I agree that RW will be the starting running back. I was on the verge of starting a post proclaiming this very thing. Ricky is more of a big play threat, is faster at attacking the holes, and once he gets into the open field he is GONE. Ronnie seems to be ran down in the open field alot - Ricky doesn't. He and Ronnie ran similar 40 yard times at their respective combines, but Ricky plays much faster. And his hands are equal to Ronnie's - contrary to what some people want to believe. His blocking is above average. Blocking is the only advantage Ronnie may have over Ricky, but it's not by much. And Ricky, for whatever reason, is just a more intimidating runner.

I know that I will get knocked around for this by a lot of the guys who hate Ricky and the guys who love Ronnie. But the way I see it is, not only is RW a bigger playmaker, he is also less injury prone. Ronnie has yet to be able to play a full season, and don't think for a minute that Parcells and Co. haven't taken notice about that.

 

I definitely have to agree with FinNasty... Ronnie is younger, faster, stronger and has better hands. If not for a bone-headed QB play and Ronnie trying to make a tackle he would've likely been a Pro-Bowl back last year.

That being said Ronnie does need to prove he is healthy and capable of regaining his form from last year. If he is healthy enough he'll be the starter. It's been what, 4 years since Ricky really did anything? He'll be a quality backup to an emerging Ronnie.

 

meh, this entire post is living in the past. Williams hasn't proven ANY of those things you are claiming in three-four years. His blocking sucks.. he singlehandedly ended Griese's carreer here, he loses focus at the WORSE times and runs out of bounds in the fourth quarter. It took all of six carries for him to drop the rock last year.. you remember that right.. the game where he was going to be our savior and show EVERYBODY he was better than any runner "we" have... pffft. He is a nice guy, a hardworking runningback who has YET to bring us ANYTHING but grief. We paid TWO firsts for him.. what has he given back.. no playoffs... nuttin'

and on the "injury front... how many games has he missed for us? .. more than FORTY.. FIFTY ?? who cares the injury issue if he is too stupid to stay clean AND ACTUALLY PLAY FOR US.

oh... He has not finished either of his last two seasons DUE TO INJURY, so I think your statement is weak.

He can be a welcome asset, but I'm not interested in having his baby like so many Dolphin fans seem to want. He is less than mediocre given the amount of time he has "elected" to miss. Everyone can keep prattling on about how great he is, but until he actually PLAYS, there is nothing but opinion.

 

The article goes on to mention an important fact - who knows if Ricky will even be on the team in July? I think we all agree Ricky can be a strong asset if he stays healthy and out of trouble. But those are two very big ifs. I'm very excited to see Ricky play this year and hope he can turn in a comeback player of the year type performance, but all thise while keeping in the back of my head that he can do something stupid at any point that will mean he will be out of football forever.

 

That pretty much sums it up!!:up:

 

I disagree with you

Ronnie longest runs: 65 & 60 yards

Ricky longest runs: 63 & 46 yards

 

Everyone can disagree with me. That's great. But if RW gets back into the shape he was in several years ago, he IS a more talented back that RB. PERIOD. He appears to be motivated, is looking like he is in outstanding shape and I'm fairly certain he intends to play like a man possessed.

And to CNC66: I'm not interested in having his baby. But I know that he IS potentially (depending upon how he recovers from his torn muscle and if he stays out of trouble -which I think he will) the starter for us over Ronnie Brown, regardless of how Ronnie has progressed with his knee injury.

In regards to anyone who continues to throw RW under the bus for his past is say: Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Do you guys know how many chances we've received in life and squandered only to receive yet another chance until we finally matured enough to see what we were doing to ourselves? Ricky is NOT smoking anymore. Yet, everyone still makes those same tired and flat out stupid jokes about RW and marijuana. Let it go until he does it again. IF he does it again, then the RW saga will be officially over. Until then, I believe he is the best back on the roster.

