Ricky and JT are the lone remaining Dolphins from when that trade was made. Two Dolphin legends. Ricky has hall of fame legs, but won't get there because of his sacrifice. Jason Taylor will be a hall of famer if he continues to show that he can get it done still at a high level.

Ricky was really traded for 2 firsts. New Orleans got their 2 1sts back when they trade him us. So they really only payed a few mid round picks. We paid 2 firsts, and after what he has done this season, he is now worth every penny. Ricky has walked the road of redemption. He is now debt free IMO.

 

What sacrifice did Williams make?

 

I don't know just because those teams picked poorly doesn't devalue draft picks to me. I wouldn't trade an entire draft for the production the Saints got from Ricky. Ricky is playing great right now, I'm really happy for him but he's been inconsistent in his career and you can't overlook him quitting on our team when talking about trading two number one's. We never really won anything of note out of the trade, neither did the Saints, which is the true measure of a trade IMO.

 

He's probably talking about him sacrificing his carreer to go smoke pot in India or wherever in the hell he went.

He is right, the guy should be going to the Hall of Fame, instead he's never going to get out from the shadow that he cast over himself as a quitter.

Like the old saying goes....build 1000 bridges and suck one _ _ _ _, your not known as a bridge builder, your known as a _ _ _ _ sucker.

 

Well look at the Walker trade, if the Vikings had won a Superbowl no one would be mocking that deal today. Just like the Saints, no one would be questioning that move if they went onto a Superbowl title. We traded two number ones for a couple of decent seasons where we had no real shot at a title, it wasn't a really smart trade.
Trades on judged on winning, what if Dallas hadn't won anything after trading Walker? No one would even remember the deal 20 years later.
I don't think the Saints trade proved anything about the value of draft picks, it just showed that some front offices are so bad, like Washingtons that giving them two entire drafts in the same season won't even help. If you gave teams that draft wisely like Baltimore, Pittsburg, etc two entire drafts in one season they'd build a Superbowl team, you give the Cleveland Browns two entire drafts and they will bust on 9/10 of those picks.

 

Can't put that on RW though.

 

If the Michael Irving can be a HOF'er, RW should too.

 

Spielman got taken on that trade. The market for an elite back at the time was set by the Marshall Faulk trade, a 2nd and a 5th or there abouts. So while the draft picks were used poorly, IMO there is no doubt that both the Saints and the Dolphins over paid.

As for the HOF, RW misses b/c of his production. He is basically a less productive Jamal Lewis, without the SB win or the 2000 yard season.

 

Ricky Williams' career is very overrated on this board. His only real Hall of Fame year was 2002. He was slightly better than average in New Orleans, had one great year with us and then has either been out of football or a good split carry back. He is tied for 194th all time in yards per carry. He has the same yards per carry as Kevin Faulk.

 

Using that rationale, I guess that means Marino sucked. (It really hurt to type those two words together BTW.)

 

Padre, how can you possibly judge a trade based on what the other teams chose with their draft picks?? That logic makes no sense, we likely would not have picked any of those players

 

For some reason people remember that one great year and think he had a career like that. :confused2:

 

It was not considered to be career threatening. He went for the market value. Can you name another RB that went for as high as what we paid for RW?

 

That's not really the same thing. Martin signed an offer sheet and the Pats didn't match.

 

debt free.

but the saints got a refund on the 2 1sts they paid. he only has 2 1sts on him right now, not 4.

he sacrificed millions of dollars and a hall of fame career to smoke weed. i'd say thats one hell of a sacrifice.

 

You make it sound as if it was a noble sacrifice that he made. Also, he didn't sacrifice anything. He retired to avoid getting suspended for drug use - something that he would get suspended for a few years later.

Even if he hadn't retired I don't think that he would be a Hall of Famer. Seriously, take a good look at his career. He had ONE great year in 2002. That's it.

 

Nice post. I believe Wannstedt thought the 2002 team was a good running back away. They had had two consecutive 11-5 seasons, despite Lamar Smith being only so-so in 2000 and putrid in 2001. Of course as quite a few people said at the time (not me), that team was a quarterback away.

 

You put that tender on a player b/c you don't think anybody would over pay that much and you don't match b/c you're getting so much. Obviously, you can get lucky but the fact is that running backs get injured often so their value is lower. Paying two #1s for a running back is grossly over paying. And sending a whole draft + is just stupidity no matter how badly the other team screws up the picks.

 

I love Ricky as much as the next guy, but I think the lesson is some teams are really lousy at drafting. :knucks:

 

Just a question, was Wanny still in Chicago making those picks when Rikcy was originally drafted by the Saints?

 

I believe he was, I remember someone mentioning it in the herald years ago.

 

Wanny was in Miami as a asst. coach under Jimmy Johnson in 1999:wink2:

 

Marino was a draft pick that got us to a Superbowl singlehandedly and was a HOFer, there isn't anything comparable between Marino's career, his value to this franchise and Ricky's.

 

When you consider the two 1st round picks we traded for RW you have to consider what Wanny would have done with those picks if he had kept them and what the return might have been. The odds are that he would have bumbled those picks like he did a lot of other picks. The Dolphins didn't get a lot of return for their drafts under Wanny.