Here's the thing about Ricky.
Ricky's like a salvage-titled car. You see all these online ads for salvage-titled 2004 Cadillac CTS-Vs for $25k, and you wonder if the frame is bent, or if the transmission is shot, did the airbag deploy, etc. And for every lemon, there are probably 3-4 great cars that people get amazing deals on. But it's all about risk. People are risk-averse, because there ARE people who pay $25k and get a lemon. Ricky's a salvaged ride. He's one of the best, and when he plays and wants to, he's worth every penny. How in the world can a LB expect to tackle a fresh-legged Ricky in the 4th quarter? But no one is going to trade for him, and he's a HUGE boom-or-bust that could pay off handsomely. He's a penny stock. I expect some great things, but no one else is going to. The only situation where he'd succeed is one just like this: no real pressure, not the main guy, already a somewhat supportive fan base willing to forgive, a team that sort of understands him (moreso than any other team would) and won't put the squeeze on him because he's viewed as "soft," a warm city that won't trigger any seasonal depression, and a great head coach who he WANTS to play for. He's an untradeable commodity.
If you think about it, Ricky quitting may have been the best thing to happen to us. He took a year off to avoid a later meltdown, it caused Wanny to be fired and a house cleaning, it brought in an amazing head coach and the best OL coach in the business (and the subsequent/prior firing of a OL coach jamming square pegs in round holes), and gave us the #2 draft pick. Now, Ricky's back on the cheap, our future is looking up, and he's not so crazy anymore (or, so it seems).