 

I'm sure you aren't bro, however, you know "what" I meant. There is, btw, absolutely nothing to substantiate your point of view on his greatness, and I find it interesting that as soon as some FACTS are laid out, you claim he is being thrown under the bus. He is an asset, a tool to use and nothing more. (an unreliable one) Until he actually PLAYS for us.. something he hasn't done in YEARS (excepting the six carries that ended in a turnover) he is nothing but "wishfull" thinking... exaggerated wishfull thinking. I mean, in the SAME backfield, behind the SAME line, the ROOKIE Ronnie Brown did as good as the demiGod Williams... oh, and he blocked better and caught more passes too.. so wish on brother, I hope he DOES rise to the occasion, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Ricky is QUICKER, not necessairly faster. I dont know what Ricky runs now, but his combine number was around a 4.4, 9 years ago. Ronnies was about 4.49. Given the 1 second difference, id say Ricky at 31 and ronnie at 26 are right at about the same speed. I will contend Ricky is quicker though, in and out of his cuts

 

Not to take this thread off topic, but almost the exact same thing could be said of John Beck, but he certainly has his fair share of supporters on this board.

I tend to agree more with your analysis of Ricky Williams than of SCall's, but at the same time I simply can't resist noting the similarties of his support of Ricky to other's support of unproven players like John Beck. We all have our favorites, and we support them whether they deserve it or not.

 

but you did anyway...

I see no similarities given that Williams has a long illustrious track record of nothing but missing football games. Don't let your support of Henne blind you to reasonable debate about Beck and Henne with facts and opinions seperated. "I" am not one of those that spews Beck opinion like it is fact, so please don't drag "that" into a response to "my" post on a completely different subject.

 

Ricky's done nothing but miss games? Yeah, that might be what a lot of Dolphin fans remember, but he also had 2 GREAT seasons for us running the ball that included a rushing title. If the comparisons aren't similar it's because Beck has had, IMO, very little NFL success while Ricky has had plenty.

My post had nothing to do with Henne, so I'm not sure why you mentioned him. Besides this strictly for fun adoption thing, I don't support Henne too much more than I do the other two QBs on the roster. And the tiny bit that I do is only because he's the youngest QB on the roster and has the longer shelf life. But I'd be just as happy if Beck or McCown could get the job done.

And I apologize if you thought I was referring to you or anyone else specifically with Beck support. I was simply comparing Beck support to this poster's Ricky support, which I think are very similar: support for 2 popular Dolphins players that given recent performances may not deserve it.

 

were all good bro, let us take this debate to some other place and time :hi5:

 

No problem, I look forward to it! :up:

 

I like RW. I think he's an endearing person, and I think it's exactly that personality that has people cheering for him. Let's not forget, RW couldn't even make an impact in the CFL, a far inferior league talent wise than the NFL. I'll be cheering him on every time he touches the ball, but to talk about his skills as if nothing's changed since his 1,800 yard season and subsequent ban, is purely blind-faith. The fact is, it's been years since RW has produced in the NFL.

 

Ricky is QUICKER, not necessairly faster. I dont know what Ricky runs now, but his combine number was around a 4.4, 9 years ago. Ronnies was about 4.4. id say Ricky at 31 and ronnie at 26 are right at about the same speed. I will contend Ricky is quicker though, in and out of his cuts

 

I recall Ronnie running the 40 in under 4.4 at the combine.

 

SI has him at 4.49,
ESPN has him unofficially at 4.32 and 4.40
USA Today has him at 4.4
Another site had him at 4.45 and another at 4.5

I dont ever remember seeing him run a sub 4.4

 

I edited to reflect all the different times... god forbid all the websites report the same thing

 

Man, I sure hope RW starts on week one. The guy is old, out of Football shape and fragile.

David Harris will turn him into chopped meat.

BZ

 

hahaha, you wish ya homer... good to see ya BZee

 

You bet.

BZ

 

Ricky, in his prime, I think is a better runner than what Ronnie has showed us, and Ronnie has showed us a lot! But Ricky is past his prime. I still think he can be a great supplemental runner, but if Ronnie is 100%, he's the starter.

