Brian Leonard 23

Colonel_Reb

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Article about Brian from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Leonard passes first running test
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/13/2007

Granted, it's just the preseason. But Brian Leonard's first NFL touchdown didn't even bring a perfunctory spike from the Rutgers running back.

In fact, Leonard handed the ball to the referee so quickly that the official was still signaling "touchdown."

"I think the ref was surprised," Leonard said. "He had to reach down to grab it."

Leave it to Rams teammate Steven Jackson to recognize the significance of Leonard's 10-yard touchdown run Friday night against Minnesota.


"He said, 'You've got to get the ball, man,'" Leonard recalled. "'That's your first NFL touchdown.' So Steven was actually running around looking for it. That's just the kind of guy he is."

Jackson apparently found the football Friday in the Metrodome, because equipment manager Todd Hewitt has the ball and will send it out to be "painted" in commemorative fashion.

So chalk up one for the Leonard trophy case. The Rams hope it's the first of many for Leonard, although Jackson obviously is the main man in the St. Louis backfield. The Rams drafted Leonard in the second round in April to spell Jackson, serve as a third-down back and use his size (6 feet 1, 226 pounds) to pass block. So far, so good.

"Just in the first preseason game, he met all of those expectations that we had of him," offensive coordinator Greg Olson said. "He caught the ball very well. I thought when he had the chance to run the football, he made the most out of his opportunities. ... And he showed some intelligence in the protection part of the game."

Leonard conceded that he was nervous at the start, resulting in a couple of missed holes.

"First couple carries, I was just running," Leonard said. "I wasn't reading my blocks too well. After I settled down, got a few plays in me, I was all right. I think I read the blocks better and had a couple nice runs."

Sure enough, the more he played, the better he looked. By game's end he had more yards rushing (36 to 33) than Minnesota's heralded running back, Adrian Peterson, the No. 7 overall pick in this year's draft.

After a while, it became just football for Leonard. Once he settled in against the Vikings, he displayed a knack for knowing when to put his head down and steam toward a first down, and when to try some shake-and-bake to try to make a defender miss.

"That's the first thing you notice about him as a runner," coach Scott Linehan said. "He just has great instincts. He sees the hole. He gets it done a different way than Steven Jackson. But that's not unusual. He's a guy that understands how to utilize what he does best â€â€￾ which is great vision and run downhill. He makes the decision, and he very rarely takes lost yards."

Although he's less than a year older than Leonard, Jackson, 24, does have three years in the NFL and is serving as a mentor of sorts. Leonard already has grown to admire Jackson's practice habits. And he has taken mental notes on Jackson's running style.

"He's had a huge impact on me," Leonard said. "When Steven hits that hole, he bursts through that hole, and lowers his shoulders, too."

As a result, Leonard has tried to lower his pad level before contact on runs.

"In college, you can get away with it a little bit," Leonard said. "You can play with a high pad level and you can break the arm tackles. But at this level, you've got to lower your shoulders to break those arm tackles."

Jackson already has advised Leonard to try using a little "wiggle" from time to time as a runner.

"Steven told me: 'It's a long season, buddy. You better try to make some of them miss sometime,'" Leonard said.

Those may be words to heed, because Leonard came out of the Minnesota game with sore ribs â€â€￾ although it didn't prevent him from practicing Sunday.

jthomas@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8197
 

PitBull

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As far as writing a book, why don't you just write a chapter on one sport,
and then another guy could write a chapter on another, and so on. Some of
the articles on this site by JB Cash & Co. are a good start.
 

Don Wassall

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The idea of coming out with a "Best of J. B. Cash" book has been bandied about at times. That would be the easiest way to put something together. But how many would actually purchase such a book? You have the regulars who come here and already read the columns for free. Most of them wouldn't be buying it. Who else would?


A book written from scratch on the Caste System would have to focus a lot of material on football, because that's the most important sport in America by far and it's the one where the Caste System is most entrenched and can be most easily shown to those whose minds aren't totally scrambled by media propaganda. Once it's seen in football it can then be seen more easily in basketball and other sports, and the institutionalized, rarely deviating role of the media in developing and maintaining attitudes can be more easily decoded and explained.


