ArticleNinja
Lying in wait
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Discuss this article or suffer dire consequences: http://www.finheaven.com/cms/145.html.
Commentary: Go Away Ricky
- Thread starter ArticleNinja
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gonick1
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I gave that an 8 good point well written 2 longwinded for a sport site
Well, for me it wasn't that impressive.
Biased opinion with alot of generalizations.
Mentions only the negavtives the last year, but doesn't mention his apology to the team or his acknowledgement of what he has done. Doesn't mention how through Yoga and his medicine training he no longer smokes marijuana. Doesn't mention how he no longer planned on trying to not have to pay back the money and mentions how he was selfish and immature.
Makes assumptions that the ones who want him back only want him back because we wanna win.
Makes assumptions that those that don't want him back is simply because of how he screwed us.
It was an article where he was speaking for 3rd parties. Also, I find a one sided article completely biased and therefor not worthy of anything more then just a biased opinion.
I applaud your courage for writing this however. Although I disagree with you tremendously you atleast backed up why you feel the way you do.
The only problem is you didn't mention one thing that wasn't already known or mentioned in other threads on this site.
Biased opinion with alot of generalizations.
Mentions only the negavtives the last year, but doesn't mention his apology to the team or his acknowledgement of what he has done. Doesn't mention how through Yoga and his medicine training he no longer smokes marijuana. Doesn't mention how he no longer planned on trying to not have to pay back the money and mentions how he was selfish and immature.
Makes assumptions that the ones who want him back only want him back because we wanna win.
Makes assumptions that those that don't want him back is simply because of how he screwed us.
It was an article where he was speaking for 3rd parties. Also, I find a one sided article completely biased and therefor not worthy of anything more then just a biased opinion.
I applaud your courage for writing this however. Although I disagree with you tremendously you atleast backed up why you feel the way you do.
The only problem is you didn't mention one thing that wasn't already known or mentioned in other threads on this site.
3P
I believe I can fly!
And I'm sure when Ricky breaks his first long run for a TD... you're still going to be cheering against him. :shakeno:
Sure, Ricky made some bad decisions... but what we have to recognize (and what we new when we were trading for him) is that Ricky is a rather unique person. I firmly believe that Ricky needs structure. His SAD prevents him from operating like a normal person without that structure. Wanny and his bass-ackwards offensive coaching philosophy were very ill suited to his personality. Saban is much more suited to controling someone like Ricky.
You forget that the LSU program that Saban took over was full of guys with multiple kids, off the field troubles, and other miscellanious problems. He turned not only their program, but their lives around. Saban is perfect for Ricky. Why not use a tremendous talent when you don't have to give up anything to get him? Besides, we've got Ronnie now... so if Ricky does decide to leave, he can't leave us with no answer at RB like he did before.
It's a no loose situation. Ricky comes back and plays his heart out, we've got two awesome RBs that other teams have to deal with. Ricky decides to leave, and we've got Ronnie Brown... no different than the situation just a month ago.
What it really comes down to with all the people who "hate" Ricky feel somehow personally insulted by his departure. What you have to remember is that it is just a game. Sure, it's a job for him... a career for his teammates that he let down. Point is, you are not his team mate... you have no reason to be offended. The only people that Ricky owes anything to are his team mates, and the people employed by the Dolphins organization.
If they are willing to welcome him back, who are you to piss and moan about it?
You seem bitter to me, and you really have no reason to be.
Oh, and by the way... 90% of those points you listed have absolutely nothing to do with Ricky's football career.
Sure, Ricky made some bad decisions... but what we have to recognize (and what we new when we were trading for him) is that Ricky is a rather unique person. I firmly believe that Ricky needs structure. His SAD prevents him from operating like a normal person without that structure. Wanny and his bass-ackwards offensive coaching philosophy were very ill suited to his personality. Saban is much more suited to controling someone like Ricky.
You forget that the LSU program that Saban took over was full of guys with multiple kids, off the field troubles, and other miscellanious problems. He turned not only their program, but their lives around. Saban is perfect for Ricky. Why not use a tremendous talent when you don't have to give up anything to get him? Besides, we've got Ronnie now... so if Ricky does decide to leave, he can't leave us with no answer at RB like he did before.
