OH RICKY
The last time Ricky Williams carried the football in a regular-season game was Dec. 28, 2003, when the Dolphins beat the Jets 23-21 in Miami. But Williams now is on the verge of carrying it again.
His four-game suspension is over, and Williams can resume practicing with the team. He is expected to play Oct. 16 at Tampa Bay.
One of the subplots surrounding this game will be how much the Dolphins are going to use Williams, especially with the NFL's trading deadline coming Oct. 18, two days after the running back's first game back with Miami.
Chances are the Dolphins won't trade Williams. He has far more value to them than he does to another team. Even Dolphins general manager Randy Mueller said last week he would be in favor of keeping both Williams and Ronnie Brown, Miami's first-round pick. Two good backs are always better than one.
WAR EAGLES
While Williams returns to action, the Dolphins-Buccaneers game also could be billed as an Auburn Tigers reunion.
It will feature Brown, whom the Dolphins drafted with the second overall pick, versus Cadillac Williams, assuming he can recover from the foot and hamstring injuries that prevented him from playing Oct. 10 against the Jets.
There are those in Tampa who feel the Buccaneers would be better off resting Cadillac against the Dolphins because the following week is Tampa Bay's bye. Not playing in Week 6 would mean Cadillac could go into the repair shop until Oct. 30 -- a Week 8 game at San Francisco. That would give him two more full weeks to rest up injuries that are going to need to be healed for the Buccaneers to make the playoff push they want.
ADVANTAGE, DOLPHINS
Not only do the Dolphins have an advantage with healthier running backs, but they also have another advantage.
Miami's quarterbacks coach is Jason Garrett, who spent the 2003 training camp with the Bucs. Some within the Tampa Bay organization fear that Garrett knows the Buccaneers snap count and what they're trying to accomplish offensively.
It will be up to Tampa Bay to mix it up, and the Bucs will. But Garrett is tuned into Jon Gruden and the Buccaneers offense.
The last time Ricky Williams carried the football in a regular-season game was Dec. 28, 2003, when the Dolphins beat the Jets 23-21 in Miami. But Williams now is on the verge of carrying it again.
His four-game suspension is over, and Williams can resume practicing with the team. He is expected to play Oct. 16 at Tampa Bay.
One of the subplots surrounding this game will be how much the Dolphins are going to use Williams, especially with the NFL's trading deadline coming Oct. 18, two days after the running back's first game back with Miami.
Chances are the Dolphins won't trade Williams. He has far more value to them than he does to another team. Even Dolphins general manager Randy Mueller said last week he would be in favor of keeping both Williams and Ronnie Brown, Miami's first-round pick. Two good backs are always better than one.
WAR EAGLES
While Williams returns to action, the Dolphins-Buccaneers game also could be billed as an Auburn Tigers reunion.
It will feature Brown, whom the Dolphins drafted with the second overall pick, versus Cadillac Williams, assuming he can recover from the foot and hamstring injuries that prevented him from playing Oct. 10 against the Jets.
There are those in Tampa who feel the Buccaneers would be better off resting Cadillac against the Dolphins because the following week is Tampa Bay's bye. Not playing in Week 6 would mean Cadillac could go into the repair shop until Oct. 30 -- a Week 8 game at San Francisco. That would give him two more full weeks to rest up injuries that are going to need to be healed for the Buccaneers to make the playoff push they want.
ADVANTAGE, DOLPHINS
Not only do the Dolphins have an advantage with healthier running backs, but they also have another advantage.
Miami's quarterbacks coach is Jason Garrett, who spent the 2003 training camp with the Bucs. Some within the Tampa Bay organization fear that Garrett knows the Buccaneers snap count and what they're trying to accomplish offensively.
It will be up to Tampa Bay to mix it up, and the Bucs will. But Garrett is tuned into Jon Gruden and the Buccaneers offense.
