Hey there fin fans (hopefully no offense, is that what you call yourselves?)
Anyway, I'm pretty sure you already know alot about Ricky. I'm a hardcore Saints fans and have formed a love/hate relationship with ricky.....nah not really hate, more like a love/aggrivation type thing. whatever. I still have interest in ricky and plan on following his carreer closely...(so I can have something else to whine about when he starts dominating in the NFL....like a Saints' fan needs any more to whine about).
Well, let me start by saying that I have watched every run, fumble, pass reception, and dropped pass RW has ever made in the NFL, so I think I have a pretty good understanding of what kind of player he is, though I'm sure many of you already know he is the Real Deal!
First off, he is probably the HARDEST running RB I've ever seen. When he hits a hole he means to blow it wide open. Once he gets his shoulders square he can bull his way through the line. I think his hard running style is what limits his breakaway ability. He has those short, powerfull choppy steps and allot of times when he breaks (BUSTS!!) through the line hes got so much momentum, and leaning forward so much, that he cant get upright and really stretch out his stride .
I would say his greatest weakness is he is very prone to ankle tackles (this is where I get the aggrevation from). . I'm not bashing him, just my observation. This usually happens at the LOS. (trust me, I've seen it time and time again) But usaully he's running so hard that his momentum still carries him 5-8 yards even when ankle tackled at the LOS.
Which brings me to what I think is his greatest strentgh...He is very hard to stop from getting positive yardage. Nearly all the times I saw him not get positive yards on a run is when either nearly the whole dang defense was at the LOS, or somebody really screwed up a blocking assignment, or a busted sweep/toss where he was not able to get his shoulders square. Getting his shoulders square is key to ricky. Once he does I can almost feel the power he has even when watching on TV. I'm telling you...take note of this. Anytime he gets tackled fairly easy, look to see if he was able to square his shoulders....you'll see. Not like you'll be able to do anything about it. Just to let you know why sometimes he looks untacklable (w/o at least 3 defenders) and other times gets handled quite easily.
BLOCKING ABILITY: Most of the time when he has to block he looks like one of the best RBs at doing it. Sometimes he really looks like a fool. I dont know. I think he just gets caught off balance sometimes and gets run over. I know every one gets beat on a block sometimes, it's just that when he does it he really looks silly. But for the most part, he is an above average blocker.
HANDS: Ricky has great hands. The biggest knock on him coming out of college was his small hands. They kept saying we would not be a good receiver because of it. Well they were wrong! Ricky has the best hands as far as any Saints RB I've ever seen. He had some drops, but dont they all. Some were easy catches that made the critics look like they were right but those were more of a concentration thing than a hands thing. Like dropping a pass at the 2 yard line that hit him dead in the chest and was wide open. He just tried to get in the endzone before he finished catching the ball. Oh well, we all learn from our mistakes.
Well, in no time you will have seen enough of RW to where my opinion won't matter...(maybe it doesn't now). But to sum it up a little. Ricky Williams is a hard running Back who may not have allot of long runs, but will punish and wear down a defense and almost always get positive yardage is used right. Theres just something about his presence on the field. He is a force to be reckonned (sp?) with and commands the defense's attention. IMHO...RW is the ultimate "ball-control" Back!
BTW, for the first part of my youth I was a Dolphins fan. And I have always had an interst in the Dolphins since. If I could have choosen any team for the saints to loose him to, it would have been Miami. Just too bad he wasn't around when Marino was here.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure you already know alot about Ricky. I'm a hardcore Saints fans and have formed a love/hate relationship with ricky.....nah not really hate, more like a love/aggrivation type thing. whatever. I still have interest in ricky and plan on following his carreer closely...(so I can have something else to whine about when he starts dominating in the NFL....like a Saints' fan needs any more to whine about).
Well, let me start by saying that I have watched every run, fumble, pass reception, and dropped pass RW has ever made in the NFL, so I think I have a pretty good understanding of what kind of player he is, though I'm sure many of you already know he is the Real Deal!
First off, he is probably the HARDEST running RB I've ever seen. When he hits a hole he means to blow it wide open. Once he gets his shoulders square he can bull his way through the line. I think his hard running style is what limits his breakaway ability. He has those short, powerfull choppy steps and allot of times when he breaks (BUSTS!!) through the line hes got so much momentum, and leaning forward so much, that he cant get upright and really stretch out his stride .
I would say his greatest weakness is he is very prone to ankle tackles (this is where I get the aggrevation from). . I'm not bashing him, just my observation. This usually happens at the LOS. (trust me, I've seen it time and time again) But usaully he's running so hard that his momentum still carries him 5-8 yards even when ankle tackled at the LOS.
Which brings me to what I think is his greatest strentgh...He is very hard to stop from getting positive yardage. Nearly all the times I saw him not get positive yards on a run is when either nearly the whole dang defense was at the LOS, or somebody really screwed up a blocking assignment, or a busted sweep/toss where he was not able to get his shoulders square. Getting his shoulders square is key to ricky. Once he does I can almost feel the power he has even when watching on TV. I'm telling you...take note of this. Anytime he gets tackled fairly easy, look to see if he was able to square his shoulders....you'll see. Not like you'll be able to do anything about it. Just to let you know why sometimes he looks untacklable (w/o at least 3 defenders) and other times gets handled quite easily.
BLOCKING ABILITY: Most of the time when he has to block he looks like one of the best RBs at doing it. Sometimes he really looks like a fool. I dont know. I think he just gets caught off balance sometimes and gets run over. I know every one gets beat on a block sometimes, it's just that when he does it he really looks silly. But for the most part, he is an above average blocker.
HANDS: Ricky has great hands. The biggest knock on him coming out of college was his small hands. They kept saying we would not be a good receiver because of it. Well they were wrong! Ricky has the best hands as far as any Saints RB I've ever seen. He had some drops, but dont they all. Some were easy catches that made the critics look like they were right but those were more of a concentration thing than a hands thing. Like dropping a pass at the 2 yard line that hit him dead in the chest and was wide open. He just tried to get in the endzone before he finished catching the ball. Oh well, we all learn from our mistakes.
Well, in no time you will have seen enough of RW to where my opinion won't matter...(maybe it doesn't now). But to sum it up a little. Ricky Williams is a hard running Back who may not have allot of long runs, but will punish and wear down a defense and almost always get positive yardage is used right. Theres just something about his presence on the field. He is a force to be reckonned (sp?) with and commands the defense's attention. IMHO...RW is the ultimate "ball-control" Back!
BTW, for the first part of my youth I was a Dolphins fan. And I have always had an interst in the Dolphins since. If I could have choosen any team for the saints to loose him to, it would have been Miami. Just too bad he wasn't around when Marino was here.
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