But even a book like this may have a purchasingaudience limited to, or smaller than, the regular traffic on the site. Who else would be buying it, and many here wouldn't even buy it because they're reading the same material here on a regular basis. Those writing on all the other discussion boards with their simplistic, automatic cries of racism when made aware of Caste Football wouldn't be buying it. What is the audience besides us, and what kind of resources would it take in the form of advertising and promotion to reach more people, assuming there's more out there? The reality is that there are alternative newspapers, organizationsand websites that get to the root of the same interconnected problems we talk about here, and they have the same relatively miniscule audience that Caste Football does.


We are elitist in a sense; or trying to forgethe vanguard of a movement in another sense. Caste Football is not for the drunk white fans; it requires a certain level of intelligence and open-mindedness. There's no mass audience in America hungry for the truth. So I have my doubts as to how much benefit would come from writing a book, as compared to the time and effort that would have to go into it. I would much prefer to see Caste Football have a small paid staff of writers/reporters/researchers. That's the best way togreatly expandour reach and influence over time. But if a feasible way can be done to write a book I'm all for it. I just don't have a lot of expectations that it would change much of anything.Edited by: Don Wassall
 
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I approach it from the perspective of being an historian. Have enough material and evidence so that it doesn't happen again in the future. I'm not thinking about money at all at this point. I also have no doubt the current "system" in place through much of the West is going to do a crash and burn anyway.

That said, I believe there has been somewhat of a "subconscious" revolt by some whites in sports. They've been so browbeaten into thinking they can't do it that a some of them don't care, figure they have nothing to lose and end up doing well. I see that attitude in some NFL players, several track athletes, boxers, MMA fighters and so on. A type of "youth rebellion" so to speak. The turnaround in boxing has been dramatic and I have to wonder what type of behind the scenes moves the tribe (I'm not going to beat around the bush) are engaged in to try and "correct" things - not only in boxing of course. A few more wins or champs or stars here and there in various sports can go a long way. A "little known" book - even a freebie PDF - or video (possibly another freebie) by a person here at CFF could end up taking off and being another tool or weapon in the arsenal of whites who are waking up, fighting the system or simply looking for "proof" to toss some talented white kid's way to make sure he fulfills his potential instead of opting out for the XBox.
 
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You gotta figure that there aren't too many kids on this site with potential of making the pros.
 

White Shogun

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TorontoArgos said:
You gotta figure that there aren't too many kids on this site with potential of making the pros.

Yeah, need to go to Blackplanet.com to find all the kids with potential. Edited by: White Shogun
 
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White Shogun said:
TorontoArgos said:
You gotta figure that there aren't too many kids on this site with potential of making the pros.

Yeah, need to go to Blackplanet.com to find all the kids with potential.
No.

I just don't think kids think too much about the kind of stuff that's talked about here.
 

GWTJ

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The one way I see the Caste system being challenged would be for a University to heavily recruit white kids at RB and CB and compete for the National Championship. You would need a head coach and/or Dean who brags about the wealth of white talent the college gets because the other schools are very rascist and only recruit black kids to make their admissions officers happy. You would need a respected voice to say it but he would have no problem supporting his position just by presenting the facts.

This would create contoversy but as long as the discussion was focused on the money angle and not on the racial angle it could gain some momentum. The coach could then attack the NFL if his players went undrafted or were crapped on like most white players are. Remember, any coach who has success with white players will be asked over and over by the media how in God's name he was able to overcome such adverse odds and win.

I beleive any progress would have to be made at the college level first. A high profile lawsuit might help get the clueless public talking. Many white parents of talented children who have gone through the recruiting process would applaud such exposure of the corrupt business of college recruitment.

To stop the Caste system though, some person who is in charge, be it owner or commissioner or coach, is going to have to say, "Black guys go sit down, white guys, get in the game."
 

White Shogun

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TorontoArgos said:
White Shogun said:
TorontoArgos said:
You gotta figure that there aren't too many kids on this site with potential of making the pros.

Yeah, need to go to Blackplanet.com to find all the kids with potential.
No.

I just don't think kids think too much about the kind of stuff that's talked about here.

Know any teenagers? I have only anecdotal evidence of course, but I know several teens that discuss these issues, in person, at school, and online. Look at the comments posted on racially-charged YouTube videos, or MySpace pages. Sure, some are of the 'can't we all just get along' crowd, but there are those out there who are racially aware, and you will find this especially evident among minority teens of all variants.

Guess it depends on where you live. Edited by: White Shogun
 
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White Shogun said:
TorontoArgos said:
White Shogun said:
TorontoArgos said:
You gotta figure that there aren't too many kids on this site with potential of making the pros.

Yeah, need to go to Blackplanet.com to find all the kids with potential.
No.

I just don't think kids think too much about the kind of stuff that's talked about here.

Know any teenagers? I have only anecdotal evidence of course, but I know several teens that discuss these issues, in person, at school, and online. Look at the comments posted on racially-charged YouTube videos, or MySpace pages. Sure, some are of the 'can't we all just get along' crowd, but there are those out there who are racially aware, and you will find this especially evident among minority teens of all variants.

Guess it depends on where you live.
Where I come from (Ontario), race isn't a lot of an issue. People are politically aware but refuse to believe that race influences any decisions. For the most part, Canadians are very racially tolerant and naively believe that everyone is the same way. When I mention the Caste System, they laugh and say something like "Black people are just better at football."

They also refuse to believe that anything could be racist against whites. Canadians are stupidly politically correct in that way. You can make fun of people for being white but the whole room gasps if you talk negatively about blacks.Edited by: TorontoArgos
 

voice

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TorontoArgos said:
White Shogun said:
TorontoArgos said:
White Shogun said:
TorontoArgos said:
You gotta figure that there aren't too many kids on this site with potential of making the pros.

Yeah, need to go to Blackplanet.com to find all the kids with potential.
No.

I just don't think kids think too much about the kind of stuff that's talked about here.

Know any teenagers? I have only anecdotal evidence of course, but I know several teens that discuss these issues, in person, at school, and online. Look at the comments posted on racially-charged YouTube videos, or MySpace pages. Sure, some are of the 'can't we all just get along' crowd, but there are those out there who are racially aware, and you will find this especially evident among minority teens of all variants.

Guess it depends on where you live.
Where I come from (Ontario), race isn't a lot of an issue. People are politically aware but refuse to believe that race influences any decisions. For the most part, Canadians are very racially tolerant and naively believe that everyone is the same way. When I mention the Caste System, they laugh and say something like "Black people are just better at football."

They also refuse to believe that anything could be racist against whites. Canadians are stupidly politically correct in that way. You can make fun of people for being white but the whole room gasps if you talk negatively about blacks.

I have found this to be true as well. Is it because you don't have as many Africans that came as immigrants when they started the race replacement program and they are concentrated in a few cities,i.e. if they personally don't get raped, mugged or killed it is all hunky dory?

Importing Asians and Indians in large number won't get your children slaughtered immediately unlike blacks and to a certain extent Hispanics , but over time they will form ethnically conscious business and educationaly cartels that will harm white canadians more.

White "elites"(see ass kissers and sycophants) will suck up to the cartel(see example of Jewish Cartels in US) while the new power brokering ethnic cartel will leave low to middle class white to be outsourced economically and stuck in areas with physically predatory races(like Negroes and Polygymous Muslim "communities")

Future so bright , I gotta where shades...
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This is a good laugh for Canadians when Jared Taylor debates a professor of the Multicult in a Canadian University

[url]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5026142511425632410& q=jared+taylor+canada&total=6&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=searc h&plindex=5[/url]Edited by: voice
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Brian looked very good once he settled down. his first couple of touches he looked nervous, but once he relaxed he showed why he should be a feature back in the NFL.


did anyone catch it when the play-by-play guy said, "He looks faster thant thought he would be."?


Mike Mayock, who has long been a supporter of Leonard, quickly said he has ALL the tools necesarry to be a running back in this league. he didn't say "fullback." he said running back.
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backrow

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yeah, Mayock's been sticking out for Brian big time. i guess we aren't the only ones yearning to see a real white RUNNINGBACK
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and this from Vic Carucci, NFL.COM:

Life of Brian
Brian Leonard could very well end up providing more to the St. Louis Rams than they projected when they made him a second-round draft pick from Rutgers in April -- a situational running back who plays on third down and helps with pass protection. Leonard certainly ran with the authority of a featured back in producing 36 yards and a touchdown on nine carries in the Rams' Aug. 10 preseason opener against the Vikings.