It's a no loose situation. Ricky comes back and plays his heart out, we've got two awesome RBs that other teams have to deal with. Ricky decides to leave, and we've got Ronnie Brown... no different than the situation just a month ago.
What it really comes down to with all the people who "hate" Ricky feel somehow personally insulted by his departure. What you have to remember is that it is just a game. Sure, it's a job for him... a career for his teammates that he let down. Point is, you are not his team mate... you have no reason to be offended. The only people that Ricky owes anything to are his team mates, and the people employed by the Dolphins organization.
If they are willing to welcome him back, who are you to piss and moan about it?
You seem bitter to me, and you really have no reason to be.
Oh, and by the way... 90% of those points you listed have absolutely nothing to do with Ricky's football career.
stan marino
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GRYPHONK said:
Doesn't mention how he no longer planned on trying to not have to pay back the money and mentions how he was selfish and immature.
This part right here is hilarious...How many court battles did Wicky lose before he decided to stop fighting the decision about him payin the money back????
yankeehillbilly
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GRYPHONK said:
Got a link on that? I dont remember any apology or acceptance of responsibility from Ricky. Last I heard, he was still blaming other people.
King Nate
His Majesty
yankeehillbilly said:
Same here, wasn't he saying on 60 minutes how he would apologize if he thought there was something he had to apologize for?
Vector1Dolphins
Seasoned Veteran
kingnate85 said:
That's what I thought I heard as well :fire:
yankeehillbilly said:
It was right after the court ordered him owing all the money in Child Support. He stated when interviewed that during his time away and thinking, he realized he was wrong and hurt the team. He said he was selfish also.
He also stated that the time away had caused him to mature.
I don't think I ever mentioned he apologized. I think I only mentioned that he acknowledged what he did and said he was wrong. If I did state that he apolgized that was wrong on my part. He never directly came out and said it, but he acknowledged that he wronged the team and said he was selfish.
This was after the 60 mins interview.
stan marino said:
Once again this is after he claimed to have stopped smoking marijuana. Right after he lost the suit and owed the child support.
Since he has been teaching Yoga and since the court saying he has owed money he hasn't come out and said anything stupid to my knowledge.
People referrnece saying that he blamed Wanny. Well, I didn't actually read the article but what I did see it seemed to me like it was his agent saying it was Wanny's fault not Williams himself.
I don't agree with this article at all.
To start off with I won't sit here and say I wasn't irate when he walked out on us. I was as pissed as anyone could be. I felt he was cowardly and childish. I felt at the time he was flat out stupid. I gave away a home jersey and hid the road jersey in the back of my closet. I gave away the part of RW that i felt represented the idiot whose actions I dispised and kept the part of RW I felt represented RW the player, who we all loved to watch, is another way of looking at it I guess. However, this doesn't make you or I better than him. I don't live a perfect life, none of us probably do. If you're lucky enough to have f'd up one time and to have been forgiven you know exactly what I'm referring to. The feeling of guilt that as a human emotion naturally weighs on you when you know you haven't done right by others. Could that feeling of guilt; that feeling that he owes it to his teammates to be better than he ever was weigh on him every minute of every game? It sure could and ask yourself how good can a motivated Ricky Williams be?
Back to the article. For starters, you mix a mans personal life with his professional life; how does his having 3 kids relate to football? Tying that in through his 8.6m grievance doesn't wash. Most of that grievance is due to N.O. anyway. He would have found a way out through backruptcy (already filed for) or requesting a trade and playing elsewhere (hinted at oakland).
You go in to hypotheticals when you talk about "RW wouldn't be coming back if he didnt owe us 8.6m" and we have no idea if thats true. Furthermore, Miami would never likely would have able to collect that before the statute of limitations expired (usually 3-5 years depending on the state) simply because it would have severed all ties with RW and the Phins. They would never just throw away all his value to the team during his most productive years. Also, by doing that who knows how the lawyers and judges would have seen it if RW chose to come back. Would you have thrown away RW prior to his quitting for a measly 8.6m? And by the value of his contract to other productive backs like him (Edge, Shaun, Portis and other top tier RB's) 8.6m is measly for a player who carried our offense for 2 seasons. We could have faced the prospect of losing RW as a free agent if the judges/powers that be ruled that once we collected on RW's retirement clause. And now that he's likely back all that is irrelevant anyway. It was a lose-lose situation.