 

I dont think anyone will argue that Ricky in his prime > ronnie in his prime. IMO Ricky can still be an extremely productive guy if "in football shape" and not getting 20+ carries a game every game. He's perfect for 10-15 carries a game and splitting time with Ronnie.

 

Ricky & Ronnie are better than nobody but they are both consistently hurt and inconsistent.

One could get hurt and the other suspended in a second.

Again, this year Parcell's is probably not worried about the RB as much as getting the line together and seeing if he has anything at QB.

BZ

 

Most definately the Dolphins have areas of needs, but no the RB.
I'm not sure if your statement is coming from the fear of facing Ricky and Ronnie in the same backfield....about QB I'm pretty sure that you guys are in the same situation.

 

No fear of Ricky and Ronnie.. unless you mean the guys on New Edition. (with Bobby and Mike). Ronnie has talent, but isn't consistent and gets hurt. Ricky is a mess and too old and too far from football to worry anyone.

As for QB. You are off more than a little. First of all Chad is better than all three guys you have on your roster. Not really argument there.

As for Kellen, he at this point, is better than Beck with more years in the system and actually winning some games.

Both will be helped by the new talent at the lines.

BZ

 

Were the 7 games RB was leading the league in last year in yards per scrimmage and 3rd in rushing yards inconsistent. When has Jones ever done that during any span of his career. Should we be scared of a certain jets runningback who totaled a disasterous 2 TD's last year?

Chad might be better, but only by a very slim margin and Kellen Clemens, well, I wouldnt call him the next savior. To say Clemens is better than Beck is A COMPLETE exageration as noone knows what we have in Beck, good or bad.

 

Chad may have been better a few years ago but now is virtually useless if you want to stretch the field beyond 25 yards.. and his presence on a team with receivers such Ginn would be as useful as Paris Hilton teaching a class in chastity. As far as Clemens goes, the probability that noodle arm will probably beat him out is really all you need to know about him!

 

Right, the problem is that some people still think that this is the same Ricky from 02 but the fact is that he's older now and he's not what he used to be.

Ricky was a beast when he was younger, he was a top 3 RB. But we havent seen what Ronnie can truly do in his prime

Ronnie is inconsistant? He has gotten inconsistent touches and has played behind a lousy line, when the last idiot in charge realized "Holy **** this kid is a stud": he actually fed him the ball.

As far as his inury problems go, they have more do to with crappy luck then durability, he gets his finger smashed against a helmet and he tried to make tackle after a bone headed play

 

I'm not going to get into an argument over this. All I'm saying is that RW is a more talented back than Ronnie Brown - of course, that's if he is in shape and dedicated - which he seems to be. And yes, Ronnie caught more passes than Williams. What does that prove? Absolutely nothing. Ronnie caught more passes because the offense Ronnie was in was an entire different offense that utilized the backs out of the backfield more - part out of design, part out of neccessity because our QBs weren't good enough to go downfield.

 

and part out of the fact that ronnie brown has better hands for catching the football than ricky williams. :up: Ronnie Brown is a far better receiving option out of the backfield then Ricky Williams.

 

yeah someone forgot the Ricky "Small Hands" williams moniker during his draft ;)

 

I agree with this as well. HOWEVER.....

I also agree with this....because in the end...its what can you do for me on the field NOW....

BUT...at peak he was better than Ronnie Brown. At least as a runner (maybe not blocking or catching) but as a runner, he always had better vision and agility...just overall better talent when it comes to running with the football.

 

At his peak he was better than most. Ever. Except the all time greats.

 

Arguable. And it's no longer 2002, so let's stop projecting Ricky's past accomplishments onto his 2008 campaign. For all we know, he'll get caught with a Sudafed and given his lifetime ban before training camp even begins.

With JT on the outs, Ronnie Brown is arguably the face of our franchise. He needs to be brought back from injury at the fastest pace possible while ensuring his long-term durability. It does us no good to bring him back too soon, and then to have him suffer re-injury. When healthy, Ronnie is the best--and most versatile--player on this team.