Ricky makes good impression on Dolphins

Good article... hopefully he keeps his head together, works on his conditioning, and makes a solid contribution.

 

I've read somewhere that Ricky is in fantastic shape and apparently he is buying into Parcells' conditioning program, we could really enjoy some fine running with Ricky next season while ronnie takes a little time to get back to 100%, I look forward to seeing what Ricky & Ronnie can do behind our new BIG and brutish OL. Should be fun to watch some quality running, smashmouth offense.

 

Ricky Williams: 2008 comeback player of the year!

 

Ricky is no stranger to circles!

 

I really can't believe any Dolphin fan wants to give this guy another chance. Hasn't he done enough to your team?

You let go of Zach Thomas, want to trade Jason Taylor, but Ricky Williams is a keeper?

I am confused.

BZ

 

its just cost-benefit analysis.

I'm not going to go out and buy a RW jersey, but we have him at the vet min right now, and the depth is good to have. He's still a great back. I wouldn't trust him to be the feature back, but for depth? Who can complain about that?

 

It's called value. At RW's salary and position on the depth chart his talent brings it . With ZT's concussion problems, age and salary, his doesn't. JT, hard to say, but at his age, if the right trade value had been presented, you'd have to trade that salary for a future star.

 

IMO Parcells see's the potential is there if Ricky has put the past behind him. I am sure that Ricky appreciates the approach Parcells and company are using toward an offensive line.
Who can forget that for one season RW was a great, not just a good running back behind a mediocre offensive line. Good enough to lead the league and be the Pro-Bowl MVP where he really shined.
Yes he has baggage and yes he made some stupid mistakes but at least he only harmed himself, he didn't beat up anybody nor did someone in his posse shoot someone. At the league minimum he is certainly worth the chance, especially since we have Ronnie Brown but thats JMO.

 

Letting Zach go was the best thing for both parties, no question.

With Taylor and Ricky, their strictly business moves.

And your a Jets fan so of course your confused anyways.

 

Are you masking your fear with confusion?

Zach Thomas had a nasty concussion and is out of his prime. Jason Taylor is still a Miami Dolphin and Ricky is a great football player, that has broken the NFL drug policy not for an enhancement drug that makes him perform better but for a drug that can be argued has medicinal purposes. He is not a locker room cancer and he is in great shape. Ricky will finish his career out strong and redeem himself.

He has set a date of retirement for after the 2009 season and so your beloved Jets will have to face him for at least 4 more games.

 

Ricky's work ethic has never been questioned, even when he wasn't playing ball, he lost weight or kept himself in shape, I believe he is currently 10 pds under his 2002 weight when he had that great year, and a veteran running back has to do those things to stay in the NFL.

Ricky can be fine with the Big Tuna, the problem is not in the Front Office but in the League Offices, I think he will keep it together and go out on a high note.

 

Well he's certainly being given that opportunity (again). I hope for the same. If he stays clean, we all benefit - and no one more so than RW himself.
I've got to say at this point I'm somewhat optimistic. It's almost June. He's had quite a bit of time on his hands for several months. So far he seems to have been making good use of it.
I'm not convinced that RB is going to be 100% mentally this year. It can take up to an additional year to get past the mental aspect of that kind of injury. So we could sure use the help at running back.

 

I know, especially with Ronnie coming off of the injury, we need a healthy Ricky this year, especially early in the year, Ronnie has been rehabbing a long time, he was hurt relatively early last season, so he should be physically ready to play this year..but still..until the hitting starts and Ronnie takes a ding on that knee, it's hard to say what will happen.

 

And that's what I understand to be a rather large obstacle for some to get past. For some there's that fear of another injury like that so they can't play the way they need to to be successful. Hopefully he gets through it and comes back to form.

 

Dude, this is pro football. Change happenes. Deal with it. Oh, and who is your starting QB this year .... is it really Chad .... now you have all us Dolphin fans confused.

 

Amazing how fast Dolphin fans switch from hating Ricky to loving him to hating him again to embracing him to wanting him back to wanting him gone.

The guy is a cancer. A low cost, over the hill, wrong side of 30, bad seed, cancer.

The sooner you put Ricky Williams out to pasture the sooner your team can go from being the basement dwellers of the AFC East to a team in contention.

BZ

 

Not too confused about the Jets QB situation, I will break it down for you.

We have a proven starter who is getting older and has some glaring weaknesses in Chad and a possible stud who hasn't really shown us much yet and doesn't have a lot of experience.

It is a competition for the starting job of the 2008 season. At this point I think either one of them can win us the 9-10 games this year, but I see more long term upside in Kellen than Chad. Chad is a good quarterback, but he is known and there is not going to be some huge upside. He can manage the game, make the short throws and is a great leader. He doesn't scare defenses or get 8 out of the box.

Kellen has a ton of raw skills but big a big question mark in terms of his ability to go the next level. He can make every throw, has good feat and is tough but is he a winning QB in the NFL?

I am hoping the Kellen wins out the competition and becomes our starter. I think he can step it up to the next level.

BZ

 

I know Parcells knows how to motivate & use a big veteran back. Ironically, I was a HUGE St. Louis Football Cardinals fan when I was a kid, I vividly remember Otis Anderson playing for them. I also remember the Cardinals riding him like a mule. When I was a sophomore in HS the Cardinals moved to Phoenix, and I started following the Bills. Only to have my heart ripped out by Otis, the Giants, and Scott @$#$!@$ Norwood in the Super Bowl.

