Why didn't Brian Leonard Work Out?

by ramerica on Apr 24, 2011 1:12 AM CDT

All this talk about drafting a backup running back for Steven Jackson has gotten me thinking about Brian Leonard. Why exactly didn't he work out? I know SJ was at his finest then but still, I remember how big of a stud this guy was in college. I know we traded him to Cincinatti for Orien Harris, or basically gave him away. Everyone knows that Linehan wasn't the best coach ever, but was he to blame? Forgive my ignorance but I was abroad for several months when we got rid of him, and I wasn't quite sure of the details.

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Leonard is a guy that I think fell between the cracks...

…during the regime change. He was a decent, hard-working player and a high-character guy, the kind you’d think would fit the Spags model.

He also served capably in relief of Jackson in one game during injury, as I recall.

But he was also a bit of a tweener, part fullback and part halfback. Specialization tends to work out better in the NFL than generalization. That might be part of the reason he was let go. But the main part I suspect is heavily based on the new coaching staff’s intentions to clean house and go with their own guys. Lots of players from the previous regime were let go, even guys that might have been worth a continued look had their health panned out.

by Sundowner on Apr 24, 2011 9:01 AM CDT reply actions

Leonard was drafted before Spags was here.

Don't forget to turn your swag on today.

by Swag11 on Apr 24, 2011 11:12 AM CDT up reply actions

Yes, agreed. Hence the phrases such as

“Regime change”
“…new coaching staff’s intentions to clean house…”
“…previous regime were let go”

by Sundowner on Apr 24, 2011 9:31 PM CDT up reply actions

he was a tweener, but the bad kind.

either your versatile and can do many things very well. or your a tweener who isnt good enough at anything. he couldnt block like a fullback and couldnt run well enough like a RB. he was a beast at rutgers though.

עם ישראל חי

by nodisrespect on Apr 24, 2011 12:53 PM CDT up reply actions