When you talk about RW having a second chance I'd like to understand how in the world you talk about teammates calling him up to come is really a 2nd chance? I'm not making excuses for the man, he's responsible for his own actions, but clearly anyone that acted in the manner he did was in poor mental health and certainly in no condition to play football. Let's hope he's cleared that up for RW the person, if only so that RW the player can be a more effective player and be close to what he was when he left the game.
Let's face facts here; no one would be upset with him at all had he done what he did pre-draft or pre-FA. That's the real issue here; the lack of character he displayed in doing what he did. But that relates to the point about his lack of mental health through his indiscriminate actions. No rational person walks away in the manner he did for the reasons he did.
Rw sent his lawyer to NY to negotiate a deal but he couldn't have come back last season anyway via the fact he had a 3rd strike for the failed drug test. So thats a mute point entirely.
The facts are this: He screwed up and as a man hes got to convince his teammates that he's back and ready to play ball. He's got to prove to them he can still be a factor, he can still be a positive influence in the locker room. He's got to contribute something. He's got to reprove himself to everyone and there are both positives and negative aspects to that.
On the bright side, he has had a year off to think about things, to get himself right mentally, to do whatever it is he wanted to do in traveling and medicine and whatever else. He's taken the spotlight off himself on the field which he hated in the first place now that Ronnie is there to be the man. Conversely, like i said, he has to reprove himself. He'll always be under the NFL drug testing microscope, he'll always have heckling fans and media, he'll always have teammates questioning his commitment. There will always be people who want him to fail because of what they feel he represents when in reality they have no idea of what he represents or his train of thought. I'm not a holier then thou type but I refuse to pass judgement on a player or person for a mistake; one that they're willing to to fess up to as we know his teammates will discuss with him at some point.
I'd like to talk about that last point; teammates questioning his committment. that can work both ways. We know what the effects can be from a negative standpoint; it could affect his confidence and play. It could also drive him to play harder knowing that if he doesn't leave no doubt about his effort that he'll face more heat than the average player from his skeptics and from his teammates. It could push him to new limits and serve as a motivational tool. Remember, we're talking about a player who's effort on the field was never questioned as a Phin; it couldn't be when he carried our running game in the punishing fashion he did.
The one thing I whole-heatedly agree with you is that no one is going to invest in him with a high pick via trade. 1 or 2 seasons will never erase the memory of what he did in the mind of GM's around the league. They will always question his committment and his passion if only to bargain trade value down and it will work because every team that inquires about him will have the same fear. Every team will wonder is he worth the risk monetarily and from a public relations standpoint. People are going to have to come to the realization that RW is more valueable to us then he is in a trade cause we will never see the value that RW represents as a player in a trade.
However, I expect a better Ricky then we've ever seen. Why? Well for starters, I think Saban will know how to handle him. By that I mean that in my not so humble opinion that Saban has a plan on how to just end the Ricky issues before the season even begins whether it be a team meeting about it or some other method. This is a bright coach from a psychological standpoint and he understands the mind of a player. There's simply no reason Saban would be doing this if he felt it was a move that would cause more harm then good. In addition, factor in that his body has had time to heal. There's no mistaking that RB's, especially ones that take on as much contact as RW does when he runs, take a load of punishment. Finally, with the spotlight off RW; he's no longer the starter and no longer the guy who needs to prove he was worth a ton of picks, he's now RW the guy who people expect to quit and fail. Hes now RW, who everytime he succeeds; gains that 1st down, gets that tough 2 yards or finds that endzone, will be that much closer to regaining our trust as a player and more importantly the trust as a teammate. And while there's no question he will walk away from the game again one day, we have no clue when and if that day will occur before it really should. We could easily see another 4-5 productive years or we could see 10 games.
