don't let the fact it's starting to feel good let you disregard [rehabilitation].''
Three-time NFL rushing leader Terrell Davis, an NFL Network analyst, also urges Brown to proceed slowly and said Ricky Williams should begin the season as the Dolphins' starter.
Brown said he believes he quickly will return to his pre-injury form, when he was leading the league in total yards from scrimmage and averaging 5.1 yards per carry though Week 7.
So how do NFL backs respond in their first year off a torn ACL? James averaged 4.4 yards per carry the year before (2000), 3.6 the year after (2002) but 4.1 and 4.6 in '03 and '04. Terry Allen (4.5 year before, 4.0 year after) and Jamal Anderson (4.5, 3.6) also fell off initially but still topped 1,000 yards in their first year back. (Anderson tore his other ACL a year later.)
But Jamal Lewis, who tore his ACL in 2001 training camp, had virtually no fall-off (4.4 in 2000, 4.3 in '02, 5.3 in '03). Ex-UM star Willis McGahee, who sat out his rookie NFL season (2003) after tearing his ACL and two other knee ligaments in the Fiesta Bowl, averaged 4.0 in 2004, the second-best of his career.
''I feel good, feel no hesitation,'' said Brown, who expects to be cleared for contact when camp opens July 26. ``The main thing Edgerrin and Willis said is they felt good the first year back, but they felt better the following year. But I look forward to being back to speed the first year. I've had a lot of time since surgery in November.''
Still, Davis -- who sustained a torn ACL in September 1999 at age 27 and then injured his other knee two years later from ''overcompensating'' -- said, ``I don't see Ronnie coming out of the gate like last year. I came back too soon to start the next season, and that was my undoing. The mental thing -- trying to see if you can take the pounding and run through an arm tackle -- is going to be a challenge. It wears on you. I never got back being able to run instinctively. I had to think for a fraction of a second before cutting, and that's the worst thing for a running back.''
But don't be alarmed -- Davis, unlike Brown, also had a torn medial collateral ligament.
Anderson, who tore his ACL in September 1999, opened the next season on time but said: ``I didn't feel like I was back until a month into the season. Explosion out of breaks was the last thing to come back. But you can come back even better than you were. Just look at Edgerrin and Jamal Lewis.''
CHATTER
The Heat expressed interest in several free agent point guards Tuesday, including Sebastian Telfair (unrestricted after Minnesota declined to tender him) and Tyronn Lue. But as of Tuesday afternoon, the Heat hadn't called about Baron Davis (who wants far more than Miami's $6 million mid-level and who late Tuesday agreed to a five-year, $65 million deal with the Clippers according to ESPN) or Chris Duhon. Miami also is showing interest in ex-UM small forward James Jones and inquired about, among others, ex-Heat player Malik Allen and ex-Golden State first-round center Patrick O'Bryant.
• Ex-Canes file: The Heat spoke with ex-Clippers guard Guillermo Diaz, but he joined Charlotte's summer program instead. Miami rejected overtures from Darius Rice and Robert Hite, who both joined the Spurs' summer program.
• Though Washington's Paul LoDuca (on a one-year, $5 million deal and very available) would love a Marlins reunion, Florida hadn't inquired as of this week. Marlins executive Larry Beinfest, asked if he believes he needs to add another catcher, said: ''I don't know. We'll see. Matt Treanor has done a really nice job handling the staff. He has played a lot more than in the past; we've got to keep an eye on that. . . . [Quality catching] is very, very difficult'' to trade for.
• UM offensive coordinator Patrick Nix, who hopes UM's new talent allows him to be less conservative than last year, assuredly knows there will be serious fan scrutiny in Year 2. But ''coaching is overrated,'' he asserts. ``A lot of guys will tell you they're the best coach in the world, and that's why they win. If they're winning, they've got players, and that's the bottom line.''
• Sightings: Hornets/former Heat forward Rasual Butler dropping $1,500 on champagne at B.E.D. -- three nights after being arrested for allegedly waving a loaded gun in front of club Mansion.