If Parcells can get the same kind of production out of Ricky that he got out of Otis, I would say you will have a hell of a back on your hands. Everyone thought Otis had nothing left as well.

 

That's very inaccurate and an assumption that's far off. I'd agree with you if the content I have read from our fans were anything close to what you are suggesting. But it isn't. We could care less if he gets traded, cut or even smokes his way out of the league. If he contributes then that's great. Nobody's counting on him to be the starter or even a backup at this point. Two completely different scenarios. We drafted insurance.

Nobody wanted him back. Nobody really cares. I think you are just trying to stir the pot by questioning our intelligence as fans. I would too if we put faith in this guy one more time. But we are not. And nothing I've read suggests any different. It's a win win for us.

 

Good post, you did espress exactly my thinking, furthermore if RW can come back and play at 75% of hes ability would be a great plus for our running game, giving time to Ronnie to come back from hes injury.

 

It is a bad decision if it is for insurance since he has showed nothing but being unreliable on your team. He also hasn't played more than 4 snaps in what, 2 years? You might not see it on this new site, but go look at the reaction to RW on PH when he quit on your team three years ago, or failed the drug policy last year.

I am not stirring the pot, just commenting on a thread about Ricky Wiliams. I have more than a few Dolphin fan friends and question the same thing with them. Some think he should be shot, some (more homeristic views) will give him yet ANOTHER shot. I just don't get it for a team that is trying to rebuild and make something new. Why drag the old ugly past in with you?

BZ

 

Dolphin fan here, don't care about Ricky, thank you.

 

It's simple really.
No one is really counting on Ricky, and I think that includes most of his team mates.
The Dolphins are paying him next to nothing.
The WORST that could happen is he gets banned for life from the NFL if he gets caught with drugs again... if that happens, the Dolphins are out a backup RB, of which they have a couple more on the roster, and very little money invested.
At best, they have a former NFL rushing champ who still has some gas in the tank and complements Ronnie for a powerful 1-2 punch in the running game.
Hope for the best, but expect the worse.... I don't see a problem here.

As far as him being a 'cancer', I just don't see it. Most of the vets that played with Ricky before are gone. The few that are there probable feel a bit betrayed by what happened back then when he quit the team, but more likely feel a bit sorry for him. They never really had a problem with his personality. He really doesn't bring anything bad to the locker room.
It's not like he is shooting people or getting in fights.

 

Ricky Williams has been accused of many things but "Cancer" is not one of them. He has always been praised by his teammates for his attitude and work ethic.

Calling him a bad seed couldnt be further from the truth. Pacman Jones is a bad seed, not Ricky Williams.

 

The part I bolded is where is disagree. That was true, but it was almost 4 years ago and the situation has changed drastically since then. The first time he retired we were indeed stunned,pissed, heartbroken. That was a given reaction considering our entire philosophy revolved around him. This situation is completely different. If he failed another drug test tomorrow you would hardly even see a reaction from the fan base. There is nothing invested in him other than a roster space.

IMO there is nothing stupid about giving a player a million chances. What's stupid is how much you rely on them and how much you invest in them.

 

Ok, so if nobody is counting on him.. why waste a roster spot? Why have in the locker room? Why let the new team see the tragedy of bad decisions? Why not move on?

BZ

 

Because He's a notorius Jet killer

 

Hey there! Haven't seen you in forever.

 

How ironic is it that Ricky Williams is in better graces with TPTB than Jason Taylor right now?

 

I'd rather give Ricky Williams a roster spot then an UDFA who will be bagging groceries in September.

If he smoked his way out of the league again, it would be no tragedy. Why are you exaggerating the topic and making it more dramatic then it really is?

 

It's called 'upside'
Why waste a roster spot with an unproven rookie?
At least Ricky has PROVEN he has talent, and is costing very little to keep on the roster.

 

He is either a Cap Killer or Team Killer but no Jet Killer.

Sorry. I was just shocked to see the Tuna keep him around and even more shocked to see a lot of Dolphin fans support the move. Seems like a bad one to me, but we shall see.

Ricky Williams is the definition of downside. He hasn't played in years, will create negative attention, has shat on the Dolphins and the NFL numerous times and is a cancer to the team. I could make an argument that since he has arrived the Dolphins have gone in a steady decline.

11 - 5 - 2000 - No RW
11 - 5 - 2001 - No RW
9 - 7 - 2002 - Ricky Arrives
10 - 6 - 2003 - Ricky Plays
4 - 12 - 2004 - Ricky Bails
9 - 7 - 2005 - Ricky Returns
6 - 10 - 2006 - Ricky goes to Canada
1 - 15 - 2007 - Ricky plays a few downs

So since Ricky has arrived the Dolphins have gone from a strong 11-5 team to the worst season in history.

Coincidence? Of course.

BZ

 

BTW: Today is his birthday.

Happy Birthday Ricky!

31 and counting.

BZ

 

Pretty easy to blame the decline of a team on one guy. Unfair and unjustly, but very easy.

 

and if thats the case.....why did we go from 10-6 to 4-12 coincidentaly when he left? guess he helped afterall ?