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Dolphins' Williams still stands out from teammates

By ARMANDO SALGUERO
Miami Herald

Ricky Williams looked every bit the best player on the field the last time the Dolphins were together for one of their offseason practices. He ran with authority, he showed quickness, he never let himself shift out of top gear even in drills that didn't mean much.

Williams, with cartoon superhero muscles bulging out of his jersey sleeves, caught the eyes of anyone paying attention.

No wonder he was the only player Dolphins football czar Bill Parcells congratulated with a fist-bump as he was coming to the sideline after one workout.

''I have to say, watching him practice, I was very impressed with his quickness, his explosion, his effort,'' CBS television analyst Charley Casserly, the former general manager in Houston and Washington, said after watching Williams work.

``The guy jumped out at you watching him out there.''

That practice came in June, in shorts, in the middle of what the NFL mistakenly calls the offseason. But when the Dolphins gather again next week for the start of training camp, the first leg of their regular-season marathon, there is nothing that suggests Williams won't again be one of the team's better players.

He might even be the most talented player the Dolphins roster has to offer.

''It wouldn't surprise me at all,'' Casserly said.

And that is great news for Ricky Williams. But not so great for the Dolphins.

It has been six years since Williams rewrote the Miami record book with those stirring 1,853 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in 2002. His encore 1,372-yard-season in 2003 still merits appreciation mostly because it came behind a broken offensive line that delivered neither holes nor hope.

For any running back about to embark on this new season, those long-passed days should seem like a career ago. For Williams they should seem like a lifetime ago because those years came before the retirement, and the first NFL-mandated drug suspension, and the second NFL-mandated drug suspension, and the season-ending injury last year.

That Williams has come far enough back from all those career detours to impress Casserly now is testament to his enduring gifts and under-publicized work ethic.

That Williams is vying to complete this comeback while becoming one of the rare Dolphins to have survived not one, not two, but three coaching purges makes his story truly improbable.

''I see the potential in him. I sure do,'' newest Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. ``When I watch him, I see him being explosive in and out of the line of scrimmage. He's explosive with what he does in the second level and his ball skills when he catches the ball. All those things that were there when I [coached] against him and he ran all over the place against us are still there.''

The Dolphins should be pleased they have a seemingly committed, eager, well-conditioned Williams as the backup if Ronnie Brown completes his recovery from last year's knee surgery. The Dolphins should be thrilled they have Williams seemingly ready to take the starter's mantle if Brown needs extra time to recover.

In either case, running back is not a position this team should be most worried about now.

But in the same breath, what does it say about the rest of the Miami roster when Williams still shines as one of the best players on the field during practices?

You should remember he is 31 years old now. He hasn't played a full season since 2003. He has only six carries since 2005.

And the team still hasn't added a dozen or so players better than him?

That speaks to Miami's void of consistent veteran talent. Sure, Jake Long and one of the young quarterbacks and perhaps a player here or there might eventually aspire to be more valuable than Williams.

But right now, today, none equal the combination of proven and promising that Williams offers. That is sobering testimony about how much work Parcells and Sparano and general manager Jeff Ireland have yet to do with Miami's roster.

Casserly doesn't argue that Miami needs upgrades in many, many areas so that Williams can be considered a fine role player rather than one of the team's better players. But he offers a comparable situation he lived through that should give the Dolphins some hope.

''I remember John Riggins missed an entire season and when he came back he was rusty,'' Casserly said. ``He did not play in 1980 and when he came back in 1981 he was 32 years old and was rusty and a new coaching staff had to find a way to use him.

``He didn't really get going until 1982 and that wasn't until the playoffs. But to answer your question, what does it say about the Dolphins that Ricky might be their best player? What did it say about the Redskins when John Riggins was still one of their best players when they won the Super Bowl in 1983?''

It says the Dolphins need history to repeat.

If I owned a pro team and Ricky was considered my BEST player?  I'd be jumpin' for joy.   When Rick's at his best, he's the man.  And I'm really not cool with all this talk about him being a backup.   We've got a 31-year old monster running back with relatively low physical damage (fewer games played).   Age brings wisdom, gang.  I'm just pumped Ricky's on the team ... and I want him PLAYING.

Once he busts off a 50 yard TD run against the stinkin lousy Jets, people will forget what he did back in 2004 and 2006. 

You keep saying this (in fact I think this may be the 137658th time you've said it). But you don't know whats in my mind. He is a part of the team, and I hope he is successful when he is playing, because I cheer for the Dolphins. But I am no longer a fan of his. I won't forget what he did. I have no respect for him because he did it.  There will be no love lost if he gets traded or when he leaves.

I'm with Philly on this. I'll cheer as much as anyone if he scores, but my cheers will be for the team, not Ricky.

He did nothing wrong.
ITs okay for teams to just cut players when they no longer want them, but the players can't do the same?

The majority of Dolphins fans don't feel the same way. 

   I LOVE Ricky Williams and will root like hell for him to do well this season!!!!!

  BTW...great article Dolfan619!!  Thanx

  Perhaps, but it's apparent that some still do.

RICKY WILLIAMS IS MUCH MORE CAPABLE OF HOLDING UP.  RUNNY BROWN CAN'T STAY HEALTHY.

How many of us would have predicted that Ricky Williams would still be in a MIA uniform after Chris Chambers and Zach Thomas (and possibly even Jason Taylor!) were gone?

  Four years ago, nobody would've believed such a thing.