His 30 additional yards on five pass receptions added to the notion that he could make a significant contribution as a rookie. Of course, the Rams have one of the game's premiere backs in Steven Jackson, and there is no disputing his status as their No. 1 back. But there is reason to believe Leonard could instantly be part of the sort of one-two backfield punch that helped carry the Colts and Bears to the Super Bowl.

"He just has great instincts," coach Scott Linehan said of Leonard. "He sees the hole. He gets it done a different way than Steven Jackson, but that's not unusual. He's a guy that understands how to utilize what he does best, which is great vision and run downhill. He makes the decision, and he very rarely takes lost yards."
Edited by: backrow
 

white lightning

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At 5.00 PM Mountain Time, the Rams will play the Chargers on national tv. Make sure you guys tune in so you can watch Brian Leonard continue to impress. I can't wait to see this game. I hope he can get some additional touches tonight. Around 15 carries would be great! I would love to see Bennett catch a long td tonight as well. Go Rams!
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no, white lightning. Not Go Rams! GO BRIAN LEONARD!!!!!!!!........ and Carriker and Bennett too, of course. haha (Although Carriker's talent is being wasted at tackle rether than defensive end.)
 

okra63

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Brian Leonard got a lot of touches tonight with the first team. He looked awesome! If I were Stephen Jackson, I would be worried about my job. He looks to be a real threat in the NFL.
 

okra63

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Has anyone heard how bad Drew Bennet was hurt tonight? He was walking off on his own power tonight? Looks like they took him to the locker room for precautionary reasons.

He signed a 6 year, 30 million dollar contract with the Rams. I wisk I could make that kind of money!!!!!
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lumsdenpower

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17 carry for 49 yards..that even not a 3yard per carry, I watched the game, he gain a couple of firstdown, good catches, but he wasnt great, but not many back would be against the defense of San Diego. I'm okay with his performance 'cause I know that in season he is gonna get 4.5 per carry. Tonight, that was just, leonard, leonard leonard, San Diego knew that they was gonna run and test Leonard so i'm not worried..
 

Don Wassall

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lumsdenpower said:
17 carry for 49 yards..that even not a 3yard per carry, I watched the game, he gain a couple of firstdown, good catches, but he wasnt great, but not many back would be against the defense of San Diego. I'm okay with his performance 'cause I know that in season he is gonna get 4.5 per carry. Tonight, that was just, leonard, leonard leonard, San Diego knew that they was gonna run and test Leonard so i'm not worried..


I agree. The Chargers have a tough run defense and there weren't many holes for Leonard to run through. He did have a very nice run after one of his receptions.


What I found encouraging was that he wastalked aboutquite a lot during the game and in a very favorable manner, even by Phil Simms, who is one of the mostreliable speakers of Caste-ese. There seems to be an acceptance of Leonard, maybe even a bit of a welcoming with the apparent end of Mike Alstott's career.Of courseshould literally be dozens of "Brian Leonard types" in the NFL, but at least there's him. We have to celebrate our victories no matter how bleak the overall situation is.Edited by: Don Wassall
 

lumsdenpower

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If Tony Hunt can be a running back in this league, Conrad, Evans, Lumsden, Alstott, Eckel, Hester, Bell, Kuhn, Hoover, Forsey, Tre Smith, Hartigan, Luke Staley, FB of West Virginia, Byrd,and i'm sure I'm missing a lot of good white potential back 'cause i've said all them easily without thinkin, Tony Hunt is a slow big powerback, even Illoa is a better RB
 

lumsdenpower

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no one on the forum of the rams on football future are saying bad thing about Leonard, one said that he got a bunch of no gain but after he said that he liked his elusiveness!
That's cool that Leonard isnt hated by St-Louis Fans!
 

jared

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He showed good moves, agility, and an ability to stretch forward for the extra yard. He needs to see the holes a little faster though. Overall, not bad considering he's a rookie that was facing the first team defense of a very formidable Chargers team.
 
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The rams had a couple of penalties that negated some of Leonards stats. It looks like he will be in competition with the brutha that was running the ball in the second half. Leonard needs to step up his game, as the other guy already has a large head start because of race.
 
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