White Mike said:
I heard scouts talking about the Pats using Brian in 3rd down / short yardage back. Picture Marion Barber in Dallas.
if so, Brian certainly showed the ability to succeed in that role with his performance. i'll re-post here a portion of what i wrote on the Senior Bowl thread...
i went back and watched the game on Tivo, and it was better the second time around.
Brian had 5 carries for 18 yards and the one catch for 13. but those numbers are misleading if not taken in context...
his first touch was a dive on 4th & 2 inside the 20, and he ran over Patrick Willis to gain 6 yards. he picked up the first down. even Mayock was excited by the play.
his second touch was a reception in the flat on 4th & 7... he juked the corner out of his shoes then ended the run-after-catch by lowering his shoulder and running through the safety for 13. he picked up the first down. Mayock commented, saying, "look at the nimble feet for the big man." which began the following discussion with Vermeil when he commented about Brian losing weight...
"Keep it up, because there aren't many fullbacks," said Vermeil.
"Plus, he doesn't want to be a fullback," interjected Rich Eisen as Vermeil droned on.
"That's exactly it, Rich," added Mayock.
"Too much competition at running back," continued Vermeil.
"Leonard isn't a great blocker, but he is a good blocker who understands leverage," pointed out Mayock.
to which Vermeil replied, "Blocking gets better if you get bigger."
that, my friends, is the Caste System at work. even with visual evidence right in front of his face about the versatile talents Brian offers, the NFL coach still only saw skin color. white = fullback.
now to continue with Brian's performance...
his third touch was a dive on 3rd & 2. he gained 3 and picked up the first down.
later in the drive, he had a dive on 1st & goal from the 4, where he picked up 1 yard.
his only two other touches came on back to back carries. on 1st & 10, he picked up 8 off guard after breakiing a tackle in the backfield.
then on 2nd & 2, he was hit in the backfield but managed to get back to the line of scrimmage for no loss on the play.
i thought it was an impressive performance, under the circumstances and considering the conservative plays called when he got his chances. he played a lot in the one-back set, but never got a carry. he didn't get thrown to either, despite being open on several plays. he had the misfortune of playing when Chris Leak was out there for the North, who was easily the least effective QB on their roster.
