Is Chris Brown Really a Viable Option at RB?

[WMH]

I was reading thru PFT's one liners, when the Texan's post caught my eye.

From Texans.com via PFT:
PFT LinK: http://www.profootballtalk.com/category/rumor-mill/
Texans.com link: http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=5272

"Said Texans RB Chris Brown, “I think they’ve got big expectations for the whole running back group to go out there and have a 1-2 punch with [Steve] Slaton and I. Hopefully, we’ll get the job done and make the playoffs and go for a long run.”"

Rick Smith commented in the same article:
“Everybody’s talking about the fact that we need another back with Steve, a bigger back, a third-down back, and they forget that we’ve got a guy walking around in our building right now that could fill that role, and that’s Chris Brown,” Smith said in a pre-draft press conference at Reliant Stadium. “He was hurt, obviously, last year, but he’s still on our team and so there’s a possibility for him to fill that role.”

It sounds great, but how likely is it? The dude is a beast when he is healthy, but he is never healthy. Could we get lucky for a season? Do they try to limit him game by game to make him last a season? It is very hard for me to optimistic about a person that hasn't made it thru an entire season during his whole career, BUT, that is what the Texans are "feeding" us.

Thoughts?

[John S]

I think he will be cut after training camp. The Texans will pick up either Selvin Young or Ryan Torriane to compete also. They can't have half their running back corps being injury prone.

[Bigtinylittle]

I think he will be cut after training camp. The Texans will pick up either Selvin Young or Ryan Torriane to compete also. They can't have half their running back corps being injury prone.

Is Brown going to be healthy? I don't know. Neither does anyone else. I do know that he is going to cost us very little money. The list of players who were supposedly "injury prone" and came back to have good years is a mile long. And it starts with Adrian Peterson.

If Brown looks completely healthy when it comes time to cut down to the 53 man roster, and if he is clearly our number two back, which I would expect to be the case, then to me it would be foolish to cut him. The guy has proved he can play. By the way, didn't Selvin miss a whole year with an ACL? Doesn't that make him injury prone too?

[NBT]

He is just another "old" RB trying to milk more money out of the NFL. I think he should be a June 1 cut.

[Nconroe]

Chris Brown info at http://www.nfl.com/players/chrisbrown/profile?id=BRO341343

He's 28 years old, been in the league a total of 6 years, average of 4.3 yds/carry during that time for total of 2757 yds. Looks like four of those years he was reasonably healthy, two years not, last year being only year he didn't play at all. Two years were pretty good.

Almost every RB and maybe almost all NFL players have had an injury(s), some come back, some don't.

If Texans think he's healthy and price is fair for possible gain, why not try it and see if he does stay healthy, atleast thru training camp. So, I'm in the give him a chance crowd.

[barrett]

I think he will be cut after training camp. The Texans will pick up either Selvin Young or Ryan Torriane to compete also. They can't have half their running back corps being injury prone.

Who's the half that's injury prone? Slaton may be a smallish back, but he played 16 games and carried it 268 times in his only pro season. He carried it over 200 times in each of his college seasons. He may not be Emmitt Smith, but I don't understand all of the talk that he is injury prone or "we're a turf toe away from no back."

As for Brown you count on nothing and plan for him to not be there, and if by some miracle he is, it's a bonus.

[WMH]

As for Brown you count on nothing and plan for him to not be there, and if by some miracle he is, it's a bonus.

I agree with your statement, but isn't that what the Texans appear to be doing....counting on Brown? That is what concerns me. We were very fortunate with Slaton last year, without a "true" 2nd guy. Signing a couple of injury prone (intesting them with Texan RB's), undrafted by all 32 teams 7 times, doesn't really tickle my fancy. Just about every team out there has 2 quality RB's in the stable.

This is a huge concern for me, heading into next year with the "P" word out there as a possibility.

[HPF Bob]

"Injury prone" is a phrase that can be applied to Young and Torian too.

[TrickyTexan]

Nothing wrong with rolling the dice on Brown considering his contract situation as long as there is another back in there who we would be comfortable taking over the #2 if Brown fails to impress/gets injured (young, moats?, Johnson? Foster?)

[HPF Bob]

Nothing wrong with rolling the dice on Brown considering his contract situation as long as there is another back in there who we would be comfortable taking over the #2 if Brown fails to impress/gets injured (young, moats?, Johnson? Foster?)

Yeah, who we really need is Mrs. Moats. She certainly knows how to bust through the line. :D

[NBT]

Well, if Chris Brown doesn't work out in the power RB role for us, I certainly hope one of the multitude steps out to surprise us.

[NBT]

Nothing wrong with rolling the dice on Brown considering his contract situation as long as there is another back in there who we would be comfortable taking over the #2 if Brown fails to impress/gets injured (young, moats?, Johnson? Foster?)

Rolling the dice with Chris Brown so far has come up snakeyes!