Brian Leonard set for all-purpose duty
As if Brian Leonard didn't already have enough to do, now the Rams plan to deploy him on multiple special-teams units. And Leonard couldn't be happier.
"I like it; one of the big reasons they drafted me was to come in and be versatile," said Leonard, the team's second-round draft choice last year out of Rutgers. "I'll be playing a little bit of running back, a little bit of fullback, special teams. I think I'm best when I'm in different roles at different times."
The challenge was heightened with the arrival of Al Saunders as offensive coordinator. Now Leonard is toiling in his third offense in as many years.
"I think it's an awesome offense, but they say it's one of the hardest offenses to learn, and one of the most complex," said Leonard, 24. "It's a spread offense, and we've got a lot of different stuff in there. We throw to the backs a lot, screens, all that kind of stuff. It looks like they're going to get the ball in the running back's hands a lot this year."
Leonard played in all 16 games during his rookie season, rushing for 303 on 86 carries and picking up 183 yards on 30 receptions. In four starts at running back for an injured Steven Jackson, Leonard rolled up 222 yards on 58 carries  including a 102-yard, 18-carry outing vs. Arizona  and had nine catches for 57 yards.
Not bad for a guy with two bum shoulders.
"I felt like I was a freshman in college, strength-wise," Leonard said. "I was weak, didn't have a great punch, blocking was tough. ... I couldn't do any upper-body" work in the weight room.
All the while, Leonard struggled to adjust to the NFL many miles removed from his hometown of Gouverneur, in upstate New York, where in high school he rushed for 5,854 yards and rolled up a state-record 696 points.
"I feel sorry for those rookies coming in now," he said. "It's such a tough year to get through. You have to come out and perform at your best, and also live a different kind of life. This year, it feels so much better and I'm so much more confident."
And much healthier after having cleanup surgery on both joints Jan. 11. "Now I'm probably the strongest I've ever been," Leonard said. "I've got my upper body a little bulkier, and my legs are stronger. I've put on some good weight."
The 6-foot-1 Leonard is at 234 pounds, about 10 more than last year. All the better to withstand the rigors of lead-blocking, his primary duty when he and Jackson are in the backfield together.
"Brian's handling a lot of things that I don't think we could've put on him a year ago," coach Scott Linehan said. "He's going to play fullback for us in certain packages, and he'll be a halfback for us in others. He's got to know both, and he's got to be good at both."
A busy  and productive  Leonard figures to be a key component if the Rams are to rebound from their 3-13 dive last year. Turnarounds aren't foreign to him, though.
At Rutgers, he was on sub-.500 teams his first two seasons. The Scarlet Knights improved to 7-5 in 2005 and then 11-2 in '06, the best record since an 11-0 campaign in 1976.
"So I've been through it," said Leonard, who started at running back for three years before switching to fullback as a senior. "We've got to come back strong this year. That's what we did at Rutgers, and I feel like it's kind of the same type of thing.
"Because there's a different vibe on this team. I can feel it."
[url]http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/rams/sto ry/1662726538D120398625744B0012ADD1?OpenDocument [/url]
. If Jackson leaves, it should be Leonard's job. What has he done to get "demoted" to FB. What a waste on a great RB and great guy
