Who are you willing to get rid of for...

[jguig]

...Ricky Williams?
1. One of our RB prospects will have to be cut to make room for him. This will be a player with great potential that we will lose to make room for a player that is on the downside of his career.

2. Many of you seem to think Ricky will come back as strong as he used to be...nothing could be further from the truth. He has already had his best season, he will not reach that level again. Expect Ricky (with a full season) to put up average YPC and total yards, and maybe even less.

3. Salary. Ricky will not come for the league minimum. He is going to make good money, so is Ronnie Brown. That is a lot of money for the RB position that could be better spent on some OL or secondary help. Plus, you will be paying him for a maximum of 12 games after his suspension. All I heard about during draft time was value, and how we should discard some of our best players (that aren't head cases and have never quit) so that we could get the best value. How is Ricky Williams a value at this point?

4. Team chemistry. I see many of you think that the team has forgiven him. Are you sure? Do you really believe Zach and JT are going to really say what they feel about the situation to the press? Saban is evaluating everyone, what he wants will not be openly second guessed or criticized by the players.

5. Many of you have said you will welcome him back if his "head is in the game" and he "really wants to win". What makes you think this is any more than a way out of an $8.6 million settlement?

6. Ricky can't be trusted. This is perhaps the biggest issue. Suppose Ronnie goes down, and Ricky starts carrying the load again. Maybe he gets too many carries in the game...will he be there the next week? Suppose he hits a club, and someone fires up a joint and offers him a toke...is he going to refuse? Suppose the Fins stun the NFL and make it to the playoffs...will Ricky dress for the game, or will he put on a dress and go clubbing?

I cannot conceive of any way that Ricky coming back is a good thing. This decision will come back to bite Saban in the end.

Very solid post. Well thought out and articulated.

Ricky comes back. He proves he can still play. We trade him for the highest value we can get. That trade may take place on next draft day. I just don't see it working out any other way.

 

[MoTown Finman]

I have to agree...Travis got his shot last year and did nothing!
If anyone goes it has to be him. We can get others to do special teams.

 

[theFreak41]

I don't see who we keep as a major issue.

Running Backs:
Ronnie Brown
Ricky Williams
Lamar Gordon

Fulback:
Heath Evans
Sammy Morris

Practice Squad:
Kay Jay Harris

Minor gets cut. Jamar Martin gets cut.

Does anyone see a remote problem with this? Seriously, Wes Welker has his role as a return man sewn up, so why are we worried about keeping Minor? He's not going to get time as a third down back. If we're going to use someone other than Brown, it'll be Gordon, who's a better player than Travis.

Morris is more versatile than Martin, as well as being better, and Evans is just plain better at what Martin does.

Kay Jay will be there if we need him because he'll be on our practice squad. If their's an injury or a freak retirement *cough* Ricky *cough* we can always bring him to the active roster and use him.

As for salary, Ricky's pretty much at our beck and call. He's not going to get the kind of cash he wants straight out, so I believe he'll have a heavily incentive based cotnract. Part of that will have to do with his weight and his progress thrught the season with it.

 

[CD13]

...Ricky Williams? I continue to be surprised at the number of fans on this site that can't wait for Ricky to come back to this team. Have any of you really thought this through? Some thoughts to ponder about this move:

1. One of our RB prospects will have to be cut to make room for him. This will be a player with great potential that we will lose to make room for a player that is on the downside of his career.

2. Many of you seem to think Ricky will come back as strong as he used to be...nothing could be further from the truth. He has already had his best season, he will not reach that level again. Expect Ricky (with a full season) to put up average YPC and total yards, and maybe even less.

3. Salary. Ricky will not come for the league minimum. He is going to make good money, so is Ronnie Brown. That is a lot of money for the RB position that could be better spent on some OL or secondary help. Plus, you will be paying him for a maximum of 12 games after his suspension. All I heard about during draft time was value, and how we should discard some of our best players (that aren't head cases and have never quit) so that we could get the best value. How is Ricky Williams a value at this point?

4. Team chemistry. I see many of you think that the team has forgiven him. Are you sure? Do you really believe Zach and JT are going to really say what they feel about the situation to the press? Saban is evaluating everyone, what he wants will not be openly second guessed or criticized by the players.

5. Many of you have said you will welcome him back if his "head is in the game" and he "really wants to win". What makes you think this is any more than a way out of an $8.6 million settlement?

6. Ricky can't be trusted. This is perhaps the biggest issue. Suppose Ronnie goes down, and Ricky starts carrying the load again. Maybe he gets too many carries in the game...will he be there the next week? Suppose he hits a club, and someone fires up a joint and offers him a toke...is he going to refuse? Suppose the Fins stun the NFL and make it to the playoffs...will Ricky dress for the game, or will he put on a dress and go clubbing?

I cannot conceive of any way that Ricky coming back is a good thing. This decision will come back to bite Saban in the end.

It will cost us Minor. He doesn't have a lot of value now, as Brown would always be the 3rd down back, or in there for obvious passing situations. I don't think it will hurt chemistry, but I still don't want to look at his face to be honest. But, I don't blame Saban for maximizing all his assets...I would look for a trade next year of Williams...

 

[finmann]

Minor or Thompson. I happen to agree with nothing you said by the way.

 

[HybridPHIN 23]

your all saying Minor was a dissapointment, but then you'll throw Feeley a pardon for playing behind that horrid O-line ???? Minor has done much more and found more success than Gordon, even when Gordon had that fancy St.Louis O-line. Is Minor the better player ?? I don't know. But right now they both have a better shot at playing time for the dolphins than Ricky does. C'mon you guys.... I know theres excitement because the infamous Ricky is coming back and he's bringing all his negative attention to the team with him, but look at the big picture !!!!!!!!! If Ricky didn't owe 8.7 mil that he doesn't have, you'd be hearing about him getting baked somewhere far away from his family. But he does owe the $ and he doesn't have it. Saban is welcoming him back for a reason, and his main motive is NOT to lure an important contributer back to his team. Hey it can't hurt right??? Actually it can. Hopefully Nick can get a mid-round pick for him. That would be a pleasant surprise.