My final point is this; as fans what did we lose? We lost 1 whole season of a more entertaining product. That's it. And had he stayed with all the other events and injuries that took place who knows how much better it would have been! I dont believe it did more harm than good by him acting the way he did; I do believe there are positives we can take from it though.
To start off with I won't sit here and say I wasn't irate when he walked out on us. I was as pissed as anyone could be. I felt he was cowardly and childish. I felt at the time he was flat out stupid. I gave away a home jersey and hid the road jersey in the back of my closet. I gave away the part of RW that i felt represented the idiot whose actions I dispised and kept the part of RW I felt represented RW the player, who we all loved to watch, is another way of looking at it I guess. However, this doesn't make you or I better than him. I don't live a perfect life, none of us probably do. If you're lucky enough to have f'd up one time and to have been forgiven you know exactly what I'm referring to. The feeling of guilt that as a human emotion naturally weighs on you when you know you haven't done right by others. Could that feeling of guilt; that feeling that he owes it to his teammates to be better than he ever was weigh on him every minute of every game? It sure could and ask yourself how good can a motivated Ricky Williams be?
Back to the article. For starters, you mix a mans personal life with his professional life; how does his having 3 kids relate to football? Tying that in through his 8.6m grievance doesn't wash. Most of that grievance is due to N.O. anyway. He would have found a way out through backruptcy (already filed for) or requesting a trade and playing elsewhere (hinted at oakland).
You go in to hypotheticals when you talk about "RW wouldn't be coming back if he didnt owe us 8.6m" and we have no idea if thats true. Furthermore, Miami would never likely would have able to collect that before the statute of limitations expired (usually 3-5 years depending on the state) simply because it would have severed all ties with RW and the Phins. They would never just throw away all his value to the team during his most productive years. Also, by doing that who knows how the lawyers and judges would have seen it if RW chose to come back. Would you have thrown away RW prior to his quitting for a measly 8.6m? And by the value of his contract to other productive backs like him (Edge, Shaun, Portis and other top tier RB's) 8.6m is measly for a player who carried our offense for 2 seasons. We could have faced the prospect of losing RW as a free agent if the judges/powers that be ruled that once we collected on RW's retirement clause. And now that he's likely back all that is irrelevant anyway. It was a lose-lose situation.
When you talk about RW having a second chance I'd like to understand how in the world you talk about teammates calling him up to come is really a 2nd chance? I'm not making excuses for the man, he's responsible for his own actions, but clearly anyone that acted in the manner he did was in poor mental health and certainly in no condition to play football. Let's hope he's cleared that up for RW the person, if only so that RW the player can be a more effective player and be close to what he was when he left the game.
Let's face facts here; no one would be upset with him at all had he done what he did pre-draft or pre-FA. That's the real issue here; the lack of character he displayed in doing what he did. But that relates to the point about his lack of mental health through his indiscriminate actions. No rational person walks away in the manner he did for the reasons he did.
Rw sent his lawyer to NY to negotiate a deal but he couldn't have come back last season anyway via the fact he had a 3rd strike for the failed drug test. So thats a mute point entirely.
The facts are this: He screwed up and as a man hes got to convince his teammates that he's back and ready to play ball. He's got to prove to them he can still be a factor, he can still be a positive influence in the locker room. He's got to contribute something. He's got to reprove himself to everyone and there are both positives and negative aspects to that.
On the bright side, he has had a year off to think about things, to get himself right mentally, to do whatever it is he wanted to do in traveling and medicine and whatever else. He's taken the spotlight off himself on the field which he hated in the first place now that Ronnie is there to be the man. Conversely, like i said, he has to reprove himself. He'll always be under the NFL drug testing microscope, he'll always have heckling fans and media, he'll always have teammates questioning his commitment. There will always be people who want him to fail because of what they feel he represents when in reality they have no idea of what he represents or his train of thought. I'm not a holier then thou type but I refuse to pass judgement on a player or person for a mistake; one that they're willing to to fess up to as we know his teammates will discuss with him at some point.
I'd like to talk about that last point; teammates questioning his committment. that can work both ways. We know what the effects can be from a negative standpoint; it could affect his confidence and play. It could also drive him to play harder knowing that if he doesn't leave no doubt about his effort that he'll face more heat than the average player from his skeptics and from his teammates. It could push him to new limits and serve as a motivational tool. Remember, we're talking about a player who's effort on the field was never questioned as a Phin; it couldn't be when he carried our running game in the punishing fashion he did.
The one thing I whole-heatedly agree with you is that no one is going to invest in him with a high pick via trade. 1 or 2 seasons will never erase the memory of what he did in the mind of GM's around the league. They will always question his committment and his passion if only to bargain trade value down and it will work because every team that inquires about him will have the same fear. Every team will wonder is he worth the risk monetarily and from a public relations standpoint. People are going to have to come to the realization that RW is more valueable to us then he is in a trade cause we will never see the value that RW represents as a player in a trade.
However, I expect a better Ricky then we've ever seen. Why? Well for starters, I think Saban will know how to handle him. By that I mean that in my not so humble opinion that Saban has a plan on how to just end the Ricky issues before the season even begins whether it be a team meeting about it or some other method. This is a bright coach from a psychological standpoint and he understands the mind of a player. There's simply no reason Saban would be doing this if he felt it was a move that would cause more harm then good. In addition, factor in that his body has had time to heal. There's no mistaking that RB's, especially ones that take on as much contact as RW does when he runs, take a load of punishment. Finally, with the spotlight off RW; he's no longer the starter and no longer the guy who needs to prove he was worth a ton of picks, he's now RW the guy who people expect to quit and fail. Hes now RW, who everytime he succeeds; gains that 1st down, gets that tough 2 yards or finds that endzone, will be that much closer to regaining our trust as a player and more importantly the trust as a teammate. And while there's no question he will walk away from the game again one day, we have no clue when and if that day will occur before it really should. We could easily see another 4-5 productive years or we could see 10 games.
My final point is this; as fans what did we lose? We lost 1 whole season of a more entertaining product. That's it. And had he stayed with all the other events and injuries that took place who knows how much better it would have been! I dont believe it did more harm than good by him acting the way he did; I do believe there are positives we can take from it though.
A very good article with a lot of emotion. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I agree with it because there seems to be more and more Ricky supporters out there now. People like me that don't want Ricky back seem to be far outnumbered now. If it would truly help this team for Ricky to come back, and if there was some kinda of way to guarantee he will be a good team player, I'd be all for Ricky coming back. I loved him when he played for us. I just can't get out of my head that he will quit again, or not run hard like he admitted to before. Also it's almost embarrassing that Miami would take him back after that. And lastly, I just don't want Ronnie Brown to even have to deal with any of this mess. Who wants a controversy...
finfansince72
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Who cares? If Ricky can play great thats good, if not we have Brown. Who says we are going to keep him anyway? Saban might just want to showcase him this season, trade him for 2nd or 3rd rounder and move on. Lets stop being so melodramatic, we werent going anywhere with that oline and overall team with or without Ricky last year. Speilman and Wannestadt built a flawed team and had a terrible coaching staff.
Im sure Ricky is coming back for mostly monetary reasons, there isnt a doubt in mind about that. Well if every player that went through the season for cash was kicked out of the league you or I could probaly find a roster spot somewhere because 97% of the league would be gone. Professionals play for money. The whole "love of the game" myth is just that a myth. These guys want fame and money. The ones that tell you they would play for free are liars straight up. If Ricky is motivated he is one of the top 3 or 4 backs in football. Whether that motivation is money or whatever its pretty much irrelevant.
Im sure Ricky is coming back for mostly monetary reasons, there isnt a doubt in mind about that. Well if every player that went through the season for cash was kicked out of the league you or I could probaly find a roster spot somewhere because 97% of the league would be gone. Professionals play for money. The whole "love of the game" myth is just that a myth. These guys want fame and money. The ones that tell you they would play for free are liars straight up. If Ricky is motivated he is one of the top 3 or 4 backs in football. Whether that motivation is money or whatever its pretty much irrelevant.
Omaha_Dolfan
Pro Bowler
Boik14 said:
I think thats all I have to quote of that post to say I agree with Boik14 completely on this subject.
Just when I got used to the idea that we dont agree on